English & History
Turn your love of reading into a top degree! We will fire your imagination and help you to become a confident and persuasive communicator. If you love to get lost in a book, English is the subject for you. Alongside a solid grounding in classic texts, the teaching at UU will give you the opportunity to develop your own interests: whether you prefer historical drama or detective novels, fantasy literature or instapoetry, narratives of slavery or gothic fiction, you're sure to find something you'll enjoy.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Ulster University |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Ulster University |
Duration
Normally three years.
Attendance
During this time, there will be a number of different teaching and learning experiences for you to enjoy. Teachers will talk about the books you are reading in lectures, and you will get the chance to share your views with other students in small group seminars. One-to-one tutorials, video and email consultations are also offered so that you can ask your lecturer the questions that really matter to you. Timetabled sessions usually amount to about 9 hours per week, but we hope you'll spend much more time that than reading!
Entry Requirements
Irish Leaving Certificate
96 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at higher level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher level or O4 if studied at Ordinary Level.
Preference may be given to candidates with a H4 at higher level in History and/or English.
Careers / Further progression
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course are now working for:
BBC
Libraries NI
Santander
The National Trust
The NI Assembly
Public Record Office NI
Education Authorities
Job roles
With this degree you could become:
Teacher
Journalist
Editor
Librarian
Civil and Public Service
Banking and Finance
University Lecturer
Career options
English Majors Among Most Desirable Employees, says Google
The top characteristics of success at Google are so-called "soft skills", such as communication, good leadership, possessing insight into others' values and points of view, having empathy and a supportive nature towards others and possessing good critical thinking and problem solving skills, along with the ability to create connections across complex ideas.
https://www.bookstr.com/article/english-majors-among-most-desirable-employees-says-google/
Humanities graduates have the kind of intellectual, social and communicative qualities that employers of all kinds require. The English and History course at UU will give you the necessary skills to be successful in a wide range of fields: our graduates go on to do many wonderful things, pursuing careers in (for example) teaching, publishing, journalism and the media, the creative arts, advertising and marketing, arts administration, charitable organisations, human resources and the civil service.
You also have the option of go on to postgraduate work in all areas of English and History studies, or maybe do a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme with a view to pursuing a career teaching in schools / colleges.
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Overview
Turn your love of reading into a top degree! We will fire your imagination and help you to become a confident and persuasive communicator.
Summary
If you love to get lost in a book, English is the subject for you. Alongside a solid grounding in classic texts, the teaching at UU will give you the opportunity to develop your own interests: whether you prefer historical drama or detective novels, fantasy literature or instapoetry, narratives of slavery or gothic fiction, you're sure to find something you'll enjoy.
Our wide range of optional modules also includes courses on creative and professional writing to develop your skills as a communicator and raise your game for the jobs market. All employers love people who think in original and sophisticated ways, who display emotional intelligence and a creative imagination, and who can express themselves persuasively on paper and with confidence when speaking. This is what UU English graduates are like.
Come and join us!
As the highest ranked History course in Northern Ireland and amongst the highest ranked in the UK for student satisfaction, our Historygraduates are in high demand from employers who recognise the fundamental skills of writing and presentation, research and time management, critical thinking and independence, that our degree provides. If you have a passion for knowledge, are a critical thinker, and want to better understand the past and its influence on the present and the future then this subject is for you.
About
Taking your love of reading as the one essential ingredient, we aim to broaden your knowledge and cultivate your abilities as a thinker, writer and communicator.
The UU English teaching team introduce you to the basics of critical writing and literary theory in year one, allowing you to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for success in your later work. Following the groundwork of this introductory year, you will be able to choose from a wide range of options reflecting the interests and expertise of the lecturers. Subjects that we teach include women's writing, narratives of slavery, historical fiction, modern drama, detective novels, gothic and romantic writing, the Victorian novel, modern Irish writers, contemporary fiction and love poetry.
We very much enjoy sharing our enthusiasms, and try to make our teaching fun! Even more importantly, we want you to develop your own interests and follow your own passions. UU English allows you to construct your own path to success, writing on whatever engages you most, whether that be Shakespeare or 'Game of Thrones'. Having had many opportunities to share ideas with like-minded friends and sympathetic teachers, UU English students graduate as creative, free-thinking communicators; they often go on to do very interesting things.
