English with Education

About this course

About

Taking your love of reading as the one essential ingredient, UU English aims to broaden your knowledge and cultivate your abilities as a thinker, writer and communicator.

We will introduce you to the basics of critical writing and literary theory in year one, allowing you to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for success in your later work. Following the groundwork of this introductory year, you will be able to choose from a wide range of options reflecting the interests and expertise of the UU English teaching team. Subjects include women's writing, narratives of slavery, historical fiction, modern drama, detective novels, gothic and romantic writing, the Victorian novel, modern Irish writers, contemporary fiction, love poetry and many more. We love sharing our enthusiasms, but even more importantly, we want you to develop your own interests and follow your own passions. UU English allows you to construct your own path to success, writing on whatever engages you most, whether that be Shakespeare or 'Game of Thrones'.

Educationmodules form a third of this course. If you're interested in a career as a teacher, this is a great way to introduce yourself to this subject. It will also help you to prepare for a future application onto the Postgraduate Certificate in Education course after you graduate.

More detail is available from the Course Director, Dr Kate Byrne (k.byrne@ulster.ac.uk).

Associate awards

Diploma in Professional Practice DPP

Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS

Diploma in Professional Practice International DPPI

Attendance

The course normally lasts for three years (four years if you choose to do a placement). During this time, there will be a number of different teaching and learning experiences for you to enjoy. Teachers will talk about the books you are reading in lectures, and you will get the chance to share your views with other students in small group seminars. One-to-one tutorials, video and email consultations are also offered so that you can ask your lecturer the questions that really matter to you. Timetabled sessions usually amount to about 9 hours per week, but we hope you'll spend much more time that than reading!.

Start dates

• September 2023

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Teaching is mostly based on regular lectures, seminars and interactive workshops. Individual and small group tutorials are also common. Lectures allow the teacher to enthuse about their subject and flag up interesting and significant issues; seminars and workshops give you the opportunity to share your insights with other students and ask questions; tutorials allow for a more detailed interaction with your lecturer specially tailored to your own needs.

There are several methods of assessment, although the most common are the coursework essay (usually 2000-2500 words long) and the examination (usually two hours long). Some modules also include an element of assessed seminar participation, rewarding your contributions to the module discussions; others involve portfolios and podcasts.

You will need to pass all modules in order to progress - the pass mark is 40% - but why not aim high? If you average 70% across your final year you will be awarded a First Class degree, and be fully prepared for your Postgraduate study or future career.

Academic profile

The teaching of English is driven by the research expertise of some brilliant lecturers, all of whom publish regularly and are pushing the boundaries of knowledge within their respective fields.

Professor Richard Bradford is a well-known and highly-regarded literary biographer. Creative writing is taught by published authors Dr Frank Sewell(an expert on Irish poetry)and Dr Kathleen McCracken, an internationally renowned, prize-winning Canadian poet who regularly gives readings at literary festivals in the UK and globally (and sometimes at UU!). Dr Kate Byrne specialises in nineteenth-century fiction, women's writing, masculinities and heritage TV. Dr James Ward works on (amongst other things) Swift, Eighteenth-Century writing and narratives of slavery. Dr Andrew Keanie, an expert on Romanticism, has recent publications on Thomas de Quincey and Hartley Coleridge. Dr Kevin De Ornellas writes on Renaissance drama. Prof Jan Jedrzejewski is an expert in Victorian fiction (especially Thomas Hardy and George Eliot). Dr Frank Ferguson, Director of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, has published extensively on Ulster Scots literature. Dr Kathryn White is a Samuel Beckett scholar. Dr Tim Hancock works on twentieth-century English poetry. Dr Willa Murphy's main area of expertise lies in the field of Nineteenth-Century American studies. Dr Stephen Butler writes on contemporary fiction.

It's a great team, and everyone is friendly!

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise.  The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff.  This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.

Modules

Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.

Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.

Year one

Contemporary Educational Issues

Year: 1

Status: C

This module provides an orientation to central educational concepts and values with the intention of providing a critical foundation for later reflection and learning.

