Best universities for BA Joint Honours English &amp; French degree?

I have no idea about the Oxford course, as I didn't apply - so can't give you an opinion on that. In my opinion the best is Warwick, as the university make an effort to interrelate the two subjects, which is just awesome :biggrin:

If you're asking for ones which are AAB, I'd say Leeds is the best out of the lot. It's got a bloody amazing English and French department, with loads of module options for each subject. Plus, you can even do electives outside the two subjects in your first 2 years, if you fancy it :smile:

I applied to Warwick, Leeds, UCL, Nottingham and Manchester by the way. My firm is Warwick, Leeds is my insurance. Exeter isn't really for me as I prefer a more urban environment. I went to visit Durham and just didn't warm to the place at all. Cambridge don't offer this course.

Reply 2

OP

Original post by yabbayabba

If you're asking for ones which are AAB, I'd say Leeds is the best out of the lot. It's got a bloody amazing English and French department, with loads of module options for each subject. Plus, you can even do electives outside the two subjects in your first 2 years, if you fancy it :smile:

Thank you! Yes I guess I am pretty much asking about AAB uni's as a lot of them are asking for that I think. Leeds looks pretty good! I'll have to have a look at it though, I'm probably more of a rural (exeter person) but I also love the cities :smile:

But what are 'electives'?

Reply 3

My AAB choices were Nottingham and Leeds. I chose Nottingham as my insurance. They're both worth a look I would say for universities around those grades. You could look at Birmingham for an ABB, I know a few people who applied there so it must have something going for it, although I haven't personally visited.

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Original post by imogenmaryy

Thank you! Yes I guess I am pretty much asking about AAB uni's as a lot of them are asking for that I think. Leeds looks pretty good! I'll have to have a look at it though, I'm probably more of a rural (exeter person) but I also love the cities :smile:

But what are 'electives'?

Leeds would be a good choice :smile:

About Exeter, not sure about the entry requirements for 2012, but for 2011 they were AAA-AAB, which basically means AAA in the majority of cases. Maybe they'll offer someone AAB if they really like them, they're poor or there's not much competition, I don't know.. just something to consider if you want to avoid AAA universities.

Electives are random modules in any subject you can choose to do outside English and French (if there's no timetable clash). May not be important to you, but it's something I liked about Leeds, allows me to try new things :smile:

Folie

My AAB choices were Nottingham and Leeds. I chose Nottingham as my insurance. They're both worth a look I would say for universities around those grades. You could look at Birmingham for an ABB, I know a few people who applied there so it must have something going for it, although I haven't personally visited.

I had to choose between those two for my insurance choice as well. I chose Leeds as both departments were good. The English department at Nottingham isn't really my style (should have looked into it before applying). The emphasis on drama (actual acting, rather than just studying plays), Old English and English language didn't really appeal to me to be honest. The Leeds English department had modules that appealed to me, the French department also has more variety to it. But whatever floats your boat :smile:

Why did you choose Nottingham, just out of interest? :smile:

Birmingham is a good mention too, that would have been my next choice, if 6 choices were available.

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Original post by yabbayabba

I had to choose between those two for my insurance choice as well. I chose Leeds as both departments were good. The English department at Nottingham isn't really my style (should have looked into it before applying). The emphasis on drama (actual acting, rather than just studying plays), Old English and English language didn't really appeal to me to be honest. The Leeds English department had modules that appealed to me, the French department also has more variety to it. But whatever floats your boat :smile:

Why did you choose Nottingham, just out of interest? :smile:

Birmingham is a good mention too, that would have been my next choice, if 6 choices were available.

I'm interested in the Old English and Drama aspects, and seeing as you're able to drop one of the 4 'strands', I can get rid of English language, which isn't really my thing. It's not my ideal course (hence the insurance) but it seemed pretty interesting and broader than my other options. I also loved the uni and campus, whereas I wasn't quite as keen on Leeds, although the city and SU are great. I agree about the range of English modules at Leeds though, it's pretty impressive. the French departments are both big, although I know Leeds is a little bigger, but I felt like they both had a good range of options and I think I liked the sound of more of the Nottingham ones (more literature?) but I can't remember any very clearly now as it's a while since I made my decision. Both good uni's though, I would have been happy to put either one down in the end.

