English Literature and History

You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. The course requires a considerable amount of directed independent learning, consisting of reading primary and secondary sources, writing formative and assessed essays, and preparing tutorial and seminar assignments.

Teaching is research-led from the outset, with a gradually increasing focus on the development of your own research skills as you progress through your degree.

Weekly lectures are supplemented by small-group tutorials and seminars. Specialist research, analytical and writing skills are developed in formative essays and individual feedback sessions, which play a key role in the delivery of the degree and in academic progression.

Assessment

Most modules will be assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations.

The third year will culminate with a dissertation, a large research project undertaken in either the English or History Department, giving you the opportunity to engage, at an advanced level, with creative cutting-edge research at the forefront of the discipline.

A level offer – A*AA

including History and English Literature (or the combined English Literature and Language).

Contextual offer – AAB

including History and English Literature (or the combined English Literature and Language).

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma – D*DD and A level requirements as above.

IB Diploma score – 38 with 666 in higher level subjects, including History and English Literature or English Literature/Language.

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• We also consider other level 3 qualifications, including T-levels.
• We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements and from mature students with non-standard qualifications or from those who may have had a break in their study.
• We welcome enquiries regarding applications for deferred entry which may be considered in special circumstances. Please contact us using www.durham.ac.uk/study/askus/

Alternative qualifications

• Other UK qualifications

• EU qualifications 

• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

English language requirements

Country specific information

Full Time Fees

Full-Time Study

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full-time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full-time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and will be subject to an annual inflationary increase expected to rise throughout the programme of study. The fee listed above is for the first year of the course only; fees for subsequent years will be confirmed not less than 3 months before the start of the academic year to which the increase is intended to apply and will be published on the Finance webpages.

In deciding the annual level of increase, the University will take into account inflationary pressures on the costs of delivery. Tuition fees will rise annually by up to the higher of:

• 6%, or
• the latest annual percentage increase in the Consumer Prices Index.

Part-Time Study

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of part-time study and are charged proportionately to the Full-Time fee. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Academically, we inspire our students to develop as analytic, sensitive and creative readers and writers, yet an English Studies degree is worth so much more. We aim to transform students into independent thinkers with the ability to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. It’s this skill set, coupled with effective organisational and research skills, that makes them so highly valued across a range of work environments. Outside of the classroom, we offer regular lectures and workshops that focus on personal development and key employability skills.

Graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and sectors, including roles in arts and theatre management, broadcasting, publishing and journalism, technical writing, business, marketing and advertising, teaching, higher education, law, the third sector and government.

Of those students who graduated in 2021-22

• 89% of our UK/EU graduates were in paid employment or further study 15 months after graduation

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

Our aim is to make you better at thinking, speaking, and writing for yourself; and better at critically assessing the words that others speak and write. Thinking analytically, arguing clearly and concisely - these are fundamental skills in many jobs. Our graduates have gone on to find successful careers in a wide variety of fields. They work in teaching at schools and universities, in museums and galleries, in law, finance, banking and accountancy, the Civil Service, the charity sector, media, journalism, and the military and further study.

Of those students who graduated in 2021-22

• 87% of our UK/EU graduates were in paid employment or further study 15 months after graduation

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

Spanning texts from Chaucer to Shakespeare, from Jane Austen to Virginial Woolf, and American poetry to twenty-first century novels, English Studies at Durham will appeal to those with a sensitivity to language, a love of reading and a sense of intellectual adventure.

English Studies is a popular and highly regarded subject that will give you a broader and more balanced understanding of how the world works, politically, psychologically and sociologically. It also develops the highly transferable linguistic, critical and analytical skills that are sought after in the contemporary workplace. 

An English degree at Durham provides a comprehensive grounding in literary theory. The wide range of modules allows you to explore a variety of literary forms and challenge the way you think about the role of literature in the world, from the classics to contemporary texts. We are home to a vibrant and active research department and take a research-led approach to teaching and learning which informs all levels of academic enquiry, including undergraduate ‘special topic’ seminar modules developed around key research themes and areas of expertise. 

You can choose to focus purely on English literature or combine the study of English with either Philosophy or History. We also offer English Studies named routes through a Combined Honours or Liberal Arts degree. You can further tailor your study with an optional year abroad or work placement in the third year.

We are consistently ranked as one of the leading English departments in the UK, so when you choose to study English at Durham you can be assured of the highest quality learning experience.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

• 4th in The Complete University Guide 2025.

• 4th in The Guardian University Guide 2025.

• 8th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

Facilities

We are a diverse community of around 700 undergraduates, 120 postgraduates and 70 staff from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. We are located close to Durham city centre with most of the Department’s teaching and research taking place in two buildings: the Georgian listed building, Hallgarth House and Elvet Riverside which stands beside the River Wear.

Students have access to extensive general collections in literary studies which are housed in the University library, and a number of specialist collections and archives in Palace Green, in the heart of Durham city.

Undergraduate students are also invited to attend the Department’s extensive programme of research-related activities, including public lectures, special guest lectures, as well as lectures, readings and workshops by visiting UK and overseas academics and creative writers.

Why study history? Our answer to that is simple: because we are human, and we need to understand ourselves, and one another. History helps us to see other ways of thinking and living – and it offers us alternative perspectives on the present.

The History programme at Durham is designed to give you a sense of the diversity of human experience – geographically and chronologically. We offer an unusually broad range of options that will take you to very different places and times. You can also explore diverse themes and approaches, such as environmental and scientific history, visual cultures, and gender and sexuality. The course will equip you with critical and presentational skills that are valuable in many careers.

Year 1 offers you an induction into advanced historical study, engaging with different periods and approaches to the study of the past.

Year 2 raises new questions about the human past, setting these in specific periods and parts of the world. It develops your understanding of historiography - the history of history-writing – and gives you experience of writing an extended historical argument. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four.

In Year 3 the focus is on intensive study and independent learning. The special subject guides you through the primary and secondary material on a specific period or phenomenon; the dissertation allows you to choose your own topic, and devise your own question, for an extended piece of writing. The dissertation is an opportunity to focus on a topic that fascinates you – and brings together the skills you have developed through your time at Durham.

Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to attend an extensive programme of activities, including research seminars and public lectures from high-profile guest speakers.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

• 4th in The Complete University Guide 2025.

• 5th in The Guardian University Guide 2025.

• 6th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see our department web pages.

Facilities

The Department of History occupies the heart of Durham World Heritage Site. Our location is within easy reach of all University colleges, lecture halls and libraries.

Our work incorporates everything from manuscripts to photography, printed sources to museum collections. You will work with staff on a rich array of primary sources, which range from medieval manuscripts in the cathedral archive, through the ceramics, prints and textiles held by the Oriental Museum, to the documents of the Sudan Archive, and more. Durham holds historical resources of international significance.

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