English

Explore English language and literature to understand how they reflect and are influenced by the culture, technology and economics of different places and historical periods.

Study a range of texts including classic literary forms such as the novel, poetry, and plays, but also theatrical performances, films, essays, reviews, and critical and cultural works, developing your ability to read and respond critically.

You’ll explore the power of the English language in communication, and how it expresses and reflects global issues such as ideologies, culture wars, conflict, social justice, equality, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability.

Studying English will give you a broad interdisciplinary experience where you can develop your own areas of interest and expertise.

1st in the East of England for undergraduates employed as managers, directors or senior officials. Source: GOS 2025.

Develop transferable skills valued by employers, including literacy, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and research

Study in Cambridge, home to major publishing houses and over 30 English language schools

Expand your network and your knowledge at events with professional writers, publishers and language teachers

Showcase your work and make new contacts at events organised by our Cambridge Writing Centre

Get support from expert lecturers, including published authors and our Royal Literary Fund Fellows

Explore topics from other subjects on optional modules, including writing, film, media, sociology and politics

Careers

Gain vital skills particularly valued by business leaders, including narrative communication, empathy and perspective taking, critical analysis, synthesis of and managing complex data, creativity and imagination, and digital skills.

You’ll also develop transferable skills valued by employers from all industries, including literacy, creative thinking, problem-solving, research, and computer/digital skills.

Every year of the course, your core modules include employability sessions as well as live briefs, which allow you to devise solutions for industry professionals, giving you work experience and connections for your future career.

The skills you develop can transfer to a wide range of occupations, including journalism, teaching, business, law, consultancy, administration, librarianship, and the Civil Service.

Figures from the Department for Education show that English is the joint fourth subject for annual average wage growth at 6.2%, and a key contributor to the creative industries, the fastest growing part of the UK economy. 25% of SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy) graduates work in the creative sector – currently worth £84.1bn to the UK. By 2030, it’s expected that there will be 900,000 new jobs in this sector. (Source: Qualified for the Future (PDF), The British Academy).

Or you might choose to stay at ARU and study a Master’s degree, like our MA English Literature or MA Intercultural Communication. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship to get 20% off your fees.

Teaching

In Year 1 you’ll explore periods of literary history, learning to use writing as a tool for thinking and discovering approaches for your critical analyses.

You’ll also learn about semiotics and structuralism, sociolinguistics, and the development of the novel.

In Year 2 you’ll examine interpersonal communication in a culturally diverse world, consider what it means to be ‘woke’, and continue building your knowledge of literary history.

Finally, you’ll complete a major research project on a topic of your choice, and learn to communicate your ideas to a range of audiences through a variety of formats.

*=optional.

Year 1: How Texts Work; Introduction to the Study of Literature and Writing; Deconstructing Communication; Language, Communication and Society; The History of the Novel; Into ARU.

Year 2 : Ruskin Module; Bridging Cultures; Woke Wars; From Modernism to the Millenium; Sounds and Communication *; Podcasting *; Nineteenth Century Literature and the Environment *; Nineteenth Century Afterlives and Adaptations *; Professional Placement *; Digital Media Theory: Social Media, AI, and the Cultures of the Internet *; Online Journalism *; Crocodiles, Pirates and Moon-men: Renaissance Encounters *; Science Fiction *; Performing Shakespeare *; Writing Short Fiction *; Philosophy of Art and Image *; Key Paradigms 2: Sociology and Politics *; Writing Creative Non-Fiction *; Cult Media *; Digital Stylistics ; Anglia Language Programme.

Year 3: Prejudice and Ideologies; Research Communication; Major Project; New Media Discourse *; Communication Disorders *; The Cultural Politics of Celebrity *; Spectacle and Representation in Renaissance Drama *; Literature and Exile: Displacement, Identity, Self *; Crime and Detective Fiction *; Renaissance Magic *; Writing Poetry *; Language and the Law *; Communication, Flesh, Philosophy *; The Making of Modern Media *; Life Writing *; Key Paradigms 3: International and Global Perspectives in Education *; Film Journalism *; Digital Methods *; Anglia Language Programme *

We’ll use a range of methods to assess your progress, including essays, portfolios, self-reflection, and presentations. These will allow you to engage with multidisciplinary resources in a collaborative and structured manner, and with practical or ‘real world’ contexts in which you can explore and evaluate concepts and arguments. Alongside tools such as open-form project work (including creative multimedia outputs) and peer assessment, they will also help you develop key transferable skills. The Major Project acts as the capstone for your degree. You’ll work on a detailed piece of research that builds on earlier course materials and perspectives to create a final project in a format agreed with your supervisor, but equivalent to 10,000 words.