English Language and Literature (Placement Year) BA (Hons)

Lancaster University

Do you want to study a wide range of authors, genres, historical periods, literary movements, techniques and critical approaches? Would you like to combine this with discovering how the language at the heart of key literary texts actually functions? A joint English Language and Literature degree could be the answer.

You’ll be taught by one of the country’s largest Linguistics and English Language departments and an English Literature department that provides a vibrant array of authors, genres, historical periods, literary movements, techniques and critical approaches.

The core modules in your first year will give you a good foundation in English Language and English Literature. We’ll cover plays, films, short stories, novels and poetry from the sixteenth century to the modern day. You’ll study lexis, grammar and phonetics as well as descriptive concepts such as accents and dialects.

In your second year you’ll study core modules of Stylistics and The Theory and Practice of Criticism. You’ll also be able to choose from modules ranging from British Romanticism to The Language of Advertising. In your final year you are free to specialise in genres and periods that especially interest you such as Advanced English Phonetics, Victorian Gothic or Forensic Linguistics.

Our English Language and Literature degree helps you develop an analytical approach to working. It teaches the skills of data analysis, academic writing, and argumentation, and we are confident that our teaching, combined with your willingness to learn, will put you in a strong position to move forward in your career.

Your Placement Year

Sometimes known as a year in industry, your placement year will take place between your second and final year of study and this will extend your degree to four years.

A placement year is an excellent way to...

• try out a role that you may be interested in as a career path
• start to build your professional network (some placement students are offered permanent roles to return to after they graduate)
• develop skills, knowledge and experience to put you ahead of the field when you graduate

You'll spend your third year in a paid, graduate-level position, where you’ll work for between nine and twelve months in the type of role that you might be considering for after you graduate. A very wide range of companies and organisations offer placements across all sectors.

As a full-time employee, you’ll have a detailed job description with specific responsibilities and opportunities to access training and development, the same as other employees.

Our Careers and Placements Team will help you to secure a suitable placement with expert advice and resources, such as creating an effective CV, and tips for applications and interviews. You will still be a Lancaster University student during your placement and we’ll keep in touch to check how you are getting on.

The university will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.

If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year.