English and Art History

English literature and art history are two disciplines with a shared concern: how human beings use creative forms to express, interrogate, and shape their understanding of the world. Literature does this through language and narrative; visual art does it through image, form, and material. Studying them together develops your ability to read across different media, to engage with the cultural and historical contexts that shape creative work, and to think critically about how meaning is made and received in different forms.

At the University of Sussex, this three-year, full-time programme includes a foundation year and draws on world-leading expertise in both disciplines, inviting you to engage critically with culture in all its forms. You will read widely across English literary traditions and periods alongside the study of art from ancient times to the contemporary moment, developing close reading and close looking skills that complement and reinforce each other. A sandwich year, year abroad option, and work placements are all available, giving you professional experience and international exposure that broaden your development beyond the classroom.

Sussex's commitment to independent, critical thinking is reflected in the way the programme is structured, encouraging you to challenge ideas, engage with debate, and develop your own intellectual perspective on the questions culture raises. Graduates go on to careers in education, galleries, museums, publishing, journalism, arts administration, heritage, broadcasting, and the cultural sector more broadly. Many continue to postgraduate study in English, art history, or cultural studies, and some pursue academic careers in disciplines that sit at the intersection of literature and visual culture.

The combination of critical literacy and cultural breadth the degree develops is valued across many professional contexts.