English Literature and Film Studies with Foundation Year

English literature and film studies share a fundamental concern with storytelling: how narratives are constructed, what they reveal about human experience, and how the medium through which a story is told shapes its meaning. Studying these two subjects together allows you to move between the novel, the poem, the play and the screen, developing a rich comparative understanding of how written and visual languages work. Questions of adaptation, representation, genre and cultural context connect the two disciplines in productive ways, and the combination develops particularly sharp skills of close reading and critical interpretation.

At York St John University, this four-year programme begins with a foundation year that provides a thorough grounding in the analytical and academic skills you will draw on throughout your degree. The foundation year is designed for students who are ready to engage seriously with the subjects but who will benefit from additional preparation before entering the main degree. Once you progress into the degree itself, you will explore literature and film across different periods, traditions, styles and genres, engaging with a wide range of voices and perspectives.

A placement year is available, and there is also the opportunity to spend time abroad, both of which enrich your understanding of the cultural contexts that shape the texts and films you study. Work placement experience further strengthens your practical readiness for employment.

Critical thinking is central to both disciplines. You will learn to construct and sustain arguments about complex texts, to engage with theoretical frameworks drawn from literary criticism and film studies, and to communicate your interpretations clearly in writing and discussion. The programme encourages you to question received assumptions about the literary and cinematic canon and to consider whose stories get told and how.

Graduates move into careers in publishing, journalism, education, broadcasting, film and television production, copywriting, marketing, public relations, and the creative industries more broadly. The analytical and communication skills you develop are highly valued across a range of sectors, and further study at postgraduate level in literature, film, creative writing, or cultural studies is a well-established pathway.