Expand+How To Apply

Applications for admission to full-time undergraduate courses at Queen’s should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/...

Hide-How To Apply

Applications for admission to full-time undergraduate courses at Queen’s should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/apply.

When to Apply

UCAS will start processing applications for entry in Autumn 2017 from 1 September 2016.

The normal closing date for the receipt of applications is 15 January 2017.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as is consistent with having made a careful and considered choice of institutions and courses.

Earlier applicants normally receive decisions more quickly, however, UCAS accepts that some applicants, especially those from outside the UK, may find this difficult. Late applications are, in practice, accepted by UCAS throughout the remainder of the application cycle, but you should understand that they are considered by institutions at their discretion, and there can be no guarantee that they will be given the same full level of consideration as applications received by the advisory closing date.

Take care to enter the details of the institutions and courses clearly and correctly on the application. For Queen's, the institution code name is QBELF and the institution code is Q75. These should be entered in the Choices section of your UCAS application. A Campus Code is not required.

Queen’s University Belfast Terms and Conditions 2017 Entry
The terms and conditions that apply when you accept an offer of a place at the University on a taught programme of study.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/TermsandConditions/

Expand+Selection Criteria

In addition to the entrance requirements below, it is essential that you read the How We Choose Our Students pdf prior to submitting your UCAS application.

Entrance Requirements

A-level: ABB including A-level English and I...

Hide-Selection Criteria

In addition to the entrance requirements below, it is essential that you read the How We Choose Our Students pdf prior to submitting your UCAS application.

Entrance Requirements

A-level: ABB including A-level English and Irish. Note: for applicants who have not studied A-level English then AS-level English (grade A) would be acceptable in lieu of A-level English.

Irish Leaving Certificate: H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3 including Higher Level grade H3 in English and Irish

All applicants: if you plan to study English as a Joint Honours degree you should refer to the subject requirements for the other course, in addition to those for English.

International Students

For information on international qualification equivalents, please click on Your Country in the International Students website.

If you are an international student and you do not meet the entrance requirements, you should consider a preparation course at INTO Queen's University Belfast, which will prepare you for successful study on these degree courses. INTO at Queen's is based on the University campus and offers a range of courses including the International Foundation in Business, Humanities and Social Science.

For students whose first language is not English

An IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component or an equivalent acceptable qualification, details of which are available at:http://go.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability to entry to this degree. Please click the links below for more information:
•English for University Study - an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
•Pre-sessional English - a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English

Expand+Learning and Teaching
At Queen’s, we aim to deliver a high quality learning environment that embeds intellectual curiosity, innovation and best practice in learning, teaching and student support to enable students to achieve their full academic pote...

Hide-Learning and Teaching
At Queen’s, we aim to deliver a high quality learning environment that embeds intellectual curiosity, innovation and best practice in learning, teaching and student support to enable students to achieve their full academic potential.

On the English and Irish degree programme we do this by providing a range of learning experiences which enable our students to engage with subject experts, develop attributes and perspectives that will equip them for life and work in a global society and make use of innovative technologies and a world class library that enhances their development as independent, lifelong learners. Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:

•Lectures: introduce basic information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. Lectures also provide opportunities to ask questions, gain some feedback and advice on assessments (normally delivered in large groups to all year group peers).

•E-Learning technologies: Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Queen’s Online. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree through, for example: computer-based grammar learning packages in the Language Centre; interactive group workshops in a flexible learning space; IT and statistics modules; podcasts and interactive web-based learning activities; opportunities to use IT programmes associated with design in practicals and project- based work etc.

•Seminars/tutorials: Significant amounts of teaching are carried out in small groups (typically 10-20 students). These provide an opportunity for students to engage with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of peers. You should also expect to make presentations and other contributions to these groups.

•Language classes: Almost all of the teaching in Modern Languages is carried out in small groups (typically 10-20 students) in Irish. Written language classes meet for two hours each week, and involve intensive work on developing linguistic competence, vocabulary, idiom, knowledge of grammar, comprehension and translation skills, essay-writing skills etc. Students should expect to prepare work in advance of each of these classes, where they will receive regular written and oral feedback on their work.

