BA (Hons) English

Core units

• The Creative Writer as Critic: Influence, Analysis, Transcendence: In this unit, you’ll act as both reader and writer. By analysing several modern short stories, you’ll develop an understanding of what makes a good work of fiction then put that theory into practice by writing your own. 
• Adventures in Popular Culture: This unit will explore debates about the value and place of cultural artefacts within contemporary popular culture. The unit will allow you to develop an understanding of the complexity of the term ‘culture’, modes of representation of different social divisions, and the ways in which forms of media and cultural consumption are embedded in everyday life. 
• Introduction to Storytelling: This unit introduces and develops fundamental creative writing skills. It builds confidence and gives you opportunities to find your own distinctive voice as well as the best techniques to engage an audience. It develops skills in good written English while adopting the styles and conventions of different genres – from poetry and short stories to scripts. 
• Mapping Local Place & Cultural Heritage: On this unit we think about the development of Bournemouth as a seaside resort, and about the natural landscape around the town, and we consider how the experience of place can be represented via the creative imagination and preserved through different heritage strategies. Texts we engage with could include novels, film adaptations, children’s fiction, poetry, travel writing, art history, and architecture, and maps related to Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset, and the New Forest.  
• Literary Genres, Forms & Contexts: This unit is designed to introduce you to the diverse ways of studying English at university, equipping you with the skills needed to analyse and discuss literature. We will explore various factors influencing our interpretation of texts, such as genre, form, and broader contexts like the writer's background and social movements of the time. By examining works like Jane Eyre, as well as contemporary media, the unit prepares you to confidently engage with literature throughout your degree, ensuring an enjoyable and stimulating academic journey.
• Approaches to Literature: Building on the foundations from semester 1, Approaches to Literature will introduce you to various academic methods for analysing texts, including feminist, psychoanalytic, and queer theories, enhancing your critical skills for advanced study. You'll also explore contemporary practices like decolonizing the curriculum to ensure it represents diverse English-speaking communities, with opportunities to design your own curriculum using a selection of short stories provided online.

Core units

• Experimental Literature from Modernism to Postmodernism: Through a selection of texts, you’ll explore two of the major literary and artistic movements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as their historical and cultural perspectives and influences. 
• Children’​s Literature: Children's literature is a fascinating area of study. In this unit we look at fairytale, picture books, and genres such as fantasy, school stories, YA, and horror, exploring how children’s literature has dealt with themes such as racism and sexuality, and how it has been censored and manipulated across its history.
• Narrative Structures: Narrative and storytelling are fundamental in thought, society, and the media. This unit will explore different forms of stories and storytelling, providing you with the foundations from which to analyse and evaluate a variety of contemporary narrative texts including film, television, advertising, journalism, prose fiction, graphic novels, and other media texts. 
• Power & Identity in Literature & Media: Intersectionality is a way of thinking about identity in terms of intersecting elements such as class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability, and how these intersections exist in terms of their social, cultural, and political contexts. This unit, then, explores historical and contemporary representations, narratives, and debates relating to intersectionality in a range of cultural media such as novels, poetry, graphic novels, life writing, investigative journalism, and social media commentary, and analyses the power structures that underpin social and political debates as well as literary and media production. The unit gives students the chance to produce creative and investigative assignments that examine their own identities, positions, and experiences.
• Remix Cultures: This unit builds on the Level 4 unit Adventures in Popular Culture, aiming to further develop and enhance student learning with regards to the way in which media texts can be viewed as remix cultures in that they invariably draw upon, borrow from, or cite/ quote from previous texts and practices. 

Option units (choose one)

• The Changing Coastal Resort: This unit introduces you to the changing state of the coastal resort in history, culture, politics and society from the eighteenth century to the present. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines critical perspectives and methodologies from tourism and hospitality, historical and cultural studies, you will explore the significance of coastal spaces and cultures in relation to diverse yet connected topics such as personal, social and national identity, politics and policy, (literary) tourism, heritage and conservation, public health and leisure, gentrification and urban regeneration. 
• Creative Non- Fiction & Life Writing: This unit explores the diverse panorama of creative nonfiction, including poetry, life-writing, and literary journalism.  It will analyse ethical issues such as objectivity/subjectivity, accuracy, and the social and historical context of the genre over the centuries.  It considers poetic and narrative techniques used to create nonfiction texts and compares these with imaginative and creative fictional narrative formats. 

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year. 

You can choose either a four-week placement or optional 30-week placement (minimum), designed to develop your abilities and understanding of the workplace. It also provides a platform for successful entry into the workplace following graduation. 

Core unit

• Dissertation: You will undertake original and independent research to produce a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic or problem of your choice, using either a discursive or creative approach.

