Module options 2027/28

In year two and three of your course, you will be able to choose from a range of optional modules.

These modules are grouped into 'baskets'. You may need to select a certain number of credits from each basket, depending on your course.

Course list

Please select a course from the list below.

English BA

English Language BA

English Literature BA

English Literature with Drama Studies BA

English with World Literature BA

English BA

Year two

Year two Literature provision is designed to provide an overview of the major periods and/or genres of literary history. Year two Language provision is designed to cover several of the major theoretical, historical, and sociocultural approaches to the study of the English language. Students select modules from a range of baskets, as outlined in the details for each semester.

Select two 30-credit modules (or one 30-credit plus SOTA260 and POLI252/GRMN218), but not more than 30 credits from the same basket.

For students taking a year in industry, SOTA260 is a required module. Students taking this module must also take either POLI252 or GRMN218.

A maximum of 30 credits may be taken in modules from outside the English department.

Students from year two onwards may specialise entirely in Literature or Language, but students wishing to take a Language or Literature module in year three must have taken at least 30 credits in that specialism in year two. 

Students taking a significant proportion of Literature modules must ensure coverage of Literature from a broad historical range at year two. To facilitate this, we have a specified group of early modules (roughly pre-1800) and a specified group of modern modules (roughly post-1800). These groups, which are advertised to students as part of their options information, are as follows:

• Early: ENGL213; ENGL214; ENGL270; ENGL272
• Modern: ENGL215; ENGL216; ENGL218; ENGL232; ENGL243.

If a student in year two wishes to take 90–120 credits of Literature modules, they must normally select at least 30 credits from each period group.

If a student in year two wishes to take 60 credits of Literature modules, at least 30 credits must normally be taken from the early group.

If a student in year two wishes to take 30 credits of Literature modules, there is no restriction.

Basket 1 Select up to one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL270	Knights, Enchantresses and Rogues	30
ENGL213	Drama 1580-1640	30
ENGL272	Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature	30
ENGL202	Psycholinguistics	30

Basket 2 Select one 30-credit module, or take SOTA260 and one 15-credit module, for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL243	Victorian Literature	30
ENGL215	British Writing Post-1945	30
IRIS299	Modernist Magazines	30
ENGL221	History of English Language	30
SOTA260	Professional and Career Development	15
POLI252	Political Communication and Public Speaking	15
GRMN218	Weimar Film and Literature	15

Basket 3 Select up to 30 credits for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL276	Language in Society	30

Basket 4 Select up to one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL214	Shakespeare in Context	30
ENGL218	Romantic Literature	30
ENGL232	Modernist Literature	30
ENGL279	Multilingualism in Society	30

Basket 5 Select up to one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL216	World Drama	30
IRIS298	Banned: Fiction, Sex and Limits of Decency	30
ENGL234	Intro to Creative Writing: Poetry & Prose	30
ENGL236	Literature and the Fantastic	30
ENGL220	Corpus and Computational Linguistics	30

Basket 6 Select up to one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL256	Child Language Acquisition	30

Year three

In year three, modules in both the Literature and Language specialisms build on work done in year two, placing greater emphasis on specialisation and independent research.

In line with this, students are required to take a capstone module, which can be a special topic module focusing specifically on a Language or Literature topic (ENGL392; ENGL396), a creative writing project (ENGL398), a Language or Literature dissertation (ENGL390; ENGL394), or a work experience placement (SOTA300).

Students may not take more than one of these modules.

A maximum of 30 credits may be taken in modules delivered by in other departments.

The Literature dissertation and work experience placement are year-long modules. Students taking these modules must also take a 15-credit, basket 2 module in each semester in order to achieve a balance of credits across the year. The rest of the capstone modules take place in the second semester.

Students who were not able to fulfil their Literature period requirement in year two may be able to do so in year three by taking modules with a relevant early/modern period focus.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL302	American Poetic Writing	30
ENGL321	Noir: Literature, Film, Art	30
ENGL347	Breaking the Sentence: Literature and Feminism	30
ENGL383	Language and Literature	30
ENGL430	Language and Globalisation	30

Basket 2 Select 30 credits, or take year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5) and one 15-credit module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL368	Shakescene	30
ENGL327	Renaissance Poetry	30
IRIS488	War Writing	30
ENGL386	The Novel 1740–1830	30
ENGL401	Postcolonial Literature and Theory	15
ENGL301	Millennial Literature and Culture	15
ENGL315	Creative Writing (Drama)	15
ENGL345	Sign to Text	30
ENGL303	Teaching English in a Global Context	30

