In first and second years you will study three literary genres: poetry, drama and prose fiction; from Shakespeare to the present.

Year 1

Initially, you will consider the sorts of difficulty that are presented to readers by literary texts and how to handle them in critical writing. You will then go on to look at the development of notions of the self. At the same time you will be introduced to essential skills in the study of literature from various genres and periods. The writers you studied in recent years Shakespeare, Austen, Brontë, Dickens, Woolf, Beckett and Roth.

You will also study two other subjects in year 1 according to your interests: see Degrees in Arts, Science and Social Sciences.

Year 2

In second year you will build on your reading and analytical skills, applying these to more conceptually challenging texts. You will examine the relationship between literature and ideology, and then consider a selection of novels, poems and plays which either question the processes of their own composition, or achieve their meaning in relation to other texts.

Writers studied in recent years include Milton, Swift, Kipling, Joyce, Spark and Achebe.

You will also study one or two other subjects in year 2 according to your interests: see Degrees in Arts, Science and Social Sciences.

Years 3 and 4

If you progress to Honours (years three and four) you will have scope for more specialised study with a significant degree of choice, including American literature, Irish literature, literary theory, cultural and postcolonial studies, and literary and linguistic computing, as well as being able to concentrate upon major literary periods.

You can choose to study English Literature as a Single Honours degree or in combination with another subject (Joint Honours).

Single Honours students choose eight courses to study across two years. You will be required to write a dissertation as one of these courses.

Joint Honours students choose four courses to study across two years, alongside courses from the other subject. One of these courses may be a dissertation.

It is also possible to submit a 10,000-word folio of creative writing.

The University is home to the highly regarded Edwin Morgan Centre for Creative Writing. Professional writers are in residence and can provide advice and encouragement.

Glasgow maintains agreements with a range of universities in North America as well as further afield. As well as sending students to the University of British Columbia (in Vancouver) and SUNY Albany (in the USA), in recent years we have also sent students to Hong Kong, Otago (in New Zealand) and Melbourne.

AAn Honours degree in English Literature opens up a wide range of career opportunities, such as administration, journalism and publishing, marketing, management, teaching (at home or overseas), public relations, accountancy and media research.