This degree programme offers you the opportunity to study a range of modules in English Literature and to study the history and structure of the English Language with specialist tutors in Linguistics. You will be taught in an atmosphere of creative, scholarly enterprise and imaginative problem solving develop skills of critical analysis that are highly valued by employers.

Internships

Bangor University runs a paid internship scheme within the university’s academic and service departments.

Career

A degree from the School of English Literature provides our students with excellent employment prospects, in a wide range of career options. In the past our graduates have gone into teaching, publishing, advertising, journalism, the law, social work, business, politics, accountancy, the police, human resources, and academia. Our degree will teach you the skills of critical analysis, imaginative problem solving, and presentation. The skills they possess are highly valued by employers. Another option is postgraduate study.

In a recent Salaries and Vacancies Survey the Association of Graduate Recruiters lisited the top ten skill areas that employers seek right now:

1. Motivation and enthusiasm
2. Interpersonal skills
3. Team working
4. Oral communication
5. Flexibility and adaptability
6. Initiative/productivity
7. Problem solving
8. Planning and organisation
9. Managing own development
10. Written communication

All these skills are central to an English degree. Employers repeatedly say that they do not want ‘trained’ recruits. They want intelligent, rounded people who have a depth of understanding, can apply themselves, take responsibility and develop their role in the organisation, demonstrating the traditional high-level academic abilities of analysis, reflection, critique and synthesis. What they do not want is graduates trained for a job, not least because jobs change rapidly.

When graduates in English reflect on the skills they developed through their degree which they have found most useful in their new jobs, they speak of advanced literary and communication skills, writing for project-based work, independent thought and judgement, and good time-management.