BA English
About this course
BA in English, an English degree spanning literature, critical theory and cultural history across diverse periods. Core topics include Research Methods, Critical & Analytical Thinking, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Campus facilities house special literary collections, a cinema museum, and a digital humanities lab. The first year establishes foundational skills through compulsory modules covering critical approaches in Approaches to Criticism, early literature in Beginnings: English Literature before 1800, poetic forms in The Poem, and academic writing techniques in Academic English. Students can additionally select optional first-year modules such as Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry, The Novel, Rethinking Shakespeare, and Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing. In subsequent years, the programme offers a broad choice of optional modules spanning Renaissance and modern literature, creative writing, drama, and cultural studies, including Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640, Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England, Chaucer and His Contemporaries, Renaissance and Revolution, Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750, Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings, Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960, Romanticism, Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century, Adaptations: Text, Image, Culture, Creative Writing: Building a Story, Creative Writing: Making a Poem, British Cultures: The Exeter Seminar, Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres, Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future, Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory, and Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World.
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
A level: AAB. Required subjects: B in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below). *Accepted Humanities and Social Science subjects: Anthropology; Classics and Ancient History; Drama; English; Geography; Government and Politics; History; Law; Media Studies; Modern Languages; Philosophy; Politics; Psychology; Religious Studies; Sociology. IB: 34/665.
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Real offers for this course
Applicants have posted 3 UCAS decisions for BA English (Q300) at the University of Exeter for 2027 entry so far: 3 offers. The published offer is AAB at A level.
Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 94%: 662 offers from 703 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 70 final-year students who answered
- Teaching on my course: 95%
- Learning opportunities: 86%
- Assessment and feedback: 77%
- Academic support: 95%
- Organisation and management: 92%
- Learning resources: 91%
- Student voice: 84%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 120 students who started
- Continued on course: 98%
- Left higher education: 3%
What graduates do next
Based on about 120 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 59%
- Working and studying: 13%
- Further study: 12%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 24%
- Elementary occupations: 9%
- Media Professionals: 9%
- Administrative occupations: 7%
- Artistic, literary and media occupations: 7%
- Find their work meaningful: 77%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 63%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 45%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 440 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 3%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 1%
- East Midlands: 1%
- West Midlands: 6%
- East of England: 8%
- London: 34%
- South East: 22%
- South West: 20%
- Wales: 4%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 120 students who started
- A levels: 96%
- Baccalaureate: 3%
- Access course: 1%
- Other HE qualification: 1%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Approaches to Criticism
- Beginnings: English Literature before 1800
- The Poem
- Academic English
- Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry
- The Novel
- Rethinking Shakespeare
- Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing
- Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640
- Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England
- Chaucer and His Contemporaries
- Renaissance and Revolution
- Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750
- Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings
- Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960
- Romanticism
- Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century
- Adaptations: Text, Image, Culture
- Creative Writing: Building a Story
- Creative Writing: Making a Poem
- British Cultures: The Exeter Seminar
- Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres
- Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future
- Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory
- Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English at University of Exeter earn?
The median salary is £27,000 after 15 months, £25,500 after 3 years, £33,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,000 and £42,500. The £33,000 median after five years is £4,000 more than the UK median for English studies.
What do graduates of BA English at University of Exeter do next?
84% 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 Exeter?
95% 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 Exeter?
The typical offer is AAB at A level. The average entrant had 149 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA English at University of Exeter?
94% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 662 offers from 703 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BA English at University of Exeter 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 Exeter?
98% of students continued into their second year, and 3% left higher education.