You’ll follow a flexible programme of study, which introduces you to the methods and approaches of different disciplines, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting.
You’ll benefit from an intensive, engaging degree designed to improve your confidence and communication skills supported by a community of practitioners and theorists. This combined degree not only develops the skills of research, literary scholarship and storytelling but also equips you to use these skills powerfully across a whole range of modern-day media platforms.
In your first year, a core literature module will equip you to read and interpret both traditional and contemporary literary texts critically, as a scholar of English literature. Alongside this you can choose to revisit Shakespeare and consider his cultural relevance today through fictional, cinematic and TV adaptations; or deepen your understanding of Gothic writing by tracing its origins back to the Romantic era. In the first year of your journalism studies, you will be introduced to three key skills—research, writing and interviewing and think about the ethical dilemma journalists face every day.
In your second year, you’ll focus on period-based literature from the Renaissance onwards and gain an understanding of literary history; from Elizabethan verse and drama, via Augustan poetry and the emergence of the novel in the 18th century, to the radical transformations of the Victorian age, and the emergence of modernity in the twentieth century. You’ll also have the opportunity to consider ways of reading that go beyond textual analysis or historical context, such as understanding literature through the political or ideological lens of Marxism, feminism and post-colonial theory. In journalism, you will learn the skills of broadcast radio, how to find news, create a magazine and study some of the great journalism campaigns from Watergate to the Black Lives Matter campaigns. You can choose a work experience module, Literature at Work, which explores English in the classroom and aspects of the literary heritage industry. The module is centred around a six-week work placement where you’ll gain valuable transferable skills. Our students have worked as school classroom assistants, in publishing houses or attractions such as London’s Charles Dickens Museum and Dr Johnson’s House.
Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too. You’ll decide in your second year with us, so there is still plenty of time to think about this.
In your third year, you’ll have the chance to specialise, tailoring your literary study to reflect your own interests. Themed options include children’s literature, young adult fiction, Renaissance tragedy, European crime fiction, literary adaptations, and the culture of print in the 18th century. Your study of English Literature will enhance your ability to analyse and synthesise complex ideas, and to express yourself clearly in both written and spoken English. In your final year of journalism, you will have the opportunity of doing work experience within journalism or a related field, studying international reporting, creating your own journalistic website, and building a journalism portfolio. Through our pitch-to-a-professional scheme, you may get the chance to try out your ideas on a professional journalist and meet industry practitioners through our series of talks by people working in the communications industry, some of whom are former graduates of UH.
