English Literature (Placement Year) BA (Hons)

Lancaster University

Why Lancaster?

• Be encouraged to develop your own critical voice as you discuss and debate with our widely-published scholars and critics
• Get involved with our four student-run literary journals: Cake, Lux, Flash, and Errant
• Be inspired by our rich programme of literary events on campus, online, and in the city’s historic Castle Quarter
• Study close to the beautiful Lake District, home of the Romantic poets, and inspiration for many writers since
• Develop a host of professional skills from within literary study, such as researching, persuading and presenting

Literary study at Lancaster offers a rich and creative engagement with the very best of literature, from the medieval period to the present day. You’ll have the chance to explore everything from ancient myths and Renaissance sermons, through to nineteenth-century slave narratives, graphic novels and the latest video games.

Creative criticism

We were one of the very first universities in the UK to teach creative writing, and are now pioneers in radically creative forms of literary criticism. This means your course work for, say, Hamlet, could take the form of a dramatic monologue or dream narrative, instead of a traditional essay, if that is what interested you.

Literary study here entails a deep dive into literature and an appreciation of how literature explores many other worlds – politics, ecology, philosophy, psychology, theology, film and fashion. To support this, in your first year if you wish you can study one or two subjects outside of English Literature.

Support and study trips

Your lectures will be supplemented by regular small-group seminars. We also encourage you to meet one-to-one with your tutor to discuss your work. You will be able to select from a wide range of modules and, in your dissertation, free to explore a literary topic or theme of your own choosing.

Many of our special literary events, such as talks from visiting scholars and authors, take place in the University Suite at Lancaster’s spectacular medieval Castle. Some modules include trips to the theatre or the Lake District. The University also offers short, overseas study trips outside of term time. You can also study English Literature with a study abroad year.

Your Placement Year

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.