Facilitating An Effective Learning Environment

Year: 1

Status: C

This module encourages students to reflect on and assess a variety of approaches to teaching and learning in creating effective learning environments. The module offers a theoretical and practical approach to exploring the educational policies and practices that foster the key conditions for creating an effective learning environment.

Elements of Criticism

Year: 1

Status: C

This module offers students a basic introductory guide to literary criticism and interpretation, focusing upon the ways in which the formal structures of poetry, fiction and drama contribute to a diversity of effects and levels of meaning.

Modes of Reading

Year: 1

Status: C

The module offers an introduction to the theory and practice of reading and criticism. It aims to enable students to work with a variety of approaches to texts, and to develop an informed awareness of the possibilities available to them as readers and critics.

Genres of Writing

Year: 1

Status: C

ENG104 aims to assist students in improving the content, structure and style of their writing in professional and creative writing genres, including academic and report writing, journalism, fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry. Covering generic, audience, and market requirements, the module focusses on methods and techniques that will enable students to make informed editorial choices based on insights into the craft and business of writing, and on the demands and expectations of readers, publishers, and employers.

Literature and Society in Ireland: An Introduction

Status: O

Year: 1

This module is optional

This module provides a broad introduction to Irish Literature in English written between the Act of Union (1800) and the Good Friday Agreement (1998). It will help students to build up a conceptual map of Irish literary history in English, understood within socio-economic, political, historical and cultural contexts. It will also give due recognition to the influence of the Irish language and Ulster-Scots literary traditions.

Writing Matters

Status: O

Year: 1

This module is optional

The module introduces students to various shorter genres of writing (including the essay,short story, one-act play, memoir, detective story, science writing, journalistic article), examining key themes and issues that have 'mattered' to writers, and that have made writing 'matter', from the Renaissance to the present. Students will gain insight into various genres, discourses, writers, their work and its contexts; and will develop their own proficiency as critical readers and persuasive writers.

Pandemic Prose in the Viral Village

Status: O

Year: 1

This module is optional

The modern environmental movement came to the fore in the 1960's and predicted both the current global pandemic and future climate change disasters that are some of the main issues of the 21st century. The literary arts reacted to such revelations by adapting the new genre of political dystopia to fit climate concerns - in the late 90's post-apocalyptic fiction and in the 21st century climate fiction or 'cli-fi' have been some of the bestselling literary genres. This is because they address the current concerns of the global world that we live in and allow people to reflect on its impact on their lives currently and to speculate as to possible ways to deal with future problems and the toll they will take on people both socially and psychologically. This module attempts to elicit a similar response from our students.

Year two

Industrial Educational Placement

Year: 2

Status: C

The module offers students an industrial placement (usually in a school context) where they contribute to the development and delivery of the host intuition's project. Students develop their skills at communicating with both staff and learners, contribute to a learning exercise and where appropriate take a lead role in delivering learning to small groups. Students develop their reflective capabilities through a community of practice in the University's VLE. Presentational skills are also developed through the end of semester showcase event summarising the learning journey.

Learning and Teaching with Technology

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module will equip students with the skills and understanding to collaborate online with other students, focusing on the application of ICT in teaching and learning at macro and micro levels. They will be required to assess their own personal style of learning and discuss the implications for online learning. They will also develop their research and information seeking skills, as well as their written and communication skills, enabling them to present assessed work to an appropriate standard.

Physical Health and Wellbeing

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

The module will introduce students to an appropriate range of theory connected to physical health and well-being in the context of children and young people's education. Students will have the opportunity to explore issues through practical based workshops where the emphasis will be on applying theory to practice. Assessment will comprise of one written assignment and one individual presentation.

Early Modern English Culture 1509-1659: Poetry, Prose, Drama

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

The module introduces students to the literature of the English Renaissance. Canonical and non-canonical poetry, prose and drama will be studied within a framework of instruction on the sweeping changes brought to England by sectarian tension, increased literacy, changing politics and cultural innovation.