Basket 3 Select one module for semester two, or take year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL396	Special Topic: Literature	30
ENGL398	Writing Now	30
ENGL390	Language Dissertation	30
ENGL392	Special Topic: Language	30

Basket 4 Select 30 credits, or 45 credits if taking year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5), for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL375	Human and Non-Human Encounters	30
ENGL395	Fin de Siècle	30
ENGL325	Gothic Fiction and Film	30
ENGL487	Writing for Radio	30
IRIS499	James Joyce	30
ENGL397	Games Playing Roles	15
ENGL316	Contemporary Drama	15
ENGL373	Children's Literature	15
ENGL307	Analysing Discourse	30
ENGL400	Language and Gender	30

Basket 5 Select up to one year-long module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
SOTA300	Work Experience Placement	30
ENGL394	Literature Dissertation	30

English Language BA

Year two

Year two modules cover the major theoretical, historical, psychological, geopolitical, and sociocultural approaches to the study of the English language. These are taught collaboratively by several members of staff.

Students must select 60 credits in each semester. For students taking the Year in Industry version of this degree programme, SOTA260 is a required module; students taking this module will also need to take POLI252, but cannot take ENGL221. 

Basket 1 Select 60 credits for semester one. If you choose SOTA260 and POLI252, you cannot also take ENGL221.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL202	Psycholinguistics	30
ENGL221	The History of English	30
ENGL276	Language in Society	30
SOTA260	Professional and Career Development	15
POLI252	Political Communication and Public Speaking	15

Basket 2 Select two modules for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL279	Multilingualism in Society	30
ENGL220	Corpus and Computational Linguistics	30
ENGL256	Child Language Acquisition	30

Year three

English Language modules are designed to allow greater specialisation and generic and/or thematic focus against the background of social, historical, and/or contextual knowledge provided by the modules taught in years one and two.

All students are required to take a capstone module, which can be a special topic module (ENGL392), a dissertation (ENGL390) or a work experience placement (SOTA300). Students may not take more than one of these modules.

The rest of the modules can be selected from a range of baskets, as outlined in the details for each semester below. 

Students opting to take SOTA300, which is a year-long module, will have a credit imbalance in their registration (75 credits in semester 1; 45 credits in semester 2). This may not form the basis of any subsequent application for extenuating circumstances.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL383	Language and Literature	30
ENGL430	Language and Globalisation	30

Basket 2 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL345	Sign to Text	30
ENGL303	Teaching English in a Global Context	30

Basket 3 Select one module for semester two, or take year-long SOTA300 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL390	Language Dissertation	30
ENGL392	Special Topic: Language	30

Basket 4 Select one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL307	Analysing Discourse	30
ENGL400	Language and Gender	30

Basket 5 Choose SOTA300, or take one module from Basket 4. Taking SOTA300 will result in a credit imbalance.
Module code	Module title	Credits
SOTA300	Work Experience Placement	30

English Literature BA

Year two

Year two Literature provision is designed to provide an overview of the major periods and/or genres of literary history. Students select modules from a range of baskets, as outlined in the details for each semester, below.

For students taking the Year in Industry version of this degree programme, SOTA260 is a required module. Students taking this module will also need to take GRMN218.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL270	Knights, Enchantresses and Rogues	30
ENGL213	Drama 1580-1640	30
ENGL272	Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature	30

Basket 2 Select 30 credits for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL243	Victorian Literature	30
ENGL215	British Writing Post-1945	30
IRIS299	Modernist Magazines	30
SOTA260	Professional and Career Development	15
GRMN218	Weimar Film and Literature	15

Basket 3 Select one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL214	Shakespeare in Context	30
ENGL218	Romantic Literature	30
ENGL232	Modernist Literature	30

Basket 4 Select one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL216	World Drama	30
IRIS298	Banned: Fiction, Sex and Limits of Decency	30
ENGL234	Intro to Creative Writing: Poetry and Prose	30
ENGL236	Literature and the Fantastic	30

Year three

Year three Literature modules are designed to allow greater specialisation and generic and/or thematic focus against the background of period knowledge provided by the modules in year two, and encourage research confidence and independence.

In line with this, students are required to take a capstone module, which can be a special topic module (ENGL396), a creative writing project (ENGL398), a dissertation (ENGL394), or a work experience placement (SOTA300). Students may not take more than one of these modules.

