English Language and English Literature

English language and English literature is a pairing that illuminates both subjects from a new angle. Literary study attends closely to how language is used in texts, and linguistic study attends closely to how language itself works, and pursuing them together means you are always asking both what a text says and how its language achieves its effects. The scientific rigour of linguistics, with its attention to grammar, phonology, semantics, and the social variation of language, combines with the interpretive and critical traditions of literary study to produce a graduate with unusually rich analytical tools.

At the University of Manchester, this three-year, full-time joint honours degree gives you the opportunity to explore the science of language alongside a wide range of literary texts from different periods and traditions. In the English language component, you will study historical and contemporary linguistics, sociolinguistics, language acquisition, and the structures of the English language, developing a systematic understanding of how language functions. In the literature component, you will engage with texts across a broad chronological and generic range, developing the interpretive, critical, and writing skills that literary study demands.

Manchester is a world-class research university with particular strengths in both linguistics and literary studies, and the programme benefits from that depth of expertise. The typical entry tariff of 152 points reflects high academic expectations.

Graduates of English language and literature are well prepared for careers in publishing, journalism, education, communications, the civil service, law, broadcasting, and the cultural sector. Many go into teaching, either through a PGCE after graduation or through schools direct routes, at secondary level. Others use the combination of linguistic precision and literary sensitivity in roles in editing, speech and language therapy after further training, academic research, or the digital content industries.

Postgraduate study in linguistics, English literature, applied linguistics, or related fields is a natural next step for those who wish to specialise further.