Tales of the Familiar and the Exotic: The Beginnings of Modern Fiction in English

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module is designed to introduce students to the history of the development of early fiction in English, from the early adventure narratives of the Elizabethan era to the emergence of the novel as a leading literary genre in the mid-eighteenth century. It acquaints students with a range of thematic and formal sub-genres of fiction, ranging from tales of adventure to the philosophical romance, from religious allegory to the oriental tale, and from the picaresque to the epistolary.

Rhymes Of Passion: A Brief History Of Love Poetry

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module offers a broad survey of love poetry from its earliest foundations in ancient verse, through classical writing and philosophy, the great flowerings of the courtly and renaissance periods, to modernist and contemporary practice. Students will become aware of the historical significance of this sub-genre, familiar with its conceptual foundations and perennial features, as well as gaining an appreciation of its changing nature within different cultural contexts.

Writing and Editing

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This practice-based module aims to advance the writing and editing knowledge and skills of students through lectures and workshops focusing on diverse genres of writing. Students are introduced to methods and techniques in the writing and editing processes. Instruction is given in the collaborative teamwork of writers and editors, with students adopting both roles during the course of the module. Formative assessment ensures that all students get a chance to edit and improve their own work (and some of each other's work) before final submission.

Modern Drama and Its Influences

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

The module introduces students to the history of the development of modern western drama. After accounting for the ancient traditions of Greek and Renaissance drama there is a focus on the radical aesthetic and thematic developments brought by European giants such as Ibsen and Chekhov. The module then addresses the great period of American tragedy as typified by the work of Williams and Miller before engaging with post-war drama by non-male and non-white writers such as Delaney, Fornes and Hansberry.

Sex and the City of God: religion and sexuality in American literature

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

Religion and sexuality are contested and related areas in American culture, not least because of the Puritan origins of the American self. This module explores the relationship between word and flesh in American writing from the colonial period to the present day. Studying poetry, fiction and non-fiction prose, students will consider the ways in which this Puritan heritage has been reproduced, challenged and changed, particularly in writings by women, African-Americans, and Native-Americans.

Beat Literature and Culture

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module studies writers of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Gary Snyder. It also introduces the forerunners of the Beat generation (Thoreau, Emerson, Rimbaud), as well as its legacies at the end of the 20th Century (e.g. Burroughs' influence on punk), and after the millennium, for example in Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road (2006). The module uses interdisciplinary elements such as biographical studies, reference to film and music, and indications of the Beats' political and spiritual dimensions.

Angels, Madwomen and Whores

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module enables students to engage with a wide range of writing by women from the 1790s to the end of the nineteenth century. By examining both poetry and prose, this module will uncover self-determined literary representation of female experience throughout the modern period, allowing students to engage with the central issues of gender and identity which affect women's writing.

Writing the North: Ulster Literature

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

The module introduces students to writers from Ulster, to representations of, and imaginative responses to, the north of Ireland, and to the central debates surrounding these representations and responses.

Contemporary World Fiction in English

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

The module examine both European and non-European texts, many from genres beyond the literary mainstream (including science fiction, high fantasy and crime fiction). Representations in fiction of key themes and issues that arose in the post-war period in Europe, the Americas, and the Commonwealth countries will be examined, as well as questions of national and global identity as these influence novels from around the world.

Samuel Beckett Studies

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module celebrates Samuel Beckett the man and artist, whose innovations in theme and form pushed the boundaries of literature, redefined the medium of theatre, and caused him to be considered as one of the most influential writers of the Twentieth Century. The module explores Beckett's works in the chronology of the composition; students will be introduced to their historical, cultural and philosophical influences and will be able to trace the development and impact of Beckett's oeuvre.

Adaptation and Historical Fiction

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

Adaptation and Historical Fiction looks closely at the relationship between literature, history, film and television. The module explores how and why history provides material for fiction and explores the process of adaptation across different media. Texts include popular and experimental adaptations and re-imaginings of writers and historical periods from Shakespeare to Austen and beyond.

Gothic and Romantic Writing

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module surveys writing associated with Gothic and Romantic discourses, focusing in particular on the rise of the gothic novel at the end of the C18th, gothic imagery in Romantic writing, late-Victorian versions of the gothic, the concept of decadence both before and during the fin-de-siecle, and the rise of psychoanalytical models at the end of the C19th.

