A university student seen from behind at a quiet library study table, close-reading an open printed novel titled Great Expectations whose margins are annotated in pen. Beside the novel are a handwritten critical essay in progress headed on Dickens and class, a small stack of literary set texts including a poetry anthology and a copy of Macbeth, a teal notebook and a mug. Wooden bookshelves and warm study-lamp light fill the background.

DEGREE GUIDE

Literature

What do Literature degrees involve?

Literature degrees teach you how to analyse and interpret texts from different cultures, time periods, and genres. You will explore key areas such as classic and contemporary fiction, poetry, drama, literary theory, and critical analysis. These courses help you develop strong writing, research, and analytical skills while examining how literature reflects and shapes society. You will also learn how to construct arguments, engage with diverse perspectives, and explore themes like identity, politics, and storytelling. With opportunities for independent research, creative projects, and academic discussions, you’ll gain the expertise needed for careers in writing, publishing, education, and the media.

Example
Modules

Renaissance to Revolution: Study key texts from the Renaissance to the 18th century, exploring how writers responded to social change, politics and religion.

Early Englishes: Examine the development of English literature from its beginnings, focusing on medieval and early modern texts in their historical context.

The History of Persuasion: Discover how literary texts persuade and influence, analysing rhetoric, language, and the evolution of argument across genres.

Common Degree Names

💼 Some Literature courses offer placements in publishing, education, libraries or heritage.
🌍 Study abroad is available at many universities.

BA (Hons) English Literature
BA (Hons) English Literature and Creative Writing
BA (Hons) English Literature and Film
BA (Hons) Comparative Literature
BA (Hons) English Literature and History

A top-down view of a literature study desk in soft daylight. Four literary books are spread across the warm wooden desk, each with a plain cloth cover: The Odyssey, Madame Bovary, Poetry Anthology and Literary Theory, ranging across periods and cultures. In the centre an open printed novel is annotated in pen, and to one side an open notebook headed Comparative Literature holds an essay plan, with a teal pen, a cup of tea and reading glasses nearby.

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Literature degrees develop close reading, critical thinking, and strong writing skills. English Literature (or English Language & Literature) is often required or strongly preferred for English Literature courses, while Comparative Literature programmes tend to be more flexible.

Subjects that strengthen your application:

English Literature or English Language & Literature – usually required or strongly preferred
A second essay-based subject (History, Politics, Philosophy, Religious Studies) – great for argument and analysis
Modern Languages – particularly helpful for Comparative Literature, and may allow reading texts in the original language
Classical Civilisation or Ancient Languages (Latin/Greek) – useful for literary study and theory

✨ For Comparative Literature, English Literature or Language & Literature is still helpful but universities often accept a broader combination of essay-based subjects – languages are a bonus, not always a requirement.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas, often alongside an academic essay-based subject
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside relevant A-Level subjects, particularly English Literature or Language & Literature
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with English Literature (or English Language and Literature) at Higher Level among your IB subjects (minimum two, ideally three), alongside your Career-Related Study

Course expectations differ by university and by pathway (English Literature vs Comparative Literature). Always check specific course requirements.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE / MYP / National 5)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language and Maths at grade 4/C or above, or equivalents such as National 5s or MYP

📘 A strong grade in GCSE English (or equivalent) is important because the degree is reading- and writing-intensive.

💬 Interviews
Interviews are not usually required, but some universities interview as part of the selection process.

🔍 Work Experience

You don't need work experience to apply for Literature. If you have a school placement to fill, a bookshop, library, publisher, or literary festival could give you useful perspective on how literature reaches its audience. For this subject, reading widely and thinking critically about texts matters far more than any placement.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

What draws you to studying literature at degree level? Whether you're interested in particular periods, genres, authors, or the way literature connects to history, politics, and ideas, think about what you want to explore further. If you've read widely beyond your studies, thought about how and why texts work the way they do, or engaged with literary criticism and different interpretations, reflect on what excited you. Reading challenging texts, exploring unfamiliar literary traditions, or thinking about why literature matters can show you're ready to engage seriously with the subject. Admissions tutors want to see genuine passion for reading and thinking about texts, not just that you're good at English.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Year in English or Humanities

Some universities offer a foundation year if you don't have the required subjects or grades. This adds an extra year but leads directly into the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Humanities or English)

Widely accepted by universities offering Literature degrees. Choose a pathway with literature and essay-based units, and aim for Merits and Distinctions in your graded units.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

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Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Literature degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Language, Stories & Writing: Literature is the discipline of close reading. You'll learn to analyse how poems, novels and plays actually work, from their language and form to their structure and imagery, and to build careful arguments about what they mean and why.

The Past & How It Shapes Us: Every text you study sits inside a period that shaped it. The degree works through the sweep of English literature, from medieval and Renaissance writing to Romanticism, Modernism and the present, anchoring texts in the political, religious and social worlds that produced them.

Different Cultures, Languages & Beliefs: The degree reaches beyond English-language writing. You'll study comparative literature and texts from non-English traditions, looking at how writers from different cultures have shaped form, storytelling and meaning in ways that reflect very different lives and beliefs.

Students who thrive in a Literature degree are often motivated by

Analysing and Investigating

You're energised by making sense of information, looking for evidence, spotting patterns, and piecing together how things connect. Whether it's pulling apart data, questioning assumptions, or tracing a problem back to its source, you find energy in the process of understanding what's really going on. You'd rather dig into the details than accept things at face value.

Curiosity and Learning

You're energised by the activity of learning itself: diving into a subject you've never explored, watching documentaries, taking apart how something works, or constantly asking "why?" The process of learning gives you energy, not just the outcome. You don't just want the answer; you want to understand how things connect, why they matter, and what's underneath the surface explanation.

What makes Literature click for the students who love it?

For these readers a story was never only its plot; what grips them is how a writer pulls it off, and what a line is holding back. They read closely and slowly, finding what most people skim straight past and building a case for what it means that stands up. What keeps them coming back is the way writing captures how people have lived across centuries, and the chance to land on a meaning no one else has spotted.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

Skill Name

Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Do you enjoy reading something closely and thinking about why the author wrote it that way — not just what happens, but how and why?
Does it matter to you that you can write clearly and persuasively about what you think — building an argument that really holds together?
Do you notice things in what you read that other people seem to miss — a turn of phrase, a pattern, or something that feels deliberately placed?

Careers a Literature degree could lead you to

Literature

What do Literature degrees involve?

Example Modules

Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Literature degree could lead you to

Example
Modules