The BA (Hons) English Literature at Liverpool John Moores University is a diverse and dynamic subject. We celebrate this with a wide range of modules that are informed by the latest thinking in relation to literature and culture. Ours is an innovative programme designed by academics who are both cutting-edge scholars and dedicated teachers. The degree’s broad definition of literature, and a choice of fascinating optional modules, mean that you can tailor your studies to your own literary interests, whilst gaining thorough knowledge of literary history, theory and criticism. The programme also offers you exciting work-based and work-related opportunities to gain professional experience relevant to your degree.

We believe that literature is, to quote the novelist Milan Kundera, a "fascinating imaginative realm where no one owns the truth and everyone has the right to be understood". Studying it allows us to learn to live with ambiguity, to relate to others while still appreciating their otherness, and to give our lives an enduring meaning.  

English at LJMU is defined by its eclectic choice of texts, from the classics to popular fiction. We are interested in traditional authors such as William Blake, Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf and in contemporary writers such as Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro and Arundhati Roy.

Alongside British literature we study American literature and culture and Irish, postcolonial and world writing. We introduce you to many different types of text such as detective novels, children's fiction, fairy tales, ballads, prison testimonies, African-American slave narratives, travel writing, protest literature, diaries and letters. Our diverse portfolio of options lets you explore new topics and choose your own pathway through the degree as your interests develop. 

Our English Literature graduates' excellent analytic and communication skills have ensured them positions in a wide variety of careers including film-making, journalism, publishing, advertising, marketing, museums and arts administration. Others have found employment in careers as wide ranging as industrial, retail, leisure, charity management, educational administration, accountancy, the social and Civil Services.