English and Film & Television Studies

English literature and film and television studies is a combination that reflects how deeply intertwined literary and screen culture have become. Literature has always been a source for adaptation and inspiration in film and television, while the analytical tools developed in literary criticism, close reading, attention to narrative structure, genre and historical context, translate directly and powerfully into the analysis of moving image. Studying both together at the University of Exeter gives you a genuinely integrated education in two of the most significant storytelling traditions of the modern world.

You will engage with a wide range of literary texts across periods, genres and national traditions, developing the close reading and critical writing skills that literary study demands. The film and television component gives you an understanding of cinema and television as art forms, industries and social phenomena, examining how they produce meaning, construct worlds and engage audiences. Academic research in both fields is cutting-edge and contemporary at Exeter, and the combination of critical analysis and historical contextualisation in both strands develops your ability to think carefully about how texts work and what they do in culture.

A placement year and a year abroad are built into the programme, and work placement opportunities are integrated throughout, giving you professional experience and an international dimension that strengthens your broader formation.

Graduates move into careers across the full range of industries where understanding of literature and screen is relevant. Journalism, broadcasting, publishing, scriptwriting, arts administration, education, and work in literary and film festivals are all common destinations. The critical thinking, research and writing skills the degree develops also transfer well into law, the civil service, communications and the digital media sector.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in literature, film studies, creative writing or cultural studies.