•Oral classes: where you will have opportunities to develop oral skills and apply grammar and vocabulary in real-life, practical contexts. All these classes are taught in very small groups (typically 6-12 students) and are facilitated by native speakers.

•Residence Course: Students taking the BA in English and Irish spend a total of six weeks at the beginning of levels 2 and 3 on a residence course in Rinn na Feirste in the Donegal Gaeltacht. Here students engage with the spoken language in its native environment while staying in accommodation with a host family. Intensive, structured tuition is provided by qualified native Irish speakers during the course. In addition to the benefits for oral competence in Irish, the residence course provides a unique opportunity for immersion in Gaeltacht culture and establishes a tremendous esprit de corps among students.

•Self-directed study: This is an essential part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.

•Supervised projects: In final year, you may choose a Dissertation module from the English curriculum which requires you to carry out a significant piece of research on a topic that you have chosen. You will receive support from a supervisor in English who will guide you in terms of how to carry out your research and will provide feedback to you on at least 2 occasions during the write up stage.

•Personal Tutor: Undergraduates are allocated a Personal Tutor during Level 1 and 2 who meets with them on several occasions during the year to support their academic development.

Expand+Overview
English Studies at Queen's brings together a variety of specialist approaches under a single subject heading.

Our literature modules encourage students to look at a writer's works in the context of the historical period, the cultural bac...

Hide-Overview
English Studies at Queen's brings together a variety of specialist approaches under a single subject heading.

Our literature modules encourage students to look at a writer's works in the context of the historical period, the cultural background, and the literary genres to which these works belong. They also introduce students to critical theories such as feminism, structuralism and post-structuralism, which are now a significant part of literary studies.

Our language modules (also available on the Linguistics pathway, see page 196) encompass the study of language structure and function, including the day-to-day use of the language and the major influences which have shaped it over the last millennium and a half.

Why Queen's?
English Studies at Queen's represents one of the most diverse areas of study and research in the Humanities, one that already has a worldwide reputation in its specialist fields of interest.

The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, under the auspices of the School of English, is the first Centre of Excellence for poetry in Ireland and its director is the internationally-renowned poet Ciaran Carson. It provides resources for emerging and established poets, researchers and critics, and serves to link creativity to criticism and academic scholarship, and ensures that the dynamic tradition of poetry at Queen's extends to a wide audience and is of benefit to students, writers, and the community.

Expand+Course Content (including module information)

Stage 1

There are six English modules in Stage 1, including English Language and Creative Writing. Joint Honours students take three English modules, whilst Single Honours students take six English ...

Hide-Course Content (including module information)

Stage 1

There are six English modules in Stage 1, including English Language and Creative Writing. Joint Honours students take three English modules, whilst Single Honours students take six English modules.

Stage 2

In the second year, students choose from modules in:
•Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Literature
•Foundations for Speech Analysis: The Phonetics of English
•History of English:Studying Language Change
•Introduction to Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama
•Introduction to American Writing
•Irish Literature
•Late Medieval Literature
•Literature and Society, 1850-1930
•Mapping the Anglo-Saxon World
•The English Language: Language and Power

Stage 3

In the third year, students choose from a representative range of specialist modules, including:
•Broadcasting and Identity
•Broadcasting in a Post-Conflict Society
•Contemporary Indian Literature in English
•Contemporary Irish and Scottish Fiction
•Contemporary Literature: Poetry and Precariousness in the Twenty-First Century
•Contemporary US Crime Fiction
•Digital Textualities and the History of the Book
•Irish Gothic
•Language in the Media
•Literature and Science in the Nineteenth Century
•Shakespeare on Screen
•Literature and the First World War
•Marvels, Monsters and Miracles in Anglo-Saxon England
•Renaissance Performance, Gender, Space
•Representing the Working Class
•Special Topic Irish Writing Special Topic Creative Writing
•Speech Worlds: Phonetics and Phonology in Communication
•Stylistics: Bringing Language and Literature Together
•Stevens and Bishop
•Televising the Victorians
•The Structure of English
•Women’s Writing 1660-1820
•Writing New York, 1880-1940

Expand+Assessment & Feedback

Assessment: The way in which you are assessed will vary according to the Learning objectives of each module. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combi...

