English Literature

English literature is the study of the written word across its many forms and historical periods, an education in how language creates meaning, how stories shape our understanding of the world, and how literature both reflects and challenges the societies that produce it. From Victorian fiction and Renaissance drama to Romantic poetry, American fiction, and contemporary crime novels, the breadth of what you will read is one of the great pleasures of the discipline.

At Edge Hill University, you are invited to lose yourself in great works of literature, to explore other worlds and periods of time, and to fuel your love of the written word in all its forms. The programme develops close reading, interpretive argument, and an understanding of literary history and form, alongside research skills and the sustained analytical writing that is central to English studies. You will engage with the full range of literary traditions, developing the ability to move between different historical periods, genres, and cultural contexts with flexibility and insight.

The course includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement, making this a richly structured programme that gives you professional and international experience alongside the academic content. The typical entry tariff is 104 UCAS points, and the programme is studied full time.

Graduates from English literature programmes go on to careers in publishing, journalism, education, communications, public relations, copywriting, the civil service, the charity sector, and arts administration. The reading, writing, and analytical skills the degree develops are highly transferable. Further study options include postgraduate degrees in English literature, creative writing, publishing, and teaching.