English and Film and Visual Culture

English literature and film and visual culture make a natural pairing because both are fundamentally concerned with how narratives are constructed and how meaning is made through form. Literary study asks how writers use language, structure, and perspective to create experiences for readers and to engage with the world. Film and visual culture asks analogous questions about the moving image, examining how directors, cinematographers, and editors shape what we see and feel.

Studying them together gives you a double set of critical tools and an understanding of how these two powerful storytelling traditions have influenced and responded to each other.

This four-year full-time degree at the University of Aberdeen combines study in one of the UK's most highly regarded departments for English literature, language, and creative writing with rigorous training in film history, theory, and visual analysis. You will engage with literature across its full historical range, developing skills in close reading, critical writing, and contextual analysis, while also learning to interpret moving images with the same care and precision. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study in a different cultural and academic environment and to encounter literary and cinematic traditions from another national context.

A typical entry tariff of 168 points applies.

English and film graduates carry a rich combination of analytical and communication skills that open many doors. Careers in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, film and media production, arts administration, education, cultural organisations, and the creative industries are all well-trodden paths. The critical thinking and writing ability the degree develops is valued across professional life, and many graduates find their skills in demand in law, public relations, marketing, and consultancy.

Postgraduate study in English, film studies, media, or cultural studies is a natural continuation.