Goldsmiths, University of London has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
Course summary
Our BA English degree gives you the opportunity to develop the critical and verbal skills needed for confident, effective reading of literary texts and criticism.
- Bold, flexible, and richly diverse, the BA in English offers you a world of literature and language. You will be taken on a thrilling intellectual and imaginative journey from the Caribbean, New York, and Victorian London, to the American South via 1980s Northern Ireland, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Belarus, India, and Algeria. Along the way, we encourage you to ask big, complex, and often challenging questions about how to read literature in all its cultural, artistic, and political contexts ranging from the analysis of bear-baiting in Early Modern drama, the role of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th century novel to the impact of the #metoo and Black Lives Matter movements on 21st-century literature, film, and culture.
- You will travel across histories, cultures, and languages and be encouraged to engage in a huge variety of debates around, for example, gender and sexual identity, the Transatlantic slave trade, climate change, feminism, Caribbean writing, indigenous literature and philosophical ideas about what it means to be human across time.
- With a focus on both creative and analytical thinking as well as on rigorous communication and research skills, your degree in English is full of choice, offering you the opportunity to design your own curriculum. You could specialise in the study of language and communication, or in ‘world literature’, or in American literature and culture. You’ll also have a chance to take up one of our Work Placements, two of which are with Poetry London, and take a Creative Writing module specifically designed for BA English students.
- Diversity of texts – Read both traditional and non-traditional texts alongside other cultural works such as films, photography, museums, and visual arts.
- Work placements – you’ll have the option to do a work placement as part of your course.
- Transferable skills & Careers Support – our degree prepares you for a range of careers by developing your communication, analytical, and research skills.
- Intensive pastoral care and academic support – we offer three years of support for your essay writing and research skills as well as a dedicated pastoral care system tailored to your individual needs.
- Experience London – our location allows you access to the wealth of cultural institutions and opportunities that London offers right on your doorstep.
Modules
Year 1 In your first year, you will take the following compulsory modules. Explorations in Literature Approaches to Text Introduction to Poetry The Short Story You will also choose two of the following option modules: Introduction to US Literature and Culture: America and its Discontents Introduction to Comparative Literature Understanding Language in Use Year 2 In your second year, you will study the following compulsory modules. Literature and Power in the Victorian Period Goldsmiths' Social Change Module You will also choose three modules from a range characterised by wide literary, historical, and contextual scope, of which at least one must encompass pre-1800 literature. You will also have the opportunity to complete the Goldsmiths Elective which allows you to take a relevant module from another department across the College. Modules may vary from year to year, but recent modules have included: (Re)writing America: from the nineteenth century to the present day 18th-Century Literature Aesthetics Black British Literature Classical Epic and Contemporary Literature Contemporary Indigenous Literatures: Place, Politics and Identity Contemporary London Poetry Creating the Text Discourse and Society Modern American Fiction Moderns Old English Renaissance Worlds Sensibility and Romanticism: Revolutions in Writing and Society Shakespeare Sociolinguistics: Language use, Variation, and Identity Staging Women’s Voices: Feminism and Writing (Enlightenment to now) Work Placement (English) Year 3 In your final year, you'll complete a 30 credit dissertation on a topic of your choice, and choose 3 to 6 modules depending on their credit value. Modules may vary from year to year, but recent examples have included: American Gothic Approaches to Language and the Media Caribbean Women Writers Contemporary Indigenous Literatures: Place, Politics and Identity Creating the Text Decadence Language and Gender Modern American Fiction Modernism and Drama (1880-1930) Moderns Poetry since 1945 Renaissance Worlds Sensibility and Romanticism: Revolutions in Writing and Society Shakespeare’s Sisters: Contemporary Women’s Writing 1960s to the present Studies in Literature and Film The Art of the Novel The Emergence of Modern America: American Literature 1890–1940 Word Power: How Words are Born, Live, and Die Work Placement (English) Writing Lives Dustbowl to Dreamfactory: American Cinema & Writing in the 1930s Writing, Culture and Society Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment method
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects.
How to apply
29Jan
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Application codes
Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
- Year 2
Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)
120 credits at Level 4 and a 2:1 average in a comparable programme, and meet the standard qualification requirements for entry to Year 1 of the programme.
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - Not accepted
A level - BBB
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) - DDM
Access to HE Diploma - D: 30 credits
Scottish Higher - BBBBC
Scottish Advanced Higher - BBC
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme - 33 points
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017) - H2, H2, H2, H2
T Level - M
English language requirements
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6.5 | With a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 |
Student Outcomes
Operated by the Office for Students
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
Go onto work and study
The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
To find out more about fees and funding, please check our undergraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office https://www.gold.ac.uk/ug/fees-funding/
Provider information
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
Lewisham
SE14 6NW