The dissertation and work experience placement are year-long modules; students taking one of these modules must also take a 15-credit Basket 2 module in each semester in order to achieve a balance of credits across the year.

The rest of the capstone modules take place in semester two.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL302	American Poetic Writing	30
ENGL321	Noir: Literature, Film, Art	30
ENGL347	Breaking the Sentence: Literature and Feminism	30
ENGL383	Language and Literature	30

Basket 2 Select 30 credits from this basket, or 15 credits alongside year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL368	Shakescene	30
ENGL327	Renaissance Poetry	30
ENGL386	The Novel 1740–1830	30
IRIS488	War Writing	30
ENGL401	Postcolonial Literature and Theory	15
ENGL301	Millennial Literature and Culture	15
ENGL315	Creative Writing (Drama)	15

Basket 3 Select one module, or take year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL396	Special Topic: Literature	30
ENGL398	Writing Now	30

Basket 4 Select 30 credits, or 45 credits if taking year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5), for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL375	Human and Non-Human Encounters	30
ENGL395	Fin de Siècle	30
ENGL325	Gothic Fiction and Film	30
ENGL487	Writing for Radio	30
IRIS499	James Joyce	30
ENGL397	Games Playing Roles	15
ENGL316	Contemporary Drama	15
ENGL373	Children's Literature	15

Basket 5 Select up to one year-long module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
SOTA300	Work Experience Placement	30
ENGL394	Literature Dissertation	30

English Literature with Drama Studies BA

Year two

Year two Literature provision is designed to provide an overview of the major periods and/or genres of literary history.

Students are required to take at least one of the following drama-related modules: ENGL213, ENGL214, ENGL215, or ENGL216.

Students take 30 credits from Basket 1 and 30 credits from Basket 2 each semester, as outlined in the details below.

For students taking a year in industry, SOTA260 is a required module. Students taking this module must also take GRMN218.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL270	Knights, Enchantresses and Rogues	30
ENGL213	Drama 1580-1640	30
ENGL272	Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature	30

Basket 2 Select 30 credits for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL243	Victorian Literature	30
ENGL215	British Writing Post-1945	30
IRIS299	Modernist Magazines	30
SOTA260	Professional and Career Development	15
GRMN218	Weimar Film & Literature	15

Basket 3 Select one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL214	Shakespeare in Context	30
ENGL218	Romantic Literature	30
ENGL232	Modernist Literature	30

Basket 4 Select one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL216	World Drama	30
IRIS298	Banned: Fiction, Sex and Limits of Decency	30
ENGL234	Intro to Creative Writing: Poetry and Prose	30
ENGL236	Literature and the Fantastic	30

Year three

Year 3 literature and drama modules are designed to allow greater specialisation and generic and/or thematic focus against the background of period knowledge provided by the modules in year two, and encourage research confidence and independence.

In line with this, students are required to take a capstone module, which can be a special topic module (ENGL396), a creative writing project (ENGL398), a dissertation (ENGL394), or a work experience placement (SOTA300). Students may not take more than one of these modules.

Students select modules from a range of baskets, as outlined in the details for each semester, below.

The dissertation and work placement are year-long modules; students taking one of these modules will need to select 15-credit modules from Basket 2 in both semesters.

Students must choose at least 30 credits of drama-related modules, from ENGL315, ENGL316, ENGL368, ENGL487, or undertake a drama-focused topic on ENGL394 or ENGL396.

A maximum of 30 credits may be taken in modules from other departments (i.e. IRIS488, IRIS499) across the year.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL302	American Poetic Writing	30
ENGL321	Noir: Literature, Film, Art	30
ENGL347	Breaking the Sentence: Literature and Feminism	30
ENGL383	Language and Literature	30

Basket 2 Select 30 credits from this basket, or 15 credits alongside year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL368	Shakescene	30
ENGL327	Renaissance Poetry	30
ENGL386	The Novel 1740–1830	30
IRIS488	War Writing	30
ENGL401	Postcolonial Literature and Theory	15
ENGL301	Millennial Literature and Culture	15
ENGL315	Creative Writing (Drama)	15

Basket 3 Select one module for semester two, or take year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL396	Special Topic: Literature	30
ENGL398	Writing Now	30

Basket 4 Select 30 credits, or 45 credits if taking year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL375	Human and Non-Human Encounters	30
ENGL395	Fin de Siècle	30
ENGL325	Gothic Fiction and Film	30
ENGL487	Writing for Radio	30
IRIS499	James Joyce	30
ENGL397	Games Playing Roles	15
ENGL316	Contemporary Drama	15
ENGL373	Children's Literature	15

Basket 5 Select up to one year-long module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
SOTA300	Work Experience Placement	30
ENGL394	Literature Dissertation	30

English with World Literature BA

Year two

Year two Literature provision is designed to provide an overview of the major periods and/or genres of literary history. Year two Language provision is designed to cover several of the major theoretical, historical, and sociocultural approaches to the study of the English language.

