Study English in a welcoming and flexible environment. Our English degree combines a diverse curriculum with open-minded thought and a thriving arts scene. We offer expert teaching and the transferable skills which make English graduates so popular with employers.
Our English degree revolves around a spine of modules that provides a supporting framework to the three-year course. The modules have been designed to expand your skills in reading, debating, writing and editing English texts, and in developing individually researched ideas. Student choice is an important consideration in organising a varied and dynamic curriculum which is why we offer a broad range of optional modules. You can focus your studies on a variety of modules in areas including: The British Tradition, American literature, Women's writing, and new literatures in English.
This course is taught by a team of eminent researchers, critics and writers. In the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 85% of NTU English research was assessed as world leading or international quality. For you this means that the course is informed by the latest thinking and you'll learn from people with a real passion for their subject.
Joint Honours
You can also combine English with one or two other subjects as part of our Joint Honours programme.
Any questions?
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Telephone: +44(0)115 848 4200
Please note the following information for applicants
What will I study?
Year One
Compulsory
- Arguing about English
- Foundations of Literary Studies
Optional
- Texts and Contexts
- Exploring English Language
- The book Group: Reading Texts in Small Groups
Year Two
Compulsory
Optional
- Critical Theory: Debates and Directions
- Radical Recoveries ,1650-1850
- 20th-Century Texts: Revolution of the Word?
- Romantic Revolutions
- Discourse Analysis
- Writing Nations and Borders: American Literature 1780-1920
- Mad on the Subject of Degeneration: Fin de Siècle Literatures
- Black Writing in Britain: Nation and Contestation
- Early Modern Identities
- Renaissance Literature 1485-1660
Year Three
Compulsory
Optional
- Monsters and Cannibals: Renaissance
- Travel Writing in English 1550-1650
- Haunting the Nation: Gothic Fiction in Historical Context
- Postcolonial Texts: Narratives of Liberation
- Queering the Modern
- Reading Gender and Sexuality
- States of Suspense: The Literature of Nuclear Anxiety
- Travel Writing
- Literary Linguistics
- Theory Now: Literature, Culture, Politics
- Early Modern Drama
- Times of Terror: Literature and Culture Post-9 / 11
For full details of the modules available and details of what you will be able to study please download our module booklet. 
How will I learn?
We ensure that your learning experience is varied and gives you transferable skills that you can put into practice for years to come. Most modules involve discussions, presentations, group work, and independent project work. Tutorials in the first year will help you settle in quickly and help you to make the jump to University level study.
Student support and guidance
The English team at Nottingham Trent University prides itself on encouraging students to become independent learners. Carefully structured courses, and a sign-up tutorial system (so students can talk to staff on a one-to-one basis) help students to settle in and identify what is expected of them. The School of Arts and Humanities runs a full Study Support programme offering further guidance and support.
As one of our graduates you will possess a wide range of academic and transferable skills.
Academically, the study of English gives you knowledge of a wide range of literary texts and knowledge of the power of the written word. You gain an understanding of the complex nature of language and the ability to evaluate theoretical viewpoints. This ability to undertake close textual analysis is a great life skill as well as being of benefit to a whole range of employment activities.
However, the major transferable skill of all English graduates is the ability to communicate effectively both in speech and in writing. Other skills include, amongst others, time management , critical reasoning and textual analysis, research methodology and problem solving. These skills are invaluable for a wide range of occupations and settings, which is why the immediate and longer term destinations of English graduates are so diverse.
Although graduates have gone on to develop their careers within large well known organisations (such as Marks & Spencer, BBC etc.) many graduates are forging successful careers in small to medium sized companies which reflects the nature of the UK economy. Graduate roles include publishing, marketing, PR, retail and finance.
Some students choose to progress to further study , either to continue their research within English, or to gain more directly vocational qualifications such as journalism, teaching, law and social work.
A compulsory placement is not appropriate for this course, which aims to develop a range of subject-specific and transferable skills. However, all students at NTU have the opportunity to take a regional placement or an international exchange in the second half of their second year of study. English at NTU has established links, for example, with the New Art Exchange in Nottingham.
You can apply for this course through the UCAS website.
Find out more about applying for an undergraduate course at NTU.
