English Literature

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

When you study English Literature at Portsmouth, you'll also explore history and politics, society and culture, human relationships and identities, and how we choose to live. And you’re doing it in a city steeped in lively literature, from Charles Dickens to Neil Gaiman.

You’ll learn the skills to critically analyse the purpose, truth and impact of any written text. You’ll also develop the skills to produce your own writing and presentations, so you can communicate original ideas in ways that engage and influence readers.

The combination of creative thinking and rigorous analysis you develop will make you a compelling candidate for all kinds of jobs – from marketing to museums, and journalism to publishing.

Course highlights

• Discover our literary city with the constantly evolving Portsmouth Literary Map – your course begins with a tour of literary Portsea and the Dockyards area, introducing significant places in the lives of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, today's local writers, and plenty more

• Enjoy the freedom to interpret assignments creatively, and develop employable skills in presentation and teamwork, on a course without exams

• Learn directly from staff who produce world-leading research into areas as diverse as magical realism and representations of food

• Build specialist knowledge by choosing the topics that match your interests – from global literature to dystopian and apocalyptic environments, from women’s writing to crime writing

• Develop your own style and build up your portfolio by becoming a contributor to our Writing Literary Portsmouth blog

• Curate your own literary prize or produce a prize pitch, to experience what happens when writing meets the commercial marketplace

• Build a professional network with high-profile figures including authors, agents, publishers, booksellers, judges and critics through our contacts and partnerships

Optional pathways
There is an optional pathway through this degree that lets you combine your literature studies with another interest, leading to the following exit award:

• BA (Hons) English Literature with Media Studies

Careers and opportunities

This degree will set you up to pursue careers in fields where communication and critical thinking matter. Employers in many more industries recognise the value of the transferable skills you’ll gain during an English Literature degree. Your CV will demonstrate:

• sophisticated analytical skills, enabling you to assess texts on any topic

• the ability to think critically and reach your own conclusions

• a flair for presenting and discussing ideas with diverse audiences

• the confidence to say exactly what you mean to say, in writing and in person

• a creative mindset that helps you see things differently

• a well-developed sense of empathy and teamworking skills

What areas can you work in with an English literature degree?

After the course, you could work in areas such as:

• advertising

• journalism

• arts and media

• public relations

• copywriting

• teaching

• research

You could also study at postgraduate level.

Graduate destinations

Roles our previous graduates have gone onto include:

• copywriter

• journalist and editor

• marketing executive

• teacher

• paralegal

• sales executive

• museum curator

Our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job or course that puts your skills to work. After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years as you advance in your career.

Course Modules

The University of Portsmouth is passionate about creating career-focused modules that do more than support your studies, they empower your academic journey and prepare you for what comes next.

We design modules that have:

• Clear themes and skills development as you progress through each year

• Assessments that feel meaningful, often based on real-world tasks rather than isolated exams

• Career-enhancing opportunities such as placements, live projects, enterprise and volunteering

For a full list of the modules you will study on this course, please visit the link to the course page.

https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-english-literature#modules