Reply 6

OP

thanks for your input guys, I think i'll see what I get, but probably aim for Nottingham and Leeds if I get AAB predicted next year at A2 :smile:

I actually love acting, and wasn't aware you had the chance to do this in an english/french degree at uni! Guess I'll look into all the different modules at open days I have coming up :smile:

Although electives also sound promising as I'm into that as well...

It seems these two are the best options for AAB (I also have looked into Sheffield.. did anyone have a look at the course for this and not decide to choose it?)

Reply 7

Yeah I looked at Sheffield and decided it wasn't for me - the French looked good, but I wasn't keen on the English and way the course was structured - the English is structured in chronological order, which is a bit bizarre to begin with, but doing joint honours meant fewer modules, so effectively you skipped periods and lost the continuity.

Just my personal opinion of course, and doesn't mean you should disregard it without looking into it yourself. Other places I looked at if you want to hear about any of them: Durham, Warwick, Edinburgh... There must be others but I've forgotten some I think.

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Original post by Folie

I'm interested in the Old English and Drama aspects, and seeing as you're able to drop one of the 4 'strands', I can get rid of English language, which isn't really my thing. It's not my ideal course (hence the insurance) but it seemed pretty interesting and broader than my other options. I also loved the uni and campus, whereas I wasn't quite as keen on Leeds, although the city and SU are great. I agree about the range of English modules at Leeds though, it's pretty impressive. the French departments are both big, although I know Leeds is a little bigger, but I felt like they both had a good range of options and I think I liked the sound of more of the Nottingham ones (more literature?) but I can't remember any very clearly now as it's a while since I made my decision. Both good uni's though, I would have been happy to put either one down in the end.

Yeah both are definitely great unis. I had a hard time choosing between them. Well I am interested in Old English and English language too, but those are things I'd like to do as modules here and there, rather than them being forced upon me and making up a major part of my degree. I fell in love with the Nottingham campus too. I think that's what I liked most about the place! But of course, I told myself an awesome campus doesn't necessarily mean an awesome uni experience. I personally thought there was more literature in the Leeds French department. What I didn't like at Nottingham were the tight module restrictions in both subjects in the first year. There's not much choice.. whereas at all my other choices there was slightly more leeway and variety. Anyway, Nottingham is definitely a good insurance :smile:

There's also Cardiff (kind of wished I applied there), Sussex, Leicester, Glasgow, Southampton, Newcastle, Queen Mary and Liverpool. All good universities. You're pretty much spoiled for choice :smile:

Also bare in mind that many of universities vary dramatically in how competitive they are. Some aren't particularly competitive, whereas others are because they only offer about 3 places or something ridiculous like that.

Reply 9

OP

Original post by yabbayabba

There's also Cardiff (kind of wished I applied there), Sussex, Leicester, Glasgow, Southampton, Newcastle, Queen Mary and Liverpool. All good universities. You're pretty much spoiled for choice :smile:

I have thought about Cardiff, but I got slightly confused. The website says AAA for English & French I believe, yet it's pretty low down in league tables for both subjects? Also I didn't understand the difference between their RQ13 English and French course, and other universities QR31 course..

Also last time I checked Sussex had no French/English course? Am I wrong about this? :/

Original post by yabbayabba

Also bare in mind that many of universities vary dramatically in how competitive they are. Some aren't particularly competitive, whereas others are because they only offer about 3 places or something ridiculous like that.

