English Language and Literature

English Language and Literature is a degree that treats the study of language and the study of literature as complementary rather than separate enterprises. Language gives you the analytical tools to examine how texts are constructed: the grammar, syntax, rhetoric and style through which writers shape meaning and create effects. Literature gives language study its richest material: texts that exploit the possibilities of the language with full creative and intellectual intention.

Studying both together produces a more complete and more versatile engagement with the English language than either alone provides.

At Birmingham City University, the three-year full-time BA offers a balanced programme that reflects the multidisciplinary character of contemporary English studies. You will develop as both a reader of texts and a critical analyst of language, with an emphasis on precise attention to how language works and what its effects are. The programme covers a range of literary periods and genres alongside core linguistics content, and you will learn to apply both close reading and linguistic analysis to the texts you encounter.

The degree includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you the opportunity to connect your academic study to professional experience in areas such as publishing, education, journalism or communications.

Birmingham is a major cultural city with a rich literary history and an active publishing, journalism and creative media sector, providing a stimulating backdrop for language and literature study.

Graduates work in publishing, journalism, copywriting, content creation, education, communications, public relations, human resources and the arts. The precise analytical and writing skills the degree develops are broadly transferable and valued across many professions. Postgraduate study in English, linguistics, creative writing, education or journalism is a well-established next step for those who want to specialise.