Option units (choose four)

• Celebrity Cultures & Digital Identities: On this unit we take celebrity culture seriously as a social and cultural phenomenon—we consider what celebrity culture tells us about what our society and our current moment, and study the history of celebrity and the evolution of Hollywood, the modern music industry, reality television, and social media and influencer culture. We consider the celebrity as a process of identity construction, and analyse celebrity memoirs, media coverage, and social media outputs in terms of wider structures of power, politics, and culture. As well as the growing field of celebrity studies, academic approaches here include study of life-writing and biography, post-modernism, feminist and queer theory, the psychology of fandom, and corporate communications and marketing.
• Writing, Editing & Publishing: A practical unit which combines study of publishing processes and practices with creative writing. 
• All Our Futures: Utopian, Dystopian, & Speculative Writings: This unit addresses the big ideas that have informed our aspirations and fears for our futures, both in the past and in the present. You will be exploring texts, thinkers, and ideas that have structured past and present aspirations for the future in a range of different genres and from a number of different periods. These will cover a range of topics including utopia and dystopia, activism and political action, posthumanism, and speculative and science fiction. 
• Unstable Pasts: Crime & Gothic Fictions: Crime and horror stories explore the things that frighten us about the world around us—and ourselves. We examine how these genres have fed off each other over the last 200 years, and explore the evolution of key figures such as the vampire and the detective, narrative styles such as crime thrillers and ghost stories, and different media like comics and queer horror and zombie films. We use academic approaches like social history and geography, gender and sexuality, and the uncanny and the abject to investigate how these stories work and what they tell us about what it means to be human.   
• Space, Place & Environment: This unit focuses on the critical consideration of space, place and environment in contemporary culture and society. It analyses how we imagine, encounter, and exist within spaces and places in our everyday lives, as well as how these concepts are represented in a range of popular media from novels through to video games. Analysing key texts alongside a programme of field trips that engage with the local landscape and regional organisations such as the National Trust, University Hospitals Dorset and the Russell-Cotes Museum, you will consider topics such as literary tourism and heritage, gentrification and urban regeneration, conservation and environmental policy, human geography and many more. 
• World Literature Today: You will have the opportunity to examine a range of texts from contemporary international writing, including fiction, poetry, film, graphic novels, and other forms of literary media. The unit will consider key issues such as translation, the legacy of colonialism and other cultural and historical tensions, globalisation, the transnational marketing of literature, the climate emergency, and sustainable futures. You will be interrogating the meaning of the term world literature, constructing your own conceptual understanding of the field in its various social, cultural, and institutional contexts.
• Literature, Law & Human Rights: This unit explores the convergence of discourses that exist between the fields of literature, law and human rights more generally. You’ll have the opportunity to consider the advent of rights discourses and the representation of those discourses in selected literary texts.  It will enable you to explore significant nodes of connection between the fields and construct an understanding of how they intersect with each other. 

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year. 

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University’s taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience. 

The benefits to you as a placement student are many. You will have the chance to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider
• Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

You will begin your placement after completion of your second year of study and can choose to complete four weeks (on the three-year version of the course) or a minimum 30-week placement (on the four-year version).

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Coordinator. 

Through timetabled sessions and one-to-one appointments, they’ll help support you in your placement search including advice on finding a placement, information and advice on all aspects of job searching and job applications, as well as ensuring your proposed placement meets the requirements of your course.

Our CareersBU service is also available throughout your time at BU, offering services like CV checking and careers fairs to meet employers.

Placement Development Advisors will support you once you have started your sandwich placement – so you will be able to maintain contact with the university throughout.

• Ranieri Communications
• Redpin Publishing Ltd
• TLC Marketing
• Jargon PR
• The Walt Disney Company.

Many BU courses have partner universities around the world, offering opportunities for you to apply to study abroad for between one month and a year of your degree. There are usually no additional tuition fees, and the Turing Scheme at BU can often provide grants to support with travel and living expenses*.

As a student studying BA (Hons) English you can apply to study abroad at these international partners:

• Denmark: Aarhus University, Aarhus
• Germany: Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena.
• Germany: Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve

​Further information can be found here.

*Funding is subject to an annual successful bid and information will be shared with students in the Autumn

This international prize – a result of a partnership of Bournemouth University and if:book UK – promotes the best in new media writing and you can enter your exciting and inventive stories that integrate a variety of formats, platforms and digital media.

The Bournemouth Writing Prize is an annual international short story and poetry competition. Winners receive personal feedback from industry professionals and there's a cash prize for each category.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

If you are unable to meet the entry requirements, we may be able to make you an offer through AccessBU if you meet certain criteria e.g. you have been in care or live in an area where fewer people typically progress to Higher Education. If you don't meet our published tariff, we will accept you at least 8 points below if your personal circumstances match our AccessBU criteria. 

