
Sonya Andermahr
Reader in English Studies
English BA (Hons)
DiscoverUCAS Code:
BA: Q300
BA with Foundation: Q301
Level:
Undergraduate
Duration:
Full Time: 3 years
Full Time Foundation: 4 years
Part Time: 4 - 5 years
Starting:
September
Fees UK 24/25:
Full Time: £9,250
Part Time: £1,540 per 20 credit module
Integrated Foundation Year: £9,250
Fees International 24/25:
Full Time: £15,200
Integrated Foundation Year: £15,200
Location:
For questions regarding study and admissions please contact us:
This dynamic and diverse English BA (Hons) course provides a thorough exploration of English Literature, where you can plot your own pathways through a range of themed strands and in-depth module topics, all regularly taught by dedicated, enthusiastic and research-active tutors. We offer a supportive learning environment where you can feel safe and empowered to explore new ideas, develop your love of literature and learn vital life skills for your future career.
At the centre of our newly updated BA English programme is diversity and relevance. This means we study texts representing a range of voices and identities, embracing the latest cultural debates and searching out literary expressions from revolutionaries or the marginalised, but also looking deeply into the rich heritage and history of the literary arts across the ages and through the full range of literary genre. We care deeply about what literature can show us of the world in all its complexity, and the degree in English programme taps into this passion for hearing all voices and witnessing the history and breadth of literary expression.
Updated 21/11/2023
The modules on this English BA (Hons) course are organised into distinctive strands that allow students the chance to develop their knowledge from year to year and apply skills they’ve learned across different stages. For example, in a strand called ‘Rethinking Identities’, we raise the question of which authors are taught right from the start in a module called ‘Decolonising the Bookshelf’, with a particular focus on race and ethnicity. But these same ideas return in the second year of the BA English degree with ‘Representing Class: Stories and Conflict’ and in the third year with ‘Bodies and Performances: Sex and Gender’, and in this way students are able, if they choose, to fully develop their understanding of literary expression, representation and recognition across a broad range of literary texts.
While one strand focuses on literary periods, perspectives and historical contexts, another focuses on types of writing and other media in the digital age, or how society both shapes and is shaped by literature. Yet none of the strands exist in isolation, with meaningful connections between modules in each level. While one strand is focused on skills and applications – with explicit focus on how to develop your abilities on the programme and for the workplace beyond – these skills are used and developed in every module, and every strand offers opportunity to demonstrate your employability.
What’s more, all our BA English modules are rooted in staff expertise and a shared passion for literature. In offering modules focusing on ecology and the environment, children’s and young-adult writing, contemporary revisioning of the works of Shakespeare, American literature and culture, gothic worlds, and digital culture, the course offers every student a breadth of topics that will stimulate your imagination and hone your critical thinking. By your final year, you get to follow your own passions and expertise, by selecting a dissertation on a literary topic of your choice and really showing what you can accomplish.
The team of English degree lecturers is big enough to offer a variety of modules, but small enough to provide you with a close-knit learning environment. You will know your tutors personally and see them regularly and you will regularly find someone to help you with your academic study, and to provide pastoral support hand-in-hand with Northampton’s excellent student support services.
Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 23/24. The modules relating to the academic year 24/25 will be available from June 2024.
General entry requirements apply. A typical offer would be:
For more information on how to make an application, please visit our How to Apply page.
If you are an International student and would like information on making an application, please see our How to Apply page.
Admission to this foundation course is normally:
However, we would also like to hear from you if you have professional or industry experience instead, a range of other qualifications or self-developed subject knowledge that relates to the course you wish to study.
All International and EU students applying for a course with us must meet the following minimum English language requirements:
For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 24/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
We do ask that you buy the prescribed primary texts for each module. We carefully review the costs of every module each year, so that they do not exceed £100 per module. In practice, by using libraries, freely available online resources and second-hand copies of books, costs are often less than half of this total figure.
On the English BA, you will have the chance to attend a range of research seminars, conferences, field trips and other activities beyond the curriculum for free or at minimal cost.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 23/24 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
We do ask that you buy the prescribed primary texts for each module. We carefully review the costs of every module each year, so that they do not exceed £100 per module. In practice, by using libraries, freely available online resources and second-hand copies of books, costs are often less than half of this total figure.
On the English BA, you will have the chance to attend a range of research seminars, conferences, field trips and other activities beyond the curriculum for free or at minimal cost.
For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.
For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.
At the University of Northampton, everything we do, from funded trips to paid internships, is to give you everything you need to make a difference when you leave.
If you join this full time English degree at Northampton, you will receive a laptop when your course begins*. The laptops are built to a bespoke custom specification ideal for use in the seminar room, collaborative group work or studying at home.
Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd. We’ve created the Northampton Employment Promise because we are so confident that if you focus on your studies and complete one of our awards you’ll be highly employable by the time you graduate. Putting you in a great position to secure employment or continue your studies.
To check out the full list of perks, visit our Student Perks page or dedicated International Perks page.
*UK fee payers only (see Terms and Conditions for further details).
The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.
If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year programme which includes an Integrated Foundation Year. The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award.
Our four-year courses will enable you to successfully follow the degree pathway of your choice while gaining essential study skills. The foundation year of your chosen degree will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting the transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.
English modules are assessed through a variety of methods, including essays, individual and group presentations, blogs, participation in online discussion groups, creative writing, podcasts and formal examinations. From the outset on the English BA course, we teach you the skills you will need through your degree and transferable skills that will be vital to your career.
You will engage with texts through extensive reading and consolidate your own responses by studying intellectual, theoretical and historical contexts. You will be taught through seminars and group discussions which will critically inform your ideas and allow you to share and discuss them with your fellow students.
We also provide the chance to develop your writing and apply your understanding of the world to employment-related tasks, with opportunities for working toward live-client briefs (where your success is measured against what real-world employers are looking for, rather than sticking only to tutor-led assessment briefs), to get a direct taste of work-based learning and real employment environments.
On the degree in English, you will benefit from:
"University helped me to become an individual who knows her interests, passions, and goals . . . now that I am in a role that I love, I can attach a lot of that success to my foundations in the English degree." Neeve Lloyd
Reader in English Studies
English BA (Hons)
DiscoverSenior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
DiscoverSenior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
DiscoverSenior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing
English BA (Hons)
DiscoverSenior Lecturer in English & Screen Studies
English BA (Hons)
DiscoverSenior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
DiscoverEnglish BA students who have studied with us have gone on to a variety of careers, including:
In addition, many BA English students go on to postgraduate study including the University of Northampton’s Contemporary Literature MA.
"I adored my course, my fellow students, and tutors. My biggest regret was not going to university sooner." Abbie Shannon