Program Overview

With a location within one of the world’s most exciting performance cities, staff who are passionate about, and experts in, their field, and a curriculum of exciting and varied modules, you are sure to develop your love and knowledge of performance here at Roehampton.

This degree provides you with a breadth of understanding of theatre and performance around the world, a heightened socio-political awareness, a thorough grounding in rigorous approaches to performance-making and writing, and a lifelong, critically-informed appreciation and enjoyment of theatrical performance.

To enrich your learning, your course includes tickets to a range of theatre productions, as well as trips to exhibitions and other cultural events. You will visit some of London’s most well-known theatres, seeing a variety of high-profile shows, thought-provoking plays and cutting-edge performance events.

We also offer regular workshop and seminar sessions with visiting artists and scholars, hosted by the Centre for Performance & Creative Exchange, the main forum for our lively research culture, and the base for over 40 artists and researchers following our MA/MRes and MPhil/PhD courses.

Students on this course are significantly more satsified with their engagement with the University, including interactions with academic staff and the skills they develop, than the national average for this subject (UK Engagement Survey, 2018 results)

English Literature:
This engaging BA English Literature degree is for people with a passion for literature.  

Explore topics as varied as children’s literature, literature and media, Shakespeare on screen and Victorian novels. You’ll also study classic and modern writing from around the world, including the work of Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Zadie Smith and Neil Gaiman. 

You’ll be taught by world-class researchers and writers, and be part of a department that’s ranked 15th in the country* on the strength of its research. We also run extra lectures and masterclasses with renowned authors, such as our Chancellor, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Kazuo Ishiguro, Anthony Horowitz, Emma Donoghue and Daisy Johnson. 

Develop a range of skills you’ll need in the workplace, including clarity of expression in written work and oral presentation, research skills, and the ability to analyse arguments and ideas. You will be supported to realise your potential through individual tutorials, small group work and lectures. 

Roehampton has thriving partnerships with leading literature festivals and cultural organisations, including Battersea Arts Centre, Wimbledon Bookfest and Barnes Children's Literature Festival. You can volunteer or undertake paid work placements. We also have our own press, Fincham Press, so there’s the chance to have your own work published. 

You can expect to make full use of London's extraordinary range of libraries, museums, galleries and theatre spaces. Built into our modules are guided trips to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Maritime Museum and Shakespeare's Globe, to name just a few. 

According to the latest official survey, 92% of English Literature graduates are working or in further study six months after finishing this course (Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education Survey, 2018 results) and our graduates earn more on average than those from any other modern university in London (Longitudinal Education Outcomes 2017 results, earnings one, three and five years after graduation). This means you'll leave us, not only with a deeper appreciation of literature, but also highly-equipped to succeed in whichever career you wish to pursue