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

We have recently reviewed this course to take advantage of new approaches to learning and teaching, as well as developments in industry. As the aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, teaching, learning and assessment methods may have changed as a result of the review, you can find the relevant information for your year of entry in the appropriate programme specification.

There are a wide range of careers open to you once you graduate, including:

• Content creator and editor
• Freelance writer and video producer
• Marketing and PR executive
• English teacher
• Editing and publishing
• Working in the culture and heritage sectors

Typical sectors you might choose to work in include marketing, digital media, education and media publishing.

However, the skills you’ll develop on the course will be valuable across a broad range of contexts – so you could find yourself working for businesses or organisations involved in a variety of industries.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our Postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master's degrees.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Our fees commitment means your tuition fees are fixed at the price quoted
• Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Primary texts for English courses are not usually available in the library and you may wish to purchase your own personal copies
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website. 
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (where applicable)
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office verification changes. 
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Roy is a Lecturer in English and Communications, and has taught at a number of universities and colleges alongside a career in senior education management, from which he has recently returned. Roy has worked at Bournemouth University since 2015, and has published on Robert Lowell, psychoanalytic criticism, and ethics in Business. Papers/sessions at conferences include those on Psychoanalysis and Robert Lowell, writing on tablecloths (really) and Jimi Hendrix.

Roy is interested in supervising research in many areas of modern and contemporary British and American literature, especially projects that explore the construction of self and the emerging field of autofiction.

Dr James (Jim) Pope is a Principal Academic in the Department of Humanities and Law at Bournemouth University. James has published six novels for children and teenagers. Spin the Bottle was listed as one of the best teenage novels of 1998 by the Federation of Children's Book Groups. His interests are: how digital media are changing narrative forms; readers' responses to children's literature; and creative writing. He is the co-founder of the annual international New Media Writing Prize.

Dr Julia Round is an award-winning writer and scholar whose work explores the intersections of Gothic, comic books, and children’s literature. She is an Associate Professor in English and Comics Studies in the Department of Humanities and Law at Bournemouth University and co-founder and editor of Studies in Comics journal, the Encapsulations book series, and IGNCC, the largest annual comics conference in the UK. Julia has written three critical books on comics studies, is co-editor of three more (covering literary media, celebrity stories, and horror), and has published nearly 50 book chapters/journal articles. She also writes short comics and shares her work at www.juliaround.com.​

Professor Hywel Dix is interested in the relationship between culture and social and political change, especially in relation to political devolution in the 4 nations of the UK. He explores these things in detail in his monographs After Raymond Williams: Cultural Materialism and the Break-Up of Britain (2nd edition, University of Wales Press, 2013) and Postmodern Fiction and the Break-up of Britain (Continuum, 2010) as well as numerous other articles, book chapters and conference presentations. He has recently completed a comparative study of Welsh, Scottish, English and Irish literature in the aftermath of Brexit, entitled 'Compatriots or Competitors?'

Rebecca Mills completed her PhD 'Post-World War II Elegy and the Geographic Imagination' at the University of Exeter in 2014 (supported by a grant from the European Social Fund). She has kept her interest in literary geography and spatiality, and navigating death and its rituals, but pivoted towards an interest in space, bodies, and memory in crime narratives, gothic literature, and children's and YA fiction.

Sam Goodman is a Professor in English & Communication. His research and teaching at BU looks at the importance of place in literature and culture – this is not just thinking about where novels and narratives are set (though that matters too!), but also how places tell stories of their own: stories about history, about community and about how we exist in and interpret the world around us. Learning to read these spatial stories helps us understand ourselves and our relationship to place that little bit more.

Dr Yugin Teo joined Bournemouth University in 2016 as a full-time Lecturer in Communications & English. He was previously a part-time lecturer in film and screen studies at the University of Brighton, an associate tutor in English and film at the University of Sussex, and an invited lecturer at the Scottish Universities' International Summer School based at the University of Edinburgh. Dr Yugin Teo is a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a member of the British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies (BACLS).

Dr Imran Boe Khan's research interests include bibliotherapy, digital storytelling, transnational communities on social media, influencer culture and political resistance through hip-hop and graffiti. His academic publications include 'Making Concrete Speak: Postcolonial Graffiti, European Secularism and Art Stars as Improvised Delegates' in the journal Interventions (2019). Imran’s poetry has been awarded the Thomas Hardy Award and his stories and poems have been nominated for the Best of the Net award and the Pushcart Prize. In July 2020, Imran was named poet of the month by Yes, Poetry. His creative work has appeared in publications such as Sixth Finch, Juked, The Rumpus, The Smart Set and The Bitter Oleander.