English BA (Hons)

 

Course Code

UCAS Code: Q300
International Code: AHU033

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

 

Study mode

Full-time
Part-time
Sandwich

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years full-time with study abroad / professional placement
Flexible part-time

Start date

September 2022

How to apply
Book an Open Day
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Course overview

Study level: Undergraduate

Interested in English Literature and English Language? Our BA English degree combines the study of both and can help you to think about and analyse the world in new ways.

English should appeal to you if you have an interest in:

  • linguistic analysis and how language is used in everyday communication
  • the origins of the English language and how language varies across society
  • the study of literary texts, including novels, plays and poetry in detail
  • exploring literary genres from the Renaissance to the 21st century.
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Global Ready

An international outlook, with global opportunities
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Teaching excellence

Taught by lecturers who are experts in their field
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Employability

Career ready graduates, with the skills to succeed

Why you should study this course

You can develop transferable skills in criticism, analysis and interpersonal communication which are vital in many careers, such as the teaching, legal, media, marketing, financial and public sector professions.

  • You can develop further grounding in both linguistic and literary analysis, and develop your understanding of language use and literary genres and periods.
  • Through your study of English language, you will develop an understanding of how English works as a system of communication that helps to define ourselves, the societies we live in, and the whole world.
  • We have significant links with a wide variety of potential employers such as secondary schools, magazines, newspapers and local charities. Many of our links in the past have offered students professional experience opportunities.
  • In English literature, you’ll have the opportunity to examine a range of fictional works from different countries and explore the ways in which the world is interpreted through them.
  • You’ll be able to join a range of societies such as the Literature Society or Book Club Society which aim to develop student interest in literature, film, and theatre, as well as promoting literary and social events.
92%

92% of students are satisfied with the quality of their course

NSS, 2019

Coventry University and the Booker Prize

In autumn 2021, novelists nominated for the 2021 Booker Prize came to Coventry University for a series of readings and interviews. Nathan Rogerson, a BA English and Creative Writing student, discusses his experience of working with the shortlisted authors.

What you'll study

The first year introduces you to both linguistic and literary analysis by exploring:

  • basic concepts in discourse and conversation analysis
  • the systems of pronunciation and grammar
  • how the English language has changed over time and spread globally to create new Englishes and become the most spoken language in the world
  • different literary genres including drama, prose and poetry
  • approaches to literary analysis like Liberal Humanism, Literary Stylistics, Feminisms, Marxisms and Critical Race Theory.

There are five mandatory modules in the first year. You need 120 credits to successfully pass each year. (Credit value in brackets.)

Modules

  • This module aims to provide an overview of the major historical and socio-cultural trends which helped to shape the English language and periods of English literary history from Anglo-Saxon times until today. The module is intended to give you an insight into how the key periods of literary history were influenced by language change.

    Optional

    Assessment: Coursework

  • The aim of this module is develop your understanding of the grammar (morphology and syntax) and sound system (phonetics and phonology) of English, and to apply this knowledge to analyse texts.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • This module looks at the use of language in a range of social contexts to explore how people interact and the construction of identities. The module also considers how more and more discourse has moved into the digital world and how this medium shapes and alters the conversations and transactions we have.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • The module aims to enable students to acquire skills and confidence in reading, speaking, and writing about 'literature'. Students will be encouraged to become aware of a variety of critical approaches and how those approaches can be employed in the analysis of different literary texts. The module explores the influence of history, power, class and subjectivity to literature.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework, exam

  • You will also be able to take an Add+vantage module which can allow you to develop your CV by taking credits in an area of study that doesn’t have to be related to your degree. The assessment type will depend on the type of Add+vantage module you wish to take.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework, exam

In your second year, you will study language variation in society as well as Renaissance and Victorian literature. You can hone your ability to communicate in academic writing, and be introduced to Stylistics.

You will also have the opportunity to choose a range of very different option modules:

  • a literature option – ‘The American West: Real and Imagined’
  • a language option –‘Language and New Media’
  • the International Study Trip.

Modules

  • The module aims to introduce you to a broad range of authors, texts, periods and genres from Medieval mystery plays, to later poems and plays, that both influenced and were influenced in turn by William Shakespeare. The module will explore and evaluate the reasons both for seeing Shakespeare as being at the heart of the English Renaissance.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • The aim of this module is to introduce you to the fundamental concepts in the study of language as a social phenomenon. We will explore the topic of identity through discourse analysis by analysing: register, constructed identity, incorporating gender, ethnicity and age. We will also learn about how ideologies, cultural ways, speaking and social attitudes affect patterns of language use.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework, presentation