Hide-Assessment & Feedback

Assessment: The way in which you are assessed will vary according to the Learning objectives of each module. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combination of coursework and end of semester examinations. There are also oral examinations which enable students to demonstrate their ability to analyse and present material in Irish and pursue high-level discussion in the target language. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Student Handbook which is provided to all students during their first year induction.

Feedback (general): As students progress through their course at Queen’s they will receive general and specific feedback about their work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module co-ordinators, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and peers. University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work. Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:
•Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that you, as an individual or as part of a group, have submitted.
•Face to face comment. This may include occasions when you make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help you to address a specific query.
•Placement employer comments or references.
•Online or emailed comment.
•General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.
•Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which you can review in your own time.
•Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.
•Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.

Once you have reviewed your feedback, you will be encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of your work.

Expand+Career Prospects
Studying for an English and Irish degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions. Graduates from ...

Hide-Career Prospects
Studying for an English and Irish degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions. Graduates from this degree have the proven ability to analyse subjects in depth and develop coherent arguments in written and verbal form, as well as linguistic fluency and intercultural awareness, all of which are highly sought after skills in a global job market.

In a context where over half of all graduate jobs are now open to graduates of any discipline, we have found that employers of all kinds wish to employ English and Irish graduates. Although many of our graduates are interested in pursuing careers in teaching, business, the civil service, translating/interpreting, community development or advertising, significant numbers develop careers in a wide range of other sectors.

The following is a list of the major career sectors (and some starting salaries) that have attracted our graduates in recent years:

Advertising
Librarianship
Voluntary sector/charities £15,000-£18,000
Public Relations £20,000
Banking £28 000
Export Marketing £15 000-£25 000
Publishing, Media and Performing Arts £16,000-£25,000
Teaching £21,500
Fast Stream Civil Service £25,000
Translation / Interpreting £18,000-£26,000
Varied graduate programmes (Times Top 100 Graduate Recruiters/AGR, Association of Graduate Recruiters UK)

Employer Links
Consultations
We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including, for example, BBC Northern Ireland who provide sponsorship for the course in Broadcast Literacy (currently offered at postgraduate level but soon to be offered at undergraduate level also). We also have strong links with the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and other media companies who participated in the course design for the MA in Irish Film and Script Production. An Gúm and Foras na Gaeilge, and other schools and community groups in Belfast provide opportunities for placements for students.

The Prospects website provides further information regarding the types of jobs that attract English and Irish graduates.

Further study is also an option open to English and Irish graduates. Students can choose from a wide range of Masters programmes as well as a comprehensive list of research topics. For opportunities in English and Irish, see relevant pages within the English and Modern Languages School websites.

Other Career-related information: Queen’s is a member of the Russell Group and, therefore, one of the 20 universities most-targeted by leading graduate employers. Queen’s students will be advised and guided about career choice and, through the Degree Plus initiative, will have an opportunity to seek accreditation for skills development and experience gained through the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. See Queen’s University Belfast full Employability Statement for further information.

Degree Plus and other related initiatives: Recognising student diversity, as well as promoting employability enhancements and other interests, is part of the developmental experience at Queen’s. Students are encouraged to plan and build their own, personal skill and experiential profile through a range of activities including; recognised Queen’s Certificates, placements and other work experiences (at home or overseas), Erasmus study options elsewhere in Europe, learning development opportunities and involvement in wider university life through activities, such as clubs, societies, and sports.

Queen’s actively encourages this type of activity by offering students an additional qualification, the Degree Plus Award (and the related Researcher Plus Award for PhD and MPhil students). Degree Plus accredits wider experiential and skill development gained through extra-curricular activities that promote the enhancement of academic, career management, personal and employability skills in a variety of contexts. As part of the Award, students are also trained on how to reflect on the experience(s) and make the link between academic achievement, extracurricular activities, transferable skills and graduate employment. Participating students will also be trained in how to reflect on their skills and experiences and can gain an understanding of how to articulate the significance of these to others, e.g. employers.

Overall, these initiatives, and Degree Plus in particular, reward the energy, drive, determination and enthusiasm shown by students engaging in activities over-and-above the requirements of their academic studies. These qualities are amongst those valued highly by graduate employers.