English & Film

English and film is a combination that takes two of the most powerful storytelling forms seriously as objects of critical inquiry. English literature asks how written texts produce meaning, how they are embedded in their historical and cultural contexts, and what reading carefully and critically reveals about language, imagination, and human experience. Film studies applies comparable questions to the moving image, examining how cinema constructs its effects, how directors, cinematographers, and editors make choices that shape what audiences see and feel, and how film culture intersects with questions of identity, politics, and representation.

At Edinburgh Napier University, this four-year, full-time degree includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study English and film in a different national context and to experience how both disciplines are approached within different cinematic and literary traditions. Edinburgh itself is an excellent city for the study of both: it has a strong literary heritage and hosts the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Napier's location gives you access to a vibrant cultural life that enriches your studies. You will read widely across English literary history while also engaging with film from Hollywood to European art cinema and beyond, developing analytical skills that apply across both media.

The year abroad adds an international comparative dimension. A typical entry tariff of 152 UCAS points reflects the programme's academic expectations.

English and film develops close reading, critical writing, and the interpretive skills to analyse both written texts and moving images, along with an understanding of how media shape culture and culture shapes media.

Graduates pursue careers in film, television, and digital media, in education, publishing, journalism, content creation, the arts, and criticism. Many proceed to postgraduate study in film studies, literary criticism, screenwriting, or media production.