  • This module aims to develop your writing skills in several ways. We will cover the basic conventions of academic writing and identify what can go wrong in the formal construction of written sentences. You will be encouraged to examine your own writing carefully and critically.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • This module examines literature and critical approaches to literature between the years 1830-1900. Roughly half of the module will be devoted to poetry, and half to prose. By situating the Victorian era in a global context, this module aims to better understand the effects of empire upon British, anglophone and indigenous literature.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • The aim of this module is to equip you with an understanding of the linguistic models and analytic techniques that can be used to describe, analyse and interpret different texts. Stylistics is a field of study where linguistic theories are used to identify and describe the distinguishing features (or style) of a text. Analysing style involves looking closely and systematically at the formal features of a text and then considering how those features affect and contribute to the meaning and interpretation of the text in question.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • You will also be able to take an Add+vantage module which can allow you to develop your CV by taking credits in an area of study that doesn’t have to be related to your degree. The assessment type will depend on the type of Add+vantage module you wish to take.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework, exam

  • The American West: Real and Imagined - 20 credits

    This module introduces you to a range of literary and non-literary narratives about the American West. The focus of the module turns to the voices of those who have been excluded from the mythic narrative of the West. You will have the opportunity to study the revisionist writings of a selection of contemporary native Americans, black Westerners, gay Westerners, and female Westerners.

    Assessment:  Coursework

    Language and New Media - 20 credits

    This module introduces key issues relevant to the study of language used in digital contexts. We explore the use or language by drawing on sociolinguistic, discourse-analytic, and ethnographic approaches. There will be a focus on identity performance, social engagement, and aggression and conflict.

    Assessment:  Coursework

    International Study Trip - 20 credits

    This module aims to enable you to conduct primary field research in an international setting. You will consider international influences on both English literature and the English language, particularly as a lingua franca. These themes will be analysed either in the field study location or in a simulated/online environment. For example, a study trip to Valencia or similar simulated/online environment could entail the analysis of linguistic landscapes, intercultural communication and local authors.

    Assessment: Coursework

    Optional

    Assessment: Coursework

After the end of the second year, you have the option to take either a Professional Placement year* (in the UK, or abroad) or a Study Abroad year*, and if you do so, you will take a non-credit bearing module which will help you learn from and reflect upon your experiences.

N.B. You will be given guidance but may be responsible for finding your own placements. Similarly, study-abroad years with your first choice of international institution cannot be guaranteed. You pay no fees to Coventry University for your placement or study-abroad year, though are responsible for covering your own costs.

In your final year, you will study the relationship between language and power (using the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis) and have the opportunity to explore works of 20th century literature after 1945.

Your studies can lead to a dissertation where you can investigate a topic independently that intrigues you.

Modules

  • The aim of the module is to enable you to take a critical perspective on language, and to recognise how language is instrumental in constructing an ideologically framed view of reality. Ideology and power are fundamental concepts in this module as it examines representations of social groups and individuals in the media and beyond. We will discuss the impact how different representations change our understanding of the world.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • This module will consider the literature that emerges in the final years after and during WWII, up to the end of the twentieth century. Students will study 'late' modernists such as Anthony Burgess and Vladimir Nabokov as well as the writers of the British 'New Wave' of science fiction, while also evaluating the movement from Neo Modernism to Postmodernism.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • This module aims to encourage you to develop and refine your own writing style, including writing for academic purposes and key skills you would need after graduation. You will develop a sense of 'style' by gaining a deeper understanding of a text’s purpose and audience.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework

  • Language and Globalisation (20 credits)

    This module takes a sociolinguistic approach to the study of language and globalisation. We draw on a variety of theories and methodologies to examine issues around language, culture and society in a range of contexts. We explore topics such as: language attitudes and ideologies, bilingualism and multilingualism, identities in a globalised world, the politics of English as a lingua franca, language globalisation and social media, tourism discourse, food and lifestyle discourses, linguistic landscapes and workplace communication, among others.

    Assessment:  Coursework, presentation

    Language in the Mind and the Machine (20 credits)

    You can learn the difference between the brain and the mind, and will become familiar with the processes that help people to store language, comprehend it and produce it under typical conditions. The module will also look at language disorders such as aphasia, stuttering and autism to see how language is produced in atypical circumstances. Finally, the module will look at how artificial intelligence in machines such as neural networks and video games simulates human linguistic behaviour.

    Assessment:  Coursework

    Utopias and Dystopias (20 credits)

    This module is for those with an interest in speculative fiction, utopian thinking, political science and / or philosophy. You will be introduced to the key theoretical concepts and texts relating to literary utopia and dystopia.
    You can examine how utopian and dystopian ideas intersect with concepts such as gender, violence, or technophobia and technophilia.

    Assessment: Coursework

    African-American Literature (20 credits)

    This module introduces students to a diverse range of literary texts produced by African Americans post-World War Two up to the present day. The module will also explore how Black writers have employed particular genres and literary forms to address and challenge dominant discourses which have marginalised African Americans in American life.
    Assessment:  Coursework and presentation

    English Dissertation (40 credits)

    The optional module aims to provide an opportunity for you to exercise greater autonomy over your learning and study in the final semester of your degree. You may write about any area of English Studies that staff in the School can supervise, either in Language or Literature that interests you.