More detail is available from (English) Dr Kate Byrne (k.byrne@ulster.ac.uk) and (History) Dr Kyle Hughes (k.hughes1@ulster.ac.uk)
Modules
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
Year 1
Elements of Criticism
Modes of Reading
Genres of Writing
Making History: Skills for Historians
Literature and Society in Ireland: An Introduction - Optional
Writing Matters - Optional
Pandemic Prose in the Viral Village - Optional
Defining America: Themes in American History, C17th -C20th - Optional
The Making of Modern Britain and Ireland, 1800-1945 - Optional
The Ages of Extremes: International History 1914-2020 - Optional
Disenchanted Land? Culture and Society in Early Modern Europe - Optional
Revolutionary Russia, 1894-1939 - Optional
Year 2
Employing History: Understanding the Past, Preparing for the Future
Early Modern English Culture 1509-1659: Poetry, Prose, Drama - Optional
Tales of the Familiar and the Exotic: The Beginnings of Modern Fiction in English - Optional
Rhymes Of Passion: A Brief History Of Love Poetry - Optional
Writing and Editing - Optional
Modern Drama and Its Influences - Optional
Sex and the City of God: religion and sexuality in American literature - Optional
Angels, Madwomen and Whores - Optional
Writing the North: Ulster Literature - Optional
Contemporary World Fiction in English - Optional
Samuel Beckett Studies - Optional
Adaptation and Historical Fiction - Optional
Gothic and Romantic Writing - Optional
English Exchange 1 - Optional
English Exchange 2 - Optional
English Exchange 3 - Optional
English Exchange 4 - Optional
English Exchange 5 - Optional
English Exchange 6 - Optional
Eighteenth-Century Literature - Optional
Detective Fiction - Optional
Modern North American Feminist Writing - Optional
Exchange programme 1 - History Abroad - Optional
Family, Sexuality and the State 1850-1925 - Optional
Politics and Society in early modern Britain and Ireland - Optional
War and Peace: the Ying and Yang of human history - Optional
The Great Powers and the Middle East since 1880 - Optional
Film and the Vietnam Conflict - Optional
The Myth and Reality of Imperial Spain, 1492-1700 - Optional
Death, Disease, and Medicine in Britain, 1800-1914 - Optional
'Good Trouble': Struggle, Resistance and the African American Experience - Optional
Beyond Belief: The Global Supernatural, c.1700-2000 - Optional
History in the Workplace: Work-Based Learning - Optional
Year 3
Hollywood Histories - Optional
English Placement - Optional
English Abroad (DIAS) - Optional
International Academic Studies - English - Optional
Industrial Placement - Diploma in Professional Practice (DPP) - Optional
The Irish Revolution, 1913-1923 - Optional
Late Soviet Communism, 1953-1991- Optional
United States Foreign Policy Since 1945 - Optional
Saints and Sinners: Women in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Ireland - Optional
History Research Project - Optional
Imperial Retreat: The Decline and Fall of the European Overseas Empires - Optional
America in the Depression, 1929-1941 - Optional
The Post-War Body: Medicine and Society in Britain and America, c.1945-90 - Optional
Witchcraft and magic in early modern Europe and Colonial New England, c.1550-1780 - Optional
Year 4
Romantics and Victorians - Optional
Twentieth-Century Literature- Optional
How to be Modern: Writing from the Jazz Age, 1910-1930 - Optional
Dissertation - Optional
Bonnets, Beards and Bastards: The Fiction of the Victorian Period - Optional
Writing and Publishing - Optional
Nineteenth-Century American Literature - Optional
Twentieth-Century American Literature - Optional
Body, Mind and Soul in Novels and Non-Fiction from Addison to Austen - Optional
The Ulster-Scots Literary Tradition 1750 - 2000 - Optional
From The Vote To The Pill: C20th And C21st Women's Writing - Optional
20th Century Irish Writers - Optional
Late Victorian And Edwardian Novel - Optional
Shakespeare - Optional
Narratives of Slavery - Optional
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
Associate awards
Diploma in Professional Practice DPP
Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS
Diploma in Professional Practice International DPPI
Work placement / study abroad
There is a flexible placement element in the first year of your degree, encouraging you to develop your skills as a writer in the context of a relevant workplace. Opportunities for study abroad, usually during the second year of your degree, are also available: ISEP (International Student Exchange Programme) offers links with over 140 American Universities; Erasmus+ focuses on European destinations.
Ulster University,
Cromore Rd,
Coleraine
BT52 1SA
T: 02870 123 456