| Qualification | Start dates | Entry requirements | Full- or Part-time | UCAS Code | Assessment | |
| Bachelor of Arts (BA Honours) | January September | A-level: BBB | Level of English required | Full-time | Q3R1 | Exam and Written Assignment |
Course Outline
English Literature here is taught to small groups by energetic and enthusiastic staff, led by Oxford-trained academics with international research profiles in 19th and 20th-century studies. Ideas developed in core seminars are taken forward in weekly small-group tutorials, where half a dozen students are encouraged to discuss and interpret specific passages of writing, under the watchful guidance of their tutor.
Our students are expected to read widely, and to develop strong lines of argument and personal responses to what they find, anchored in an informed understanding of the discipline and with reference to the critical debates that animate it.
The degree is structured around a combination of period study, thematic study, and modules inculcating theoretical and practical skills. Victorian literature modules cover prose from Dickens to Gaskell, and poetry from Browning to Hardy; twentieth-century literature topics range from Rhys, Hurston, Woolf, and Plath to Hemingway, Forster, Larkin, and Beckett. Shakespeare is one central focus. Other earlier writers who are studied include Marlowe, Donne, Webster, Herbert, Milton, Dryden, Centlivre, Swift, Pope, Blake, Wordsworth, Austen, Keats, and Shelley. You can explore some of the modules on this website. Thematic study encourages students to analyse contextually based on sociological variations, gender, contemporary politics, and psychological influences. We encourage the understanding of contemporary literary and cultural theory while never losing sight of the values of liberal/aesthetic education.
Each language we offer is available to study at all levels – from beginners to advanced. You don’t need to worry about choosing which “stage” you are at when you opt to study a language – we will assess your level of language and place you into a group which is suitable for your abilities. As you learn more and more, you’ll move up through the stages.
Our recent graduates have gone on to pursue careers in the media, creative writing, teaching, academia, business and marketing.
Teaching Method
In this department we believe in the surpassing value of the reading, discussing and understanding of great works of literature, not simply as processes that lead to higher levels of employability and the development of valuable critical skills (which they undoubtedly do) but as ends in themselves which are enriching and, ultimately, liberating. Small-group teaching is the key here and we run our programmes through seminars, workshops, tutorials (6 students maximum) and informal one-to-one discussion. A third of the programme is taken up by learning a language to proficiency and beyond.
What our students and alumni say
“Buckingham is a university with an intimate, supportive atmosphere that is hard to beat. Here you are not just another ‘number’ but an individual whose needs matter to all the staff – whether academic or domestic. If you have a problem there is always someone to talk it over with. My A-level tutor warmly advised me to attend this literature course, as she had been both student and lecturer here. Teaching staff here are passionate about their chosen fields and it shows! Being taught with enthusiasm is inspiring and it is primarily that which makes this university so special. Add an English riverside campus, fast track degrees, and access to scholarships, and you have an unbeatable package.”
Setara Pracha (English Literature, 2002)
*Applicants with no previous knowledge of the language must begin in September for a fast-track induction programme. To commence studies in January, applicants must have at least grade ‘C’ GCSE in their chosen language.
