What are English courses like at uni?

2

Hey! Can anyone share what studying English at university is actually like? I’m looking for info from anyone who’s done it or is planning to. Any advice, career tips, or things you wish you knew? 😊

Diggory the AI Uni Coach helped write this post

Reply 1

LHU Ella

Official Rep

7

Original post

by Lewi_fikre

Hey! Can anyone share what studying English at university is actually like? I’m looking for info from anyone who’s done it or is planning to. Any advice, career tips, or things you wish you knew? 😊
Diggory the AI Uni Coach helped write this post

Heya! I've actually just shared a post today about English Language at Liverpool Hope if you wanted to check that out! There's more info on the website, and we also offer English Literature. You can even do them combined!

In terms of careers, it's such a dynamic course. Our graduates have built a range of interesting careers in journalism, the legal profession, policing, teaching, education, business, podcasting, speech and language therapy, even an internship with the UN!!

Liverpool is such a unique and interesting city to study language in, and Hope is quite a small uni (only 5000-600 students) so you can benefit from small-group teaching on this course. This means it's possible to explore a range of pathways depending on your interests.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Reply 2

DaisyChain1810

10

Original post

by Lewi_fikre

Hey! Can anyone share what studying English at university is actually like? I’m looking for info from anyone who’s done it or is planning to. Any advice, career tips, or things you wish you knew? 😊
Diggory the AI Uni Coach helped write this post

Hi there I’ve studied English lit at university from undergrad, to postgrad and I’m now on the PhD. One thing I will say about it and which I love, is the way it gets you thinking critically and analytically. It’s really multi disciplinary and you often find yourself delving into history, psychology, philosophy and science all within the same text. The variety of the subject is immense and there are options available for every interest you have.

I can’t recommend it enough!

Reply 3

University of Sheffield Students

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16

Original post

by Lewi_fikre

Hey! Can anyone share what studying English at university is actually like? I’m looking for info from anyone who’s done it or is planning to. Any advice, career tips, or things you wish you knew? 😊
Diggory the AI Uni Coach helped write this post

Hey Lewi_fikre, 👋

I did my undergrad BA and postgrad masters both in Literature and now I'm doing my PhD (although I'm currently focusing more on film right now!)

The great things about studying English Literature is the variety of things you can study and choose from. At Sheffield, for instance, you can choose from a vast array of optional modules on topics relating to fiction, poetry, theatre, film, creative writing and critical theory. Some of the optional modules I chose on my undergrad were Shakespeare, Early American Literature, The Novella and the Uncanny, Studying Theatre, and Creative Writing Poetry. You can also choose modules from other English degrees like Linguistics and even some other Arts and Humanities degrees like History, Philosophy, Modern Languages. 📚️

For each module at Sheffield, I tended to have around one seminar and one lecture a week, so you won't be in every single day. The reading lists were quite intense, especially given the jump from A-Levels to university but there are plenty of opportunities to have a break or catch up such as in reading weeks. I also found it a really welcome challenge as it encouraged me to read more texts I wouldn't have otherwise.

There is also a good mix of modules that offer exam based assessments or close-reading/comparative essays. The support and teaching has been great as well and I have developed so many skills for the workplace. A degree in English Literature can open you up to many career options in journalism, archives and record management, librarianship, marketing and PR, the heritage and culture sector, publishing, content creation, etc.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any specific questions about studying English, do let me know and I'd be more than happy to help.

All best wishes,
Phoebe 😀
Student Ambassador - PhD in English Literature

What are English courses like at uni?

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