Current Undergraduates
Welcome to the English Department. This part of the website is designed to explain the structure of the degree programme and provide an overview of the courses on offer at each level. There are also links allowing you to download essential documents such as course catalogues, departmental handbooks, course guides and reading lists.
**New Student Website**
Pre-Honours (Levels 1 and 2)
The undergraduate degree comprises four levels, each lasting one year. At Level 1 the Department runs two literature courses, each worth 15 credit points. If you want to take level 2 English courses, you must normally take both these courses, obtaining 30 credit points from Level 1 English courses. At Level 2 there are two literature courses, each worth 30 credit points. For entry to Honours, you need to obtain 60 credit points from the two level 2 English courses, and to have performed reasonably well in them.
In addition to literature courses, there are also courses in language and linguistics at levels 1 and 2. These courses do not count towards the credits for entry to the English programme, but they do provide a useful accompaniment to the study of literature.
Honours (Levels 3 and 4)
Once in Honours you have a much wider range of courses to choose from. At Level 3 students studying Single Honours English take four courses, two in each semester. Joint Honours students take one course per semester. These courses, each worth 30 credit points, present a range of literary courses from the Renaissance to modernity. Particular degree programmes specify certain groupings of courses to ensure appropriate coverage, but within these constraints you have a large element of choice. At Level 4 your options are broader still. You can take courses on an individual author, a genre, a particular period, or a major theme or topic; creative writing is another option. Each course is worth 15 or 30 credit points. All Honours students also write a dissertation (30 credit points). Single Honours students need 120 credit points in total from Level 4 courses, Joint Honours students 60 credit points.