Undergraduate Study Opportunities
OPTIONS BOOKLET, 2010-11Click here to download the Options Booklet, 2010-11 Student Handbook 2009-10Important Changes to Submission of Assessed WorkThe English Department has changed the policy on extenuation for assessed work. For full information, please download this document. |
The Department offers a Single Honours BA in English as well as the following Joint Honours programmes:
We also currently offer English with Philosophy (minor). |
Syllabus
In the English Department of Royal Holloway you study for a 'school-based' degree of the University of London. What this means is that you study a syllabus devised within the Department, approved by the college and validated by the University.The syllabus is basically an historical one, with a firm foundation in the study of literature from the medieval period to the present day. The first year of the course presents basic approaches to English literature. The second and third years offer substantial general coverage of aspects of English literature from all the main historical periods and also more specialised courses which extend beyond literature written in Britain. In the third year you must write a Dissertation on a subject that you select in consultation with the Department, or take one of a group of papers examined by long essays. Teaching is done by a combination of lecture and seminar, and there is a variety of methods of examination. Formal written examinations take place in the Summer Term.
Single or Joint Honours Degree
"The course unit scheme operated by the English Department allows you to develop an understanding of key ideas, themes and works before progressing to choose from a variety of options ranging from Shakespeare to science fiction."
Richard
Allen
Mature Student - Access Course
Degrees at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. You will take four units in each of your three years of study. English can be taken as a Single Honours degree (one subject) or as a Joint Honours degree (two subjects).If you opt for a Joint Honours degree, you will normally take two whole units of English, or the equivalent in half-unit courses, in each of your three years of study. In the final year you either offer a Dissertation or take one of the Special Author Projects. The Joint Honours courses we currently offer are:
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Normally three passes at A-level: AAB with A in English (or two at A-level and two at AS-level) for single honours English, English/Creative Writing and English/Philosophy. The requirements for English/Drama are also AAB at A level, normally with A in English and A in Theatre Studies or Drama. Where appropriate, candidates are invited for a short interview, but we also make conditional offers without interview, in which case candidates are invited to attend a special Departmental UCAS Day. We are happy to consider applications based on Scottish Highers or Certificate of Sixth Year Study (4 As & 2 Bs and A in English), on Access Courses or on appropriate overseas qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate, where the requirements are 35 points with 6 in English at higher level. Where a candidate fails to obtain the grades, the case is often reviewed in the light of available information.
First-Year Courses
The first year of the degree is common to all Single Honours English students. It consists of four whole units. Joint Honours students take two whole units in the English Department - Inventing the Novel and Introducing English Poetry.
In the second year of study, students are free to choose three whole-unit courses out of five on offer, plus two half units from a pool of half-unit options. Courses on offer will differ from year to year. To see which courses we are offering in 2010-11, see the “Options Booklet, 2010-11” via the link at the top of this page.
Third-Year Courses
In the final year of study, you choose three whole units from a list that include two groups of options: the Special Author Project or the Special Topic. One of these three whole units may be a Dissertation, but you will be allowed to do this only if you achieve an average of 63% in your second year. Two further half units complete the degree. Courses on offer will differ from year to year. To see which courses we are offering in 2010-11, see the “Options Booklet, 2010-11” via the link at the top of this page.
Tel/Fax : +44 (0)1784 443214/479059