English Studies and Journalism Studies

English studies and journalism studies is a combination that trains you to engage deeply with language and literature while also developing the practical, ethical, and professional skills of a working journalist. Literature asks you to read with extraordinary attention, to understand how language creates meaning and emotion, and to engage with the full range of human experience as it has been captured in writing. Journalism asks similar questions in a very different register: how do you find, verify, and communicate information to a public audience in ways that are accurate, fair, and timely?

Together, they develop a set of skills, including clear writing, critical thinking, research, and an understanding of how narrative works, that are invaluable in both professional and civic life.

At the University of Stirling, this four-year full-time programme allows you to develop both strands with genuine depth. Your English studies will take you across periods, genres, and critical approaches, developing your capacity to read literature closely, to engage with scholarly debate, and to write essays of sustained analytical quality. Your journalism studies will introduce you to reporting, editing, media law, news values, digital journalism, and the ethical frameworks that govern responsible journalism.

You will learn to produce journalism across different formats and platforms, developing practical skills alongside your critical and theoretical understanding of how the media works. A year abroad is part of the programme, giving you the opportunity to study or work in a different country and to develop the kind of international perspective that is increasingly important in a globally connected media environment.

Graduates of this combination go on to careers in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, communications, public relations, and content creation. The analytical and writing skills that English develops transfer widely, and many graduates also move into education, law, the civil service, and the charity sector. Postgraduate study in journalism, creative writing, or English literature is a natural continuation.