English Exchange 1

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a semester or full year of the second year of their degree in study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks, and fulfilling the requirements of their second year programme.

English Exchange 2

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a semester or full year of the second year of their degree in study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks, and fulfilling the requirements of their second year programme.

English Exchange 3

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a semester or full year of the second year of their degree in study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks, and fulfilling the requirements of their second year programme.

English Exchange 4

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a semester or full year of the second year of their degree in study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks, and fulfilling the requirements of their second year programme.

English Exchange 5

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a semester or full year of the second year of their degree in study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks, and fulfilling the requirements of their second year programme.

English Exchange 6

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a semester or full year of the second year of their degree in study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks, and fulfilling the requirements of their second year programme.

Eighteenth-Century Literature

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

Exploring English develops subject-based skills in the study of literature along with vocational skills for employment. The module encourages students to apply critical and innovative thinking to literary texts from before 1800 and to reflect on and develop their personal skills and attributes.

Detective Fiction

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module will trace the development of detective fiction from the C19th to the present day, across a variety of forms and subgenres, and from a variety of different theoretical perspectives.

Modern North American Feminist Writing

Status: O

Year: 2

This module is optional

This module explains what sets feminist writing apart from other literary movements of the time. It traces the evolution of feminist writing from the cusp of the second-wave up to the contemporary millennial feminist writings in evidence today. This module explores what we mean by the terms 'feminist' 'feminism' and 'feminist writings' - asking whether these literary classifications restrict or aid our understandings of contemporary North American literature.

Year three

Inclusive Educational Practices

Year: 3

Status: C

This module is about exploring inclusive education in a world that is ever increasing in diversity. It focuses on practical and theoretical knowledge in inclusive education settings. The module makes links between marginalised groups, society, education and culture. It explores theories about inclusive societies and education to promote understanding and respect. It explores pedagogies and approaches to supporting the teaching and learning of people in genuinely inclusive educational settings.

Multicultural education and language learning

Year: 3

Status: C

This module is about exploring learning and teaching in a world of increasing linguistic and cultural diversity. It focuses on practical and theoretical knowledge in multilingual and multicultural education settings. The module makes links between language, culture and identity; it explores theories about intercultural competence, multilingual learning processes and identifies and evaluates pedagogies and approaches to supporting the teaching and learning of people in multilingual and multicultural educational settings.

English Placement

Status: O

Year: 3

This module is optional

This module provides students with the opportunity to experience life as a professional in the creative industries as a paid employee of a company. They will be expected to conduct themselves professionally being an employee of a company and an ambassador for the

English Abroad (DIAS)

Status: O

Year: 3

This module is optional

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake an extended period of study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is a required module for all English students on an intercalary study abroad year between second and final year. It is not open to non-study abroad students. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline of English whilst generating educational and cultural networks.

Year four

Dissertation

Year: 4

Status: C

This module enables the student to plan, prepare, write up, and present a dissertation of 6,000 words on a topic selected by the student and researched under the guidance of a suitably qualified member of staff.

Romantics and Victorians

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

The module is designed to introduce students to the history of English literature of the nineteenth century. It will trace, through the study of a selection of celebrated and representative works of the period's poetry and prose, the rise and development of Romanticism and its continuation - and gradual transformation - in the writings of the Victorian era.

Twentieth-Century Literature

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

The module offers a broad survey of significant works of English literature written during the twentieth century. It will describe, through the analysis of a selected works by celebrated and representative writers of the period, some of the major cultural developments and thematic preoccupations of modern literature in English, in particular the attitudes and aesthetics associated with late-Romanticism, modernism, twentieth-century realism, post-modern and multicultural writing.

