BA English and American Literature
Royal Holloway, University of London
About this course
BA in English Language and Literature and English Literature, American Studies and Creative Writing. Core topics include Research Methods and Critical & Analytical Thinking. The programme covers literature from the medieval period to the present, with dedicated modules in American literature from the colonial era to the twentieth century. A creative writing module is also available within the degree.
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: ABB-BBB (Required subjects: A Level B in an essay-based subject We require English Language and Mathematics GCSE at grade 4 (C)) IB: 6,5,5 at Higher level or 32 points overall. Including a 5 in an essay-based subject at Higher Level
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What students say
Based on about 6 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 83%
- Learning opportunities: 86%
- Assessment and feedback: 92%
- Academic support: 90%
- Organisation and management: 90%
- Learning resources: 93%
- Student voice: 77%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 90%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 10%
What graduates do next
Based on about 6 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 75%
- Working and studying: 20%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 15%
- Sales occupations: 10%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 80%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 60%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 40%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 100 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 2%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 1%
- East Midlands: 2%
- West Midlands: 1%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 43%
- South East: 31%
- South West: 8%
Who gets in
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 95%
- Access course: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Critical Foundations: Thinking As A Critic
- Introduction to Poetry
- Literature and Crisis
- Reorienting the Novel
- Introducing America, 1600-1900
- The American Century, 1900-2000
- American Gothic
- Middle English Poetry
- Tolkien's Roots
- Medieval Dream and Vision
- Strange Fictions: Romance in the Middle Ages
- Renaissance Literature
- Intensive Shakespeare: Comedy, History, Tragedy
- Drama and Witchcraft
- Early Modern Bodies
- Literature after the Conquest: 1066-1340
- Victorian Literature
- Romanticisms
- Creative Writing: Structure and Style
- Literature of the Fin de Siècle, 1883-1903
- Contemporary Debates in Literary and Critical Theory
- Modernisms
- Literature and the Digital
- Ideas in Contemporary Fiction
- On Murder
- Advanced Shakespeare: The Problem Plays
- Literature and Philosophy
- Brexit, Literature and Discipline of English
- James Joyce: Revolutions of the Word
- Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture
- Reading Like a Victorian
- First World War Literature
- The Girl in the Book
- Children's Literature
- The Post-Colonial Novel
- Literature, the Digital and the Creative Industries
- The New York Schools: Poetry, Painting, Composition
- The 1930s British Fiction and the Road to War
- Special Author: Virginia Woolf
- Special Author: Chaucer
- Special Author: Charles Dickens
- Special Author: Herman Melville
- Reading the Waste Land
- Creative Writing Special Focus (Term 1)
- English Dissertation
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London earn?
The median salary is £28,500 after 15 months, £25,500 after 3 years, £31,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £24,500 and £38,500. The £31,000 median after five years is £3,000 more than the UK median for Literature in English.
What do graduates of BA English and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London do next?
90% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA English and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London?
83% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA English and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 133 UCAS points.
Does BA English and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London 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 and American Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London?
90% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.