BA (Hons) English Studies

You will not only study English Literature over the past 1000 years, going right back to Beowulf, but you will also be introduced to the English language, its structure and workings. An important aspect of this degree is the emphasis it places on your development as a creative writer, offering modules in writing poetry, for example, or speculative fiction. This course has a strong practical element, with modules preparing you for a career in teaching English in different settings. A standalone Careers With English module in your final year involves 35 hours of work experience in settings that you choose. A Level 5 Research Methods module prepares you for action research in a range of educational or professional settings. In your final year you have the choice of producing an independent Undergraduate Major Project, typically of up to 10,000 words in length, in English Literature or English Language or Creative Writing.

Overall, we hope that this course inspires your enthusiasm for English and your appreciation of its past and continuing social, cultural, political and economic importance. We think it will provide you with an intellectually stimulating experience of learning and studying and promote your understanding of verbal creativity and aesthetic features of literary and non-literary texts. The creative writing modules in particular will help you recognise and utilise the expressive resources of language whilst the design of the assessments encourage you to reflect critically upon the acts of reading and writing and on the history of text production and reception by readers and other audiences.

This BA provides the basis for further study in English or related subjects and for the teaching of English at all levels. It is as much about knowledge as it is about developing important advanced graduate skills and competencies. Our goal is to help you become an independent, critically alert, competent thinker and a confident, stylish writer and speaker.

You will learn primarily through a combination of lectures, seminars and group work. You are welcome to approach your module lecturer with questions but are also allocated an academic personal tutor to provide guidance on general study issues. You are supported through assignment workshops and personal development plans, which help you reflect on your studies and plan for future progress.

As a BA Hons English Studies student, you will be able to present independent opinions in arguments, support them effectively by relevant evidence and learn to organise and express these well in writing. Your vocabulary will be sophisticated and your thoughts well-judged. You will have shown the ability to plan and carry out individual and group presentations to deadlines and to handle word-processing and presentation packages. Your IT skills will further involve the ability to extract information from and effectively evaluate electronic resources such as academic online databases, blogs, or wikis. Your research skills will involve the ability to collect and select judiciously from a wide range of written material and evaluate its significance.

A substantial proportion of our graduates have gone on to postgraduate study, mainly postgraduate certificates in education. Graduates seeking a career in primary and secondary school teaching have very quickly been offered full-time jobs with on-the-job teacher training in English. Our graduates are now in leadership positions in their respective schools and colleges and join us at our annual Humanities conferences to pass on their insights, knowledge and experiences from their chosen careers. Others have progressed from teaching into education management and special needs support. Graduates also seek careers in journalism, publishing, marketing and PR, in public administration, social work, the caring professions, and in library or museum work.

Modules

The below modules are compulsory but subject to change with the validation of the programme.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Your undergraduate major project could be in English, Project Writing or English Language & Linguistics.

You will need:

• 72 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 subjects at A-Level (one should ideally be in English Literature and / or Language or another essay-based A-Level subject) or from an Access course (30 level 3 credits at merit). Equivalent level 3 qualifications (e.g. extended diploma (MMP)) will also be considered.

• A grade 4 (C) in English (or be willing to obtain during the course)

Students over 21 years of age may be considered with alternative qualifications and / or appropriate work experience.

We are hoping to offer this course across two days per week. Days are to be confirmed.

What can I do after this course at CWA?

Successful students could progress to our:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (accredited by the University of Huddersfield)

Other routes of further study could include a masters degree or CELTA (English language teaching) qualification.

Job opportunities following completion of this degree include:

• Teaching in FE colleges or teaching English abroad
• Media positions (e.g. journalism, TV and radio, copy-writing)
• Information management (e.g. librarian or archivist)
• Public sector (e.g. NHS, local government, civil service)
• Influencers (e.g. advertising, marketing, sales, public relations)
• Helping professions (e.g. social work, youth work, probation / housing officer)
• Other professions (banking, law, HR etc).

Fee information

Information about course fees and student finance can be found below.

Finance at UcWA

What qualification will I achieve?

BSc (Hons) English Studies.

Please note that this qualification is still subject to validation.

How is my course assessed?

Assessment will vary from module to module and is designed to help students develop and demonstrate a range of skills. The most common forms of assessments are essays, workbooks, portfolios consisting of your own creative writings, reflective pieces, lesson plans, blogs, individual and group presentations as well as formal exams and exam-style timed in-class writing assessments.

You will encounter a method called formative assessment in some modules. This is carried out during the module and is a way of building your skills for the main assessments.