BA English with Philosophy
Royal Holloway, University of London
About this course
A BA in English Language and Literature and Philosophy. Core topics include Research Methods and Critical & Analytical Thinking. Modules include medieval literature from Beowulf to Chaucer, Shakespeare studies covering comedy, history, and tragedy, and European Philosophy from Kant to Hegel. Additional modules cover epistemology, philosophy of mind, and Victorian and modernist literature.
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 5 in an essay-based subject at Higher Level.
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What students say
Based on about 41 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 88%
- Learning opportunities: 84%
- Assessment and feedback: 82%
- Academic support: 86%
- Organisation and management: 79%
- Learning resources: 85%
- Student voice: 79%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 70 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 87%
- Left higher education: 13%
What graduates do next
Based on about 16 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 60%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 10%
- Unemployed: 5%
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: 70%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 55%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 25%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 25 graduates, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- East of England: 10%
- London: 55%
- South East: 25%
- South West: 5%
Who gets in
Based on about 50 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): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Encountering Medieval Literature: From Beowulf to Chaucer
- Critical Foundations: Thinking As A Critic
- Shakespeare
- Reorienting the Novel
- Introduction to Poetry
- Problems of Knowledge
- Introduction to European Philosophy 1: Kant to Hegel
- Mind and World
- 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
- Poetic Practice
- Visual and Verbal in the Long Nineteenth Century
- 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
- Literature, the Digital and the Creative Industries
- Shakespeare on the Global Stage
- Creative Writing Special Focus (Term 1)
- English Dissertation
- Modern European Philosophy 1: Husserl to Heidegger
- Modern European Philosophy 2: Critical Theory and Hermeneutics
- Recovering Reality
- Philosophy and the Arts
- Practical Ethics
- The Varieties of Scepticism
- Philosophy of Psychology
- Modern French Philosophy
- The Philosophy of Religion
- Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy
- The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English with Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London earn?
The median salary is £24,000 after 15 months, £25,500 after 3 years, £31,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £25,500 and £39,000. 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 with Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London do next?
80% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA English with Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London?
88% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA English with Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 113 UCAS points.
Does BA English with Philosophy 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 with Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London?
87% of students continued into their second year, and 13% left higher education.