How to be Modern: Writing from the Jazz Age, 1910-1930

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

The urge to be modern was a defining characteristic of a group of creative artists christened, by Gertrude Stein, the 'Lost Generation'. Born towards the end of the 1800s and reaching maturity around the time of the First World War, these groundbreaking writers modernized English literature (and themselves) through the 1910s and 1920s. Looking at both poetry and fiction, we will explore the breaking of sexual taboos, the impact of psychoanalysis, the trauma of the Great War, the rise of the New Woman, and avant-garde aesthetics (including free verse, streams of consciousness and unreliable narrators). In all cases we will seek to appreciate how these dynamic authors challenged stale cultural norms left over from the previous century.

Bonnets, Beards and Bastards: The Fiction of the Victorian Period

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

This module is designed to introduce students to the thematic and formal diversity of early and mid-Victorian fiction, as illustrated through the works of the leading novelists of the period. The key themes studied will include, among others, the social problems of mid-nineteenth-century Britain, 'the woman question', the role of religion in society, and the operation of the literary market; in aesthetic terms, the novels on the module will exemplify a range of formats and story-telling conventions, from the psychological novel to the sensation novel, from realism to symbolism, and from comedy of manners to naturalism.

Writing and Publishing

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

Students on this module learn about the functions, and apply some of the methods, of professionals in the publishing process (by undertaking tasks associated with writers, literary agents, editors, etc.). They workshop their own and each other's writing, and edit texts to publication standard and requirements. At this level a relatively sophisticated degree of self-assessment is required regarding their accumulated insights into writing and publishing.

Nineteenth-Century American Literature

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

This module examines American literature of the nineteenth century in its social, historical and cultural contexts.

Twentieth-Century American Literature

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

The module examines twentieth-century American literature and its engagement with the key social and political events of the country during that period. The post-World War 1 resurgence of America in the jazz age and the subsequent financial depression will be studied. The post-war rise of America as a global superpower and the impact of this perception on its writers will also be explored. The psyche of a country living the American Dream will be explored, mainly through its impact on minorities and on immigrant aspirations and experiences.

Body, Mind and Soul in Novels and Non-Fiction from Addison to Austen

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

A survey of ideas about the human body, mind and soul in texts ranging chronologically from Joseph Addison and Richard Steele's Spectator (1711) to Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (1814). It investigates the links between literature and medicine, psychology and philosophy, and will be of interest to students who want to explore how literature engages with issues such as belief, education, pain, pleasure, sexuality and disease.

The Ulster-Scots Literary Tradition 1750 - 2000

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

The module introduces students to the history of Ulster-Scots literature from the middle of the eighteenth to the beginning of the twenty-first century. It will trace the relationship of Ulster writing to Scottish and Irish cultural, literary, political, philosophical and linguistic influences in this period. The module will investigate the development, revivals and transformations of Ulster-Scots literature through an examination of its most representative and important authors.

From The Vote To The Pill: C20th And C21st Women's Writing

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

This module will enable students to engage with a variety of writing, in different genres, by women writers of the modern and the postmodern period, and will develop their understanding of the ways in which new political, social and sexual freedoms impacted upon women in the last century and beyond.

20th Century Irish Writers

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

This module celebrates three of the most influential (Irish) writers of the Twentieth Century, W B Yeats, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. Through an examination of poetry, drama and prose we will consider the development of each writer's work, explore their relationship to Ireland and Europe and examine some of the most significant and innovative writing of the twentieth century.

Late Victorian And Edwardian Novel

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

The module is designed to introduce students to the thematic and formal diversity of late Victorian and Edwardian fiction, as illustrated through the works of the leading novelists of the period. The key themes studied will include, among others, the late Victorian crisis of values, the changing position of women in society, the implications of the growth of the British Empire, and the increasing interest in psychology; in aesthetic terms, the novels on the module will exemplify a range of formats and story-telling conventions, from the scientific romance to the Bildungsroman, from realism to symbolism, and from fantasy to naturalism.

Shakespeare

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

This module immerses students in the aesthetically and thematically plural worlds of Shakespearean drama and poetry. Many plays and poems are addressed; issues raised will include canonicity, genre, public and private performance, theatre as propaganda and/or resistance, women's roles, sexual license, censorship, animals and the environment, authorial celebrity, collaboration, anonymity, textual authority, nuances of dialogue and the historicising of drama and poetry.

