English
English as a university discipline is concerned with the close study of literature and language, examining texts from across historical periods, forms, and cultural contexts with critical rigour and imaginative engagement. It develops your ability to read carefully, to construct and sustain an argument, and to write with clarity and precision, qualities that are among the most transferable that any degree can build. At its best, English also asks you to engage with ideas about the human condition, about history and power, about beauty and meaning, in ways that are intellectually demanding and genuinely enriching.
At the University of Exeter, this three-year full-time programme gives you the opportunity to study English in one of the UK's leading research-active English departments. You will engage with literature across periods, forms, and critical traditions, developing both the analytical skills and the scholarly habits that serious literary study demands. The programme includes a sandwich placement year and a year abroad, giving you professional experience and international academic exposure alongside your literary education.
Work placement opportunities are also integrated into the degree, ensuring you develop the professional skills and connections that translate academic ability into career readiness. Exeter's student body has spoken warmly about both the quality of the English course and the breadth of experience that studying there provides.
English graduates work in publishing, journalism, broadcasting, education, marketing, public relations, the civil service, law, policy, and the creative industries. The communication and analytical skills the degree builds are valued across virtually every professional sector. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in English literature, creative writing, education, journalism, or publishing, developing specialist expertise and opening further career pathways.
For those who want to write, the discipline provides the most rigorous possible grounding in how language works.