English and Comparative Literature

English and comparative literature is a programme that begins with English as its primary literature while insisting that literature cannot be fully understood within a single national or linguistic tradition. Comparative literature asks what happens when you read across languages, cultures and historical periods, examining how stories travel, how meaning shifts in translation, and what universal patterns and striking differences emerge when you place texts from different worlds in dialogue with each other. English and comparative literature combines the depth of a specialist English degree with the breadth and critical sophistication of a comparative approach.

At the University of Leeds you will study for three years full-time, with the full range of options across the School of English available to you, including writers from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Canada and the Caribbean, as well as texts in translation from Ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The programme is taught by both English literature specialists and literature specialists from the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, giving you access to expertise across a genuinely international range of literary traditions. A sandwich year in professional practice and a year abroad are incorporated, providing extended professional and international experience alongside your academic studies.

Graduates in English and comparative literature bring a combination of linguistic sensitivity, cultural breadth and critical rigour that is valued across a wide range of careers. Publishing, journalism, education, broadcasting, the arts, international organisations, translation, cultural policy and the civil service are all common destinations. The ability to engage with literature and culture across national and linguistic boundaries is particularly valuable in roles that require cross-cultural understanding and communication.

Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in English, comparative literature, creative writing, translation studies or related fields, building on the international critical perspective the undergraduate degree develops.