All students are required to take ENGL216 World Drama, which provides them with a World Literature focus. The remaining modules are selected from a range of baskets, as outlined in the details for each semester, below.

Students from year two onwards may specialise entirely in Literature, but students wishing take a Language module in year three must have taken at least 30 credits in a Language module in year two.

SOTA260 is a required module for students taking a year in industry. Students taking this module must also take one of the other 15-credit modules from Baskets 1 and 2, all of which are provided by other departments (POLI252; ITAL225; GRMN218).

Students taking a significant proportion of Literature modules must ensure coverage of literature from a broad historical range in year two. The required module ENGL216 ensures coverage of modern literature, but to facilitate coverage of earlier periods, we have a specified group of early modules (roughly pre-1800):

• Early: ENGL213; ENGL214; ENGL270; ENGL272.

If a student in year two wishes to take 60–120 credits of Literature modules, they must normally select at least 30 credits from the early module group.

If a student in year two wishes to take 30 credits of Literature modules, there is no restriction.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL270	Knights, Enchantresses and Rogues	30
ENGL213	Drama 1580-1640	30
ENGL272	Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature	30
ENGL202	Psycholinguistics	30

Basket 2 Select 30 credits for semester one, or take SOTA260 and one other 15-credit module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL243	Victorian Literature	30
ENGL215	British Writing Post-1945	30
IRIS299	Modernist Magazines	30
ENGL221	History of English Language	30
SOTA260	Professional and Career Development	15
POLI252	Political Communication and Public Speaking	15
ITAL225	Italy, Africa and the Mediterranean	15
GRMN218	Weimar Film and Literature	15

Basket 3 Select up to one module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL276	Language in Society	30

Basket 4 Select one module for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL214	Shakespeare in Context	30
ENGL218	Romantic Literature	30
ENGL232	Modernist Literature	30
ENGL279	Multilingualism in Society	30
ENGL256	Child Language Acquisition	30

Year three

In year three, modules build on work done in year two, placing greater emphasis on specialisation and independent research. In line with this, students are required to take a capstone module, which can be a special topic module focusing specifically on a literature topic (ENGL396), a literature dissertation (ENGL394), or work experience placement (SOTA300). Students may not take more than one of these modules.

All students are required to take ENGL401: Postcolonial Literature and Theory (15 credits) in the first semester. Students select the rest of their modules from a range of baskets, as outlined in the details for each semester, below.

Basket 1 Select one module for semester one.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL302	American Poetic Writing	30
ENGL321	Noir: Literature, Film, Art	30
ENGL347	Breaking the Sentence: Literature and Feminism	30
ENGL383	Language and Literature	30
ENGL430	Language and Globalisation	30

Basket 2 Select one module for semester one, or year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL301	Millennial Literature and Culture	15
ENGL315	Creative Writing (Drama)	15
MODL304	Terror Remembered	15
MODL332	Remembering Slavery	15

Basket 3 Select this module for semester two, or take year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5).
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL396	Special Topic: Literature	30

Basket 4 Select 30 credits, or 45 credits if taking year-long SOTA300 or ENGL394 (Basket 5), for semester two.
Module code	Module title	Credits
ENGL375	Human and Non-Human Encounters	30
ENGL386	The Novel 1740-1830	30
ENGL395	Fin de Siècle	30
ENGL325	Gothic Fiction and Film	30
ENGL487	Writing for Radio	30
IRIS499	James Joyce	30
ENGL397	Games Playing Roles	15
ENGL316	Contemporary Drama	15
ENGL373	Children's Literature	15
ENGL307	Analysing Discourse	30
ENGL400	Language and Gender	30
MODL326	Comics and Graphic Novels	15
CHIN320	Kung Fu to Anime	15

Basket 5 Select up to one year-long module.
Module code	Module title	Credits
SOTA300	Work Experience Placement	30
ENGL394	Literature Dissertation	30

The information on this page was last updated on 20 August 2026.