English Language and Literature with a Foundation Year – BA (Hons)

The Our BA (Hons) English Language and Literature programme degree course with a foundation year will support you in developing interdisciplinary skills in both areas, as well as the wider field of humanities.

You will have a unique opportunity to strengthen your critical skills in informed reading and analysis, whilst deepening your appreciation for language and literature. You will develop your writing, close-reading and research skills, and learn to express your arguments coherently and persuasively.

Your language studies will be applied to everyday and professional settings, allowing you to strengthen your understanding of communicative processes, while your literature studies will provide an opportunity to examine literature from all of the major periods, movements and genres. Your degree will allow you to tailor your studies to your individual interests.

About foundation courses

This diverse and creative course incorporating a Foundation Year is a must for anyone passionate about English, whether that be language, literature, drama or creative writing.

As part of the foundation year you will develop essential skills and knowledge which will help you succeed in your future degree level studies and which will be transferable to your future career.

You will study a variety of subjects, including language and literature, drama and creative writing, and will learn how these different aspects of English study interact with one another.

Alongside this, you will develop core skills in research, critical analysis, planning and evaluation, creativity and effective communication. Understanding how English is studied in context, developing that knowledge and applying it through a range of assignments and assessments, will provide you with a strong foundation upon which to progress to degree-level study at the School of English.

What’s covered in the course?

English as a discipline continues to be relevant to the lives we lead and is central to a wide range of contemporary and social contexts. It is this basis on which the School has built its philosophy and approach to English as a subject with interdisciplinary reach beyond its own boundaries.

Understanding how language works in practice, engaging with multiple forms of communication, and examining how language and literature engage with societies and cultures in the past and present, are all vital aspects in understanding how the discipline connects with the wider world, enabling you to focus on the production, interpretation and negotiation of meaning and to understand the world from a variety of perspectives.

You will benefit from student-focused and research-informed teaching in a friendly and supportive learning environment. Our graduates are characterised by their extensive subject knowledge, critical thinking and intellectual curiosity, reflected in the skills and abilities that enables them to adapt to a wide range of career paths and employment opportunities.

The School contributes to the cultural life of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands by: working closely with partner colleges and schools; maintaining close links with cultural institutions such as the Birmingham and Midland Institute (BMI) and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG); and working with agencies such as Writing West Midlands. The aim is to provide opportunities for the community to engage with the discipline and the University.

Why Choose Us?

• You will be taught by world-leading academics and expert practitioners who encourage a community of experimentation, innovation and inclusivity and create an environment in which your learning can flourish.
• The programme offers multiple opportunities for you to collaborate across disciplines in order to gain new perspectives on the relevance of your study in the wider world.
• English is a subject highly-prized by employers for the range of transferable skills it develops. Equipped with a strong subject knowledge, you will develop the ability to work as an independent researcher, to communicate effectively in spoken and written forms, to critically evaluate the work of others, and to respond imaginatively to original briefs.
• English is a global language; its culture has an international reach. Understanding the effects of this and how English has been shaped and reshaped by its engagement with the world at large is a key principle of the programme. You will not only have the opportunity to contextualise English in this way as part of the taught programme but also to take advantage of the study abroad semester offered through the Erasmus scheme in your second year.