English and Linguistics
English and Linguistics is a combination that examines language from two complementary angles. English literature asks what texts mean, how they are constructed and what they reveal about the human experience and the cultures that produced them. Linguistics treats language itself as the object of scientific study, investigating how sounds, words, sentences and meanings are structured, how language varies across communities and contexts, and how it is acquired and processed.
Studied together, the two disciplines give you an unusually rich understanding of how language shapes and is shaped by human experience.
At the University of York this three-year full-time degree gives you access to an extensive range of modules across two strong departments. On the English side you will explore literature across all periods, from ancient classics to contemporary writing, with options to engage with global literatures and with film and creative writing. On the linguistics side you will work with language analytically, engaging with syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology and sociolinguistics and developing the ability to handle raw linguistic data with rigour.
The programme is flexible enough to be tailored to your own interests across both subjects, and includes a sandwich year, a year abroad and a work placement, giving you substantial opportunities for professional and international experience.
Graduates from English and Linguistics degrees go on to a wide range of careers. Many find roles in publishing, journalism, communications, marketing and content creation, where high-level language skills and analytical awareness are directly applicable. Others work in education, language teaching, speech and language therapy, data and technology companies with natural language processing needs, and public sector communications.
The degree also provides excellent preparation for postgraduate study in linguistics, English literature, applied linguistics, TESOL, computational linguistics or related fields.