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English Literature and Philosophy at Durham University - UCAS

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2024 - 20252025 - 2026
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Durham University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Course summary

If you’re fascinated by literature from different cultures and times and have an interest in the big questions about how the world works and what makes us human, this course could be for you. The Joint Honours in English Literature and Philosophy is a thought-provoking, cross-disciplinary degree that will challenge the way you think about the world. It develops your skills, knowledge and understanding across the two subjects through the study of a range of philosophical and literary texts, important concepts, questions, arguments and methods. The syllabus is equally weighted between the two subjects with modules such as Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism exploring the intellectual connections between the two areas. You will be taught by subject experts with wide-ranging specialisms across both disciplines. Course content is informed by the research expertise of teaching staff which keeps the course relevant and up to date. In the first year you will build a strong foundation in both disciplines. The course broadens out in the second year, offering a wide selection of optional modules that give you plenty of opportunities to tailor the course to your interests. In the final year you will research and produce a dissertation on an area of your choice in either subject area. You also have the flexibility to choose optional modules from both subjects which allows you to follow your areas of specialisation in greater depth. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree; this would increase the course from three years to four.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules: Introduction to Drama introduces the work of, and critical debate about, a wide historical range of drama and dramatists writing in English, typically covering work from the following areas: the medieval, early modern, Restoration and Augustan, Romantic, Victorian, and twentieth and twenty-first century: post-medieval dramatists to be covered might include, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Behn, Gay, Shelley, Wilde, Shaw, Beckett, Kushner and Butterworth. Introduction to the Novel introduces ways of reading English novels and various contexts for studying them. You will be familiarised with strategies for engaging with fictional texts formally as well as historically, by situating the novels studied in their distinctive cultural environments while also being taught the ways in which novelistic form and technique have changed over time. Introduction to Poetry introduces a wide range of poems by poets writing in English from the early modern to the contemporary periods including some American poetry. You will develop your understanding of traditional major verse forms, modes of organisation and genres (e.g. blank verse, the couplet, the stanza, lyric, elegy, sonnet, epic, pastoral, ode, open form). Ethics and Values provides a structured introduction to moral philosophy, including applied ethics, by exploring key moral concepts and showing how they influence moral practices and theories. Knowledge and Reality introduces philosophical problems in epistemology (the study of knowledge), and metaphysics (the study of reality and ourselves). Reading Philosophy allows you to acquire an understanding of the issues of interpretation and comprehension in reading primary authors, through a detailed study of four thematically related texts. Year 2 Core modules: Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism introduces the presuppositions and principles of literary criticism and issues of knowledge, value and ideology arising from the practice of reading. You will develop an independent critical sense in your own practice of reading, contextualised against the history of theory and criticism. Moral Theory examines morals and ethics. It provides a detailed study of important moral theories past and present, covering areas that include consequentialism, contractualism, rights and virtue, morality and personhood, moral realism and expressivism. Examples of optional modules: Philosophy of Mind; Language, Logic, and Reality; Early Modern Philosophy; Political and Social Philosophy; Renaissance Literature; Victorian Literature; American Poetry; Modern Poetry; Contemporary US Fiction and the Question of Genre. Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a placement year or year abroad) Core module: The final year includes a Dissertation in either English Literature or Philosophy. The dissertation is an extended creative and advanced research project requiring either high level literary analysis, or intensive critical engagement with your own philosophical position and argument. Examples of optional modules: Restoration and 18th Century Literature; Literature of the Romantic Period; Old English; American Fiction; Twentieth-Century European Philosophy; Applied Ethics; Issues in Contemporary Ethics; Metaphysics.

Assessment method

Most modules on the degree will be assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations. The final year will culminate with a dissertation.

How to apply

This course has limited vacancies, and is no longer accepting applications from some students. See the list below for where you normally live, to check if you’re eligible to apply.

EU

Wales

England

International

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland

31Jan

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

Course code:
QV35
Institution code:
D86
Campus name:
Durham City
Campus code:
O

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Our contextual offer for this programme is A level AAB (or equivalent, with at least an A in English Literature). To find out if you’re eligible, please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/how-to-apply/what-happens-to-your-application/contextual-offers/.

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/entry/

English language requirements

Durham University welcomes applications from all students irrespective of background. We encourage the recruitment of academically well-qualified and highly motivated students, who are non-native speakers of English, whose full potential can be realised with a limited amount of English Language training either prior to entry or through pre-sessional and/or in-sessional courses. It is the normal expectation that candidates for admission should be able to demonstrate satisfactory English proficiency before the start of a programme of study, whether via the submission of an appropriate English language qualification or by attendance on an appropriate pre-sessional course. Acceptable evidence and levels required can be viewed by following the link provided.

English language requirements

https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/international/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
50%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
80%
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

Republic of Ireland £9250 Year 1
Channel Islands £9250 Year 1
EU £25500 Year 1
England £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
International £25500 Year 1

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

There may also be additional course costs for things like books (if you want to purchase them), field trips etc.
English Literature and Philosophy at Durham University - UCAS