Yes this is a very good point! Is there any way you know of to find out how many places each offers? Nottingham is the only one that I could find had the information in their prospectus, and it's made me incredibly worried as there's only 10 places!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 10

lil_emd11

I have just completed this degree at Royal Holloway. I think there were 5 of us taken on in this course. I had the best four years of my life and would really recommend this uni!! I know it has dropped in the tables recently but I don't really understand why. The teaching staff, esp in the French department are fantastic, you have a lot of options for courses, and the campus is absolutely beautiful, with a huge castle!

Reply 11

About the number of places: remember they will give put more offers than there are places (some will reject them, some will insurance, some will miss their grades). It is difficult to measure the competitiveness of a course, but if statistics on applicants: offers are available this is a better resource than applicants: place. (incidentally, Nottingham appears to have cut the numbers there - I swear it was something like 14 or 17 this year? I'll have a look later.)

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 12

OP

Original post by lil_emd11

I have just completed this degree at Royal Holloway. I think there were 5 of us taken on in this course. I had the best four years of my life and would really recommend this uni!! I know it has dropped in the tables recently but I don't really understand why. The teaching staff, esp in the French department are fantastic, you have a lot of options for courses, and the campus is absolutely beautiful, with a huge castle!

That does sound lovely, but I should have mentioned I can't really go to any university in London unfortunately due to financial reasons!

Original post by Folie

About the number of places: remember they will give put more offers than there are places (some will reject them, some will insurance, some will miss their grades). It is difficult to measure the competitiveness of a course, but if statistics on applicants: offers are available this is a better resource than applicants: place. (incidentally, Nottingham appears to have cut the numbers there - I swear it was something like 14 or 17 this year? I'll have a look later.)

Yes that's a good point, I wonder how many applicants they have each year to English and French at somewhere like Nottingham..

Reply 13

Original post by imogenmaryy

I have thought about Cardiff, but I got slightly confused. The website says AAA for English & French I believe, yet it's pretty low down in league tables for both subjects? Also I didn't understand the difference between their RQ13 English and French course, and other universities QR31 course..

Also last time I checked Sussex had no French/English course? Am I wrong about this? :/

Universities can give whatever grade offer they like really (within reason), so offers don't necessarily reflect subject league table positions (or Leeds, for example, would automatically offer AAA if this were the case). Cardiff must have been attracting plenty of candidates who are predicted/have got AAA, I imagine. It is a good university in general after all. I didn't look into the course there, so I can't help you on that. (I only slightly regret not applying there as I have a friend who goes there and she's having an awesome time :biggrin:

)

By the way, one thing I've learned (I've done this whole UCAS thing twice) is to take league table positions with a pinch of salt. They're a good rough guide, but not the be all and end all. Just because one uni is 5th in the tables and another say 11th, doesn't mean that there's necessarily a huge difference between the two. Plus, the Times league table may say one thing, the Guardian the exact opposite. Choose which university is right for you, not what league tables tell you :smile:

Oh, don't take much notice of the codes. I didn't really. Pay attention to the course content. If the course content is 50% French and 50% English Literature (assuming that's what you want) then you're fine. I think Manchester's course code is RQ13 as well, if I remember correctly, but it's still English Literature and French joint honours - just like the others :smile:

Maybe Sussex have taken away the course for 2012... just had a look and Sussex do offer the course:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/english/prospectivestudents/studying/englishliterature

Scroll down and there's a list of English joint honours, it's under English and a Language. :smile:

Yes this is a very good point! Is there any way you know of to find out how many places each offers? Nottingham is the only one that I could find had the information in their prospectus, and it's made me incredibly worried as there's only 10 places!

Just e-mail them and they'll tell you. Honestly, this information was soo useful to me when applying the second time around, it just gives you an idea of the competition as it's often not obvious. Often if you're rejected from a course they give you the application statistics (perhaps a thousand applicants for 60 places, or something). You then feel like the application was a bit of a waste of a UCAS option, as the statistics were against you in the first place. Most universities will give you the information no problem, a few you have to struggle to get the info, but if you pester them you'll get it :wink:

.

By the way Royal Holloway isn't technically in London, just outside of it. In Berkshire or Surrey I believe.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 14

OP