English with Placement Year

English as a university discipline is concerned with the study of literature, language, and culture, asking how texts work, what they mean, how they were produced, and what they tell us about the societies and minds that generated them. It is a discipline that trains close reading and careful attention to language, and that situates individual works within broader literary, cultural, historical, and theoretical contexts. A degree in English develops the analytical, interpretive, and communicative skills that are among the most broadly valued in the graduate job market, and it does so through engagement with some of the most significant imaginative work produced in the English language.

At Brunel University London, this programme includes a placement year, giving you the opportunity to spend time in a professional environment between your academic studies. That professional experience is a genuine asset when you graduate, providing both practical skills and a clearer sense of how your academic abilities translate into employment contexts. Brunel's London setting is itself a resource, giving you access to cultural institutions, publishing houses, media organisations, and the creative industries in one of the world's most significant cultural capitals.

Graduates from English degrees work in publishing, journalism, education, communications, public relations, advertising, the civil service, the creative industries, and the charitable sector. The analytical rigour and precise writing skills you develop are valued in almost any professional context that requires clear thinking and effective communication. Teaching at primary and secondary level is a common path, as is publishing in its many forms.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in English literature, creative writing, journalism, publishing, or education, deepening their expertise and developing specialist professional knowledge.