BA Philosophy and English
About this course
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English, an English and Philosophy degree focusing on literary analysis, textual criticism, and philosophical inquiry. Core topics include Research Methods, Ethics & Professional Practice, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Compulsory modules build foundational skills in critical writing and reasoning during the first year, while later stages allow students to undertake independent research through an optional dissertation in either English or Philosophy. The first year introduces core concepts through compulsory modules such as Ethics, Reason and Argument, The Act of the Essay, The Novel, and Truth, Knowledge, and Objectivity, alongside optional choices like Applied Ethics and Literary Transformations. The second year shifts towards historical and global perspectives with compulsory modules including Mind and World in the History of Philosophy and The Worlding of English Literature, while offering numerous options such as Moral Philosophy, Epistemology: Knowledge and Evidence, and Scriptwriting. In the final year, students can tailor their studies entirely through diverse optional modules spanning topics like Contemporary Theories of Justice, Islamic Philosophy, American Gothic, and Digital Life: Myths, Social Media, And Artificial Intelligence, complemented by independent dissertation options in English or Philosophy.
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 IB: Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level
See the highest paying Languages & English degrees in the UK →
See the highest paying History, Philosophy & Religion degrees in the UK →
What students say
Based on about 9 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 91%
- Learning opportunities: 80%
- Assessment and feedback: 80%
- Academic support: 91%
- Organisation and management: 68%
- Learning resources: 85%
- Student voice: 85%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 8 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 70%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Further study: 20%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Sales occupations: 15%
- Artistic, literary and media occupations: 10%
- Media Professionals: 10%
- Secretarial and related occupations: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 85%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 55%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 40%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 70 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 1%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 2%
- East of England: 4%
- London: 38%
- South East: 38%
- South West: 10%
- Wales: 3%
Who gets in
Based on about 100 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 94%
- Baccalaureate: 3%
- Foundation course: 2%
- Other HE qualification: 2%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Ethics
- Reason and Argument
- The Act of the Essay
- The Novel
- Truth, Knowledge, and Objectivity
- Applied Ethics
- Faith and Reason
- Freedom and Responsibility
- Literary Transformations
- Philosophy of Race
- Primary and Secondary Education: Critical Observations
- Puzzles about Art and Literature
- The Invention of English Literature: Medieval to Early Modern
- Theory and Criticism
- World Dramas
- Mind and World in the History of Philosophy
- The Worlding of English Literature
- Eve and the Angels: Love, War, and the End of Epic in Milton's Paradise Lost
- AI Utopias and the Climate Crisis
- African Freedoms and the Novel
- Animal Ethics, Animal Minds
- Brief Encounters: Writing Short Stories
- Cities of the Dead: Death, Mourning and Remembrance in Modern Britain
- Cognitive Psychology in Education
- Darwin and the Making of Evolutionary Thought: Myth, Memory, and Modern Society
- Data, Culture, and Justice
- Decolonising Modernity
- Desire and Decay: Literature of the Long Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
- Digital Futures of the Past: Power, Ethics, and Representation
- Epistemology: Knowledge and Evidence
- Ethics of Global Poverty
- Humanities and Professional Practice
- Kant’s Copernican Revolution in Philosophy
- Mind, Matter, Machine: Writing and Technological Change
- Moral Philosophy
- Philosophy of Race
- Philosophy of Religion
- Pirates, Princesses and the Politics of Romance
- Political Philosophy
- Queens, Devils and Players in Early Modern England
- Retail Therapy: A Journey Through the Cultural History of Shopping
- Romantics and Victorians
- Scriptwriting
- Self and Agency in the History of Philosophy
- Self, society, nature, and normativity
- Speech Acts
- The Mind, The Brain, and Consciousness
- Women, Writing and the Canon, 1770-1900
- Burning Worlds, Drowning Worlds: Oil Cultures, Climate Crisis, and Traumatic Desires in World Literatures
- American Gothic
- Business, Morality, and Markets
- Cities of the Dead: Death, Mourning and Remembrance in Modern Britain
- Classical Chinese Philosophy
- Classical Indian Philosophy: Self, Knowledge, and Liberation
- Contemporary Theories of Justice
- Creative Writing in Schools
- Crime and Punishment
- Darwin and the Making of Evolutionary Thought: Myth, Memory, and Modern Society
- Democratic Theory
- Digital Futures of the Past: Power, Ethics, and Representation
- Digital Life: Myths, Social Media, And Artificial Intelligence
- English Dissertation
- Environmental Cinema and Media
- Eve and the Angels: Love, War, and the End of Epic in Milton's Paradise Lost
- Exploring the Hidden Assumptions in Education
- Fantasy Film and Fiction
- Framing the Past:Stardom, History and Heritage in the Cinema
- German-Jewish Writing Across the Twentieth Century
- Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
- Happiness and Wellbeing
- Holocaust Literature
- Islamic Philosophy
- Money and Meaning in American Fiction
- Philosophical Pessimism
- Philosophy Dissertation
- Philosophy and Ethics in Psychology and AI
- Philosophy of Sex, Sexuality, and Gender
- Pirates, Princesses and the Politics of Romance
- Political Philosophy
- Scriptwriting
- Streaming, Social Media, and Stans: Music Culture in the Platform Era
- Telling True Stories: Narrative Non-Fiction
- The Ethics of Belief: Evidence, Truth, and Ideology
- The Ethics of Climate Change
- The Origins of Climate Crisis: Ecology in Victorian Literature
- Utopias and Dystopias in Literature and Culture
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Philosophy and English at University of Southampton earn?
The median salary is £29,000 after 15 months, £26,000 after 3 years, £32,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,000 and £42,500. The £32,000 median after five years is £3,000 more than the UK median for English studies.
What do graduates of BA Philosophy and English at University of Southampton do next?
100% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Philosophy and English at University of Southampton?
91% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Philosophy and English at University of Southampton?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 130 UCAS points.
Does BA Philosophy and English at University of Southampton include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Philosophy and English at University of Southampton?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.