Narratives of Slavery

Status: O

Year: 4

This module is optional

This module invites students to explore a diverse range of literary texts and other media through which the history and legacy of the Atlantic slave trade has been represented.

Standard entry conditions

We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

A level

Grades CCC.

You can satisfy the requirement for the final A level grade C by substituting a combination of alternative qualifications to the same standard as defined by the University.

Preference may be given to candidates with an A level Grade C or higher in English Literature.

Applied General Qualifications

*** To note that only qualifications defined as “Applied General” will be accepted for entry onto any undergraduate course at Ulster University.***

BTEC Awards

QCF Pearson BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma (2012 Suite)

Award profile of DMM

RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma (2016 Suite)

Award profile of MMM

QCF Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma(2012 Suite)

Award profile of Distinction Merit plus A Level Grade C or award profile of Distinction Merit plus A Level Grade C

RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma (2016 Suite)

Award profile of Merit Merit plus A Level Grade C

QCF Pearson BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Introductory Diploma (2012 Suite)

Award profile of Merit plus A Level Grades CC

RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Certificate (2016 Suite)

Award profile of Merit plus A Level Grades CC

Diploma, National Diploma and Subsidiary Diploma applicants may satisfy the requirement for an element of the offer grade profiles (equating to the final A-level grade stated in the standard 3A level offer profile - Grade C) by substituting a combination of alternative qualifications to the same standard as defined by the University.

Irish Leaving Certificate

96 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at higher level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher level or O4 if studied at Ordinary Level.

Preference may be given to candidates with a H4 at higher level in English.

Irish Leaving Certificate UCAS Equivalency

• View tariff point chart

Tariff point chart

Scottish Highers

The Scottish Highers requirement for this course is grades

CCCCC

Preference may be given to candidates with Grade C in English

Applicants may satisfy the requirement for an element of the offer grade profiles (equating to the final A-level grade stated in the standard 3A level offer profile - Grade C) by substituting a combination of alternative qualifications to the same standard as defined by the University.

Scottish Advanced Highers

The Scottish Advanced Highers requirement for this course is grades

DDD

Preference may be given to candidates with Grade D in English

Applicants may satisfy the requirement for an element of the offer grade profiles (equating to the final A-level grade stated in the standard 3A level offer profile - Grade C) by substituting a combination of alternative qualifications to the same standard as defined by the University.

International Baccalaureate

Overall International Baccalaureate profile is minimum

24 points (including 12 at higher level) - 24 points (including 12 at higher level).

Access to Higher Education (HE)

Overall profile of 55% (120 credit Access Course) (NI Access course)

Overall profile of 45 credits at Merit (60 credit Access course) (GB Access course)

GCSE

For full-time study, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a first degree course and hold a GCSE pass at Grade C/4 or above English Language.

Level 2 Certificate in Essential Skills - Communication will be accepted as equivalent to GCSE English.

English Language Requirements

English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.

Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.

• English language requirements
• Your country

Additional Entry Requirements

HND - Overall Merit with distinctions in 15 Level 5 credits for entry to Year 1

HNC – Overall Distinction with distinctions in 45 Level 4 credits for entry to Year 1.

You may also meet the course entry requirements with combinations of different qualifications to the same standard as recognised by the University (provided subject requirements as noted above are met).

Foundation Degree- an overall mark of 40% in Level 5 modules for Year 1 entry.

APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning)

The University will consider applications on the basis of experiential learning for those who do not hold the normal entry qualifications.

Transfer from degree level study at other institutions

Those applicants seeking entry with advanced standing, (eg. Transfer from another institution or year 2 entry) will be considered on an individual basis.

Exemptions and transferability

Those applicants seeking entry with advanced standing, (eg. Transfer from another institution) will be considered on an individual basis but should note that this process can be more difficult in subject combination programmes as both subjects must be satisfied.