    Assessment: Coursework

    Optional

  • You will also be able to take an Add+vantage module which can allow you to develop your CV by taking credits in an area of study that doesn’t have to be related to your degree. The assessment type will depend on the type of Add+vantage module you wish to take.

    Compulsory

    Assessment: Coursework, exam

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

Find out more about our English courses in the video:

How you'll learn

The course is taught using a combination of traditional, digital and innovative teaching methods and platforms. Teaching and learning methods include lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. You will be taught in a range of locations outside of the classroom in groups or individually, in self-directed study groups or online working and research, as examples. We also use study trips, which are designed to enhance experiential learning. These methods are to help you complete regular formative assessments.

You will have the opportunity to take part in educational and cultural visits at home and abroad*, where you will be given the chance to develop your knowledge and skills. In the past, we have visited Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, the American Museum in Bath or going to watch Les Misérables in London.

Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

Assessment 

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which could vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

  • essays
  • critical commentaries
  • oral/poster presentations
  • sets of online forum posts
  • digital tests and quizzes
  • portfolios of analytical exercises.

There are no formal exams.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. 

Job ready

On successful completion, you will be equipped with the skills to:

  • Analyse and interpret texts from a descriptive and theoretical position.
  • Critically examine and construct a range of opinions and ideas.
  • Locate and select appropriate information from a variety of sources, referencing academic essays appropriately.
  • Analyse problems, identify solutions, think creatively and use your own initiative.
    Communicate effectively in spoken and written English.

On successful completion, you will have knowledge of:

  • Descriptions, analyses and theories of the English language and a critical approach to discourse and the construction of meaning.
  • The ways in which the English language is applied in specific circumstances for different audiences and purposes.
  • The distinctive character of texts written in the principal literary genres, fiction, poetry and drama, and other kinds of writing and communication.
  • How cultural norms and assumptions influence questions of judgement.

International experience opportunities

You will have the opportunity to take part in an overseas study trip, or a full year abroad.

On our modules, you can participate in Collaborative Online International Learning  projects with students in Turkey, France, Korea, Mexico or China, for example. You could also take part in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and engage with a wide international audience on such topics as ‘The Language of Gaming’ or’ ‘Fairy Tales: Origins and Evolution of the Princess Stories’*.

At Coventry University, you can enjoy a whole host of multicultural and multilingual activities, such as the international film club and the French and Spanish conversation clubs. You will be offered the opportunity to learn another language with the university-wide Add+vantage Scheme or the World Lanuages programme.

All international experience opportunities are subject to availability, competitive application, meeting visa requirements and additional costs.

Entry requirements

Requirement What we're looking for
A level BBC
GCSE Minimum 5 GCSE's graded 9-4 / or equivalent including English
BTEC DMM
IB Diploma 31 points

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

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You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.0 overall (with at least 5.5 in each component area)

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

2022/23 Tuition fees

Student Full time Part time
UK £9,250 per year Not available
International £15,300 per year Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.

Facilities

FAH redevelopment

Building Redevelopment

We are currently in the process of a major redevelopment of our Faculty of Arts and Humanities buildings. The building will be open to the public, as well as students, and will feature an expansive gallery space.

lanchester library entrance

The Library

You will benefit from our support designed to help you succeed and our industry-relevant teaching and resources. These include our modern library and computing facilities, dedicated careers advice and Students’ Union.

Confucius Institute

Confucius Institute

The School of Humanities is home to the Confucius Institute. This is a collaboration created through a partnership with Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, which aims to promote an understanding of the Chinese language and culture.

Careers and opportunities

Once you successfully complete this course, you have choices of a variety of different career pathways that meet your particular interests.

A degree in English can open up a wide range of career options over and above the professions associated with English, such as journalism, publishing, marketing, public relations, advertising, teaching, the civil service or the media.

We’re committed to preparing you for your future career and aim to give you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The university's dedicated employability support, the Talent Team, provides a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.

Where our graduates work

Recent graduates of the course have gone on to work within education, marketing and public relations, journalism or research coordination for companies including Stonegate, ASDA and Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Many students have also gone on to pursue Master’s level study. The course also aims to develop other abilities, such as thinking critically and analytically and researching, collating and organising data, a number of previous students have gone on to find responsible positions as financial specialists, HR managers or press officers in companies such as Air Products, Tesco or Deutsche Bank.

Further study

You can choose to continue your studies at Coventry University with the English Literature MSc. You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.

How to apply

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Your next steps

Student life
Accommodation
Fees and funding

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  • Student Contract

    By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2021/22 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.

    Tuition fees

    The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.

    For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.

    Accreditations

    The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery. 

    Facilities

    Facilities mentioned on this page may not be relevant for every course. Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

    Placements and study abroad opportunities

    Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.

    Additional costs

    This course may incur additional costs associated with any field trips, placements or work experience, study abroad opportunities or any other opportunity (whether required or optional), which could include (but is not limited to), equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas).