English at Aberdeen

The Guardian Good University Guide 2013 ranks Aberdeen 16th in the UK as a place to study English

The English Department at Aberdeen is a vibrant and friendly department, staffed by enthusiastic teachers and researchers. It includes renowned international scholars as well as talented younger lecturers. With a flexible, modular curriculum, our degree programmes allow students to pursue their particular interests while ranging widely across the many exciting areas of English studies.

At undergraduate level, every period of literature is taught, from Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton to contemporary English, Scottish and Irish writing; American literature is an option too. On the language side, you can study dialects, explore the history of language, or learn about new fields such as forensic phonetics. You can combine your English degree with other subjects: Film Studies is a popular choice, and there are a host of other options from Language and Linguistics to History, Sociology or Management Studies. The Department also offers courses in creative writing with our prize-winning Professor of Creative Writing, Alan Spence.

The Department also has a thriving postgraduate community, and offers a range of taught MLitt and PhD programmes, some in association with other departments. Aberdeen has exceptional resources for postgraduate research in English. It has an outstanding, 500-year-old library, whose many treasures and rarities include medieval manuscripts and an unparalleled collection of 18th and 19th century novels. Postgraduate students play a full part in the research activities of the Department, and many are affiliated to one or more of its Research Centres. Postgraduates run their own graduate seminar and can also attend the many visiting lectures, seminars and symposia organised by the research centres and the Department itself. PhD students may have the opportunity to teach undergraduate students after their first year of research.