Careers & opportunities

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course are now working for:

• BBC
• NI Education Authority
• Downpatrick Primary School
• Next
• University of Birmingham
• Libraries NI
• Lloyds Banking Group

Job roles

With this degree you could become:

• Teacher
• Teacher of English as a Foreign Language
• Human Resource Officer
• Journalist
• Librarian
• Artistic Director
• Civil Servant

Career options

• English Majors Among Most Desirable Employees, says Google​

The top characteristics of success at Google are so-called "soft skills", such as communication, good leadership, possessing insight into others' values and points of view, having empathy and a supportive nature towards others and possessing good critical thinking and problem solving skills, along with the ability to create connections across complex ideas.

https://bookstr.com/article/english-majors-among-most-desirable-employees-says-google/​

English graduates have the kind of intellectual, social and communicative qualities that employers of all kinds require. The UU English with Education course will give you the necessary skills to be successful in a wide range of fields: our graduates go on to do many wonderful things, pursuing careers in (for example) teaching, publishing, journalism and the media, the creative arts, advertising and marketing, arts administration, charitable organisations, human resources and the civil service.

You also have the option of go on to postgraduate work in all areas of English literary studies, or maybe do a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme with a view to pursuing a career teaching in schools / colleges.

The Career Development Centre (https://www.ulster.ac.uk/campus-life/careers) is available to offer friendly and impartial help and advice with career planning and provide opportunities for you to develop your employability skills. There are Information Centres on each of the campuses.

Work placement / study abroad

There is an optional flexible placement element in your degree, encouraging you to develop your skills as a writer in the context of a relevant workplace. Opportunities for study abroad, usually during the second year of your degree, are also available: ISEP (International Student Exchange Programme) offers links with over 140 American Universities; Erasmus+ focuses on European destinations.

Apply

Start dates

• September 2023

Contact

For more information visit

• Visit Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• Visit School of Arts and Humanities

Testimonials

Jana Cherry(English year 3, 2021)

When I first began my journey of studying English at Ulster University, I was a bit overwhelmed. Coming from A levels, you feel as though there is a pressure on you to reach the standards of what is expected from an undergraduate student. However, each lecturer I have had the pleasure of meeting and being taught by has really lightened this pressure and worked alongside me to make sure I understood each topic to the best of my ability, even if it was one that I wasn't as confident in compared to the others. For me personally, I couldn’t recommend the English course enough. It is definitely something I will never regret doing because it has opened doors for my future career and this is all through the help of the lecturers and their fantastic teaching standards.

Keilan Colville(English year 2, 2021)

Making the decision to study English at UU is one that I will never regret. In the two years I've been here, I've developed relationships not just with other students but with the teaching staff too. Lecturers are encouraging and understanding, as well as being down-to-earth people who are always approachable. In studying a wide range of literary texts, I can find the things that I am interested in most. Even over the last year of the pandemic, online lessons delivered by the English department have been engaging and enjoyable. Most of all, it is the authentic love for literature that drives the English degree – a love that is shared in every class. As a student of English, I am given the space to grow, learn and as William Wordsworth once wrote, to ‘feel we are greater than we know.’

Kirstie Brown(English year 2, 2021)

In studying English at Ulster I have been given the opportunity to explore more than just the classics and the English literary canon. Modules have allowed me to discover the works of underrepresented women and BAME writers whilst approaching texts through different lenses and with fresh perspectives. The lecturers at Ulster couldn’t be more approachable and supportive, even with the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peter Linkens(English year 3, 2021)

Studying English in Coleraine has been an exhilarating and enriching experience for me. It has broadened my reading, helped me to adopt viewpoints other than my own and provided opportunities to meet people with whom I share a passion for literature, both students and lecturers. The lecturers are an eclectic mix of personalities who have helped to make this course so enjoyable. They are passionate about the subjects they teach, and I have enjoyed learning from them and talking with them. There is a diverse range of modules within the course that have helped broaden my skills in research, critical analysis and creative writing. There is also an English & Poetry Society in the university for those aspiring writers who are seeking to cultivate their skills and public speaking, which provides a welcoming and relaxed environment in which to share work or to just come along and listen. I really consider myself fortunate to have attended this university where my interest in literature has been stimulated and expanded by the teaching staff.