English and Media Studies
English and media studies examines how literature and media together shape the ways in which culture understands itself and communicates its values, conflicts, and possibilities. English brings close attention to the written word, developing the skills of interpretation, close reading, and critical analysis that allow you to engage deeply with literary texts across poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction. Media studies provides theoretical frameworks for understanding how mass communication works, how institutions produce and circulate content, how audiences make meaning from what they receive, and how digital transformation is reshaping the media landscape.
The University of Sussex's programme, which includes a foundation year, a sandwich year, and a year abroad, gives you both a supported entry into degree-level study and extensive opportunities to enrich your academic experience through professional and international exposure. Sussex has a strong tradition of critical cultural inquiry, and the programme reflects this in its engagement with questions about how texts, whether literary or media, function within broader power structures, represent social groups, and shape cultural norms. You will examine the relationship between literary forms and media practices, understanding how stories migrate between books, films, television, and digital platforms, and what happens to their meanings in transit.
The year abroad gives you the opportunity to study in a different cultural and media environment, broadening your reference points significantly.
You will develop skills in close reading, critical writing, research, and the analysis of both textual and visual material, which are transferable across a wide range of careers.
Graduates pursue careers in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, digital media, communications, cultural organisations, education, public relations, and the creative industries. Many also proceed to postgraduate study in English literature, media studies, journalism, or cultural policy.