English
English at degree level is one of the most demanding and rewarding intellectual pursuits available to a humanities student. It requires the ability to read complex texts with precision and insight, to engage with the long history of literary and cultural production in the English language, to construct rigorous and well-reasoned arguments in writing, and to communicate ideas clearly across different audiences. These capacities are not narrowly vocational but broadly transferable, and they are valued by employers across an extraordinary range of sectors.
At the University of Plymouth, this full-time three-year programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad and work placement opportunities, giving you substantial professional and international experience alongside your literary and critical studies. You will engage with some of the earliest written texts that underpin Western literature, developing a historical understanding of how literary traditions have evolved and how texts relate to each other across the centuries. You will also study contemporary literature and develop analytical frameworks for reading across different genres, periods and cultural contexts, building both your critical vocabulary and your personal repertoire as a reader and writer.
English graduates go on to careers across an extraordinary breadth of sectors. Teaching at secondary and further education level is a major route, with many graduates completing a PGCE and entering the classroom. Journalism, publishing, communications, marketing, public relations, broadcasting, the civil service, law and arts administration are all common destinations.
The creative industries, the charitable sector and international development organisations also regularly recruit English graduates who combine strong critical thinking with the ability to write and communicate with precision and clarity. Postgraduate study in English literature, creative writing, language or education is a natural continuation for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.