BA English
About this course
BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature, combining literary study with linguistic analysis. Core topics include Research Methods, grounded in modules covering Shakespeare and early modern drama, Enlightenment literature, modernist experimentation, postcolonial writing, and sociolinguistic variation. An optional placement year is available between the second and final stage, and a collaborative English Conference module culminates in the writing and delivery of a conference paper. A double Independent Study module in the final year enables an in-depth, supervisor-guided research project.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff: 112 A level: BBC (At least a grade C in English or related subject (or equivalent qualification)) T Level: Merit BTEC: DMM GCSE: GCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 15, Merit: 24, Pass: 6. Must include passes in compulsory Level 3 subjects English language: IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)
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What students say
Based on about 12 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 99%
- Learning opportunities: 99%
- Assessment and feedback: 98%
- Academic support: 100%
- Organisation and management: 97%
- Learning resources: 96%
- Student voice: 88%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 40 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 80%
- Left higher education: 15%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 13 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 5%
- Further study: 20%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Artistic, literary and media occupations: 25%
- Customer service occupations: 20%
- Sales occupations: 20%
- Teaching Professionals: 5%
- Elementary occupations: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 55%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 20%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 35%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 75 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 1%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 9%
- East Midlands: 61%
- West Midlands: 14%
- East of England: 6%
- London: 2%
- South East: 5%
- South West: 1%
- Northern Ireland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 40 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 95%
- Access course: 5%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Placement Learning and Professional Development
- Theorising Literature and Meaning (PDP)
- Enlightenment Literature
- Shakespeare and Early Modernity
- Mutants and Monsters: Interpreting Fantasy
- World Literatures in English
- Key Concepts in Linguistics
- Literature, Identity and The Real
- Nineteenth-Century Realism: Conscience and Context
- The English Conference
- Research in Practice
- Modernism
- Poetry and Revolution in the British Romantic Period
- Language and Society: Sociolinguistics
- Ideology, Discourse, and Power
- English Independent Study (PDP)
- Advanced Research in Practice
- After The Modern: Existentialism and Postmodernism
- Colonialism and Independence
- Eighteenth-Century Literature: Terror Wit and Letters of Love
- Gender and Identity in Contemporary Literature
- Modern and Contemporary Poetry
- Riots and Rebels: Studies in Intercultural Drama
- The Art of Crime
- Tragedy
- Language and Mind: Psycholinguistics
- The Globalisation(s) of English
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English at University of Derby earn?
The median salary is £24,000 after 15 months, £19,500 after 3 years, £23,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £20,000 and £27,500. The £23,500 median after five years is £4,500 less than the UK median for Literature in English.
What do graduates of BA English at University of Derby do next?
85% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA English at University of Derby?
99% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA English at University of Derby?
The typical offer is BBC at A level. The average entrant had 98 UCAS points.
Does BA English at University of Derby include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA English at University of Derby?
80% of students continued into their second year, and 15% left higher education.