Program Overview

A Pathway in English, Media, Drama and Writing is designed to develop strong foundations in design, critical thinking, and research.

In the First Year Pathway students complete the ARU first year of the degree, undertaking the same modules, in the same classes as students entering the University directly. Alongside the ARU modules, students entering through the First Year Pathway will have additional support and tuition from ARU College.

First Year

A First Year pathway is available for students who:

• Don’t meet the entry requirements to enter university level study directly (but hold equivalent to AS/A level studies)
• Feel that additional support at the start of university studies will help them stand a better chance of success
• Have been away from studies for a period of time
• Come from a different academic environment to that of the UK

If you fall into any of the above categories, choosing an undergraduate pathway at ARU College is the right decision. Depending on your academic needs here at ARU College we have two pathway entry points available, foundation and first year pathway.

Progressing from First Year

At ARU College we offer a first year or stage 2 level study. Either students will enter this pathway following completion of the foundation, or for students that have completed equivalent of A level study we also have an entry point at first year of a bachelor’s degree.

Upon completion of the first year, or Stage 2, you will seamlessly progress to the second year of your chosen degree with the University, and no longer be registered with ARU College.

BA (Hons) English Literature

Our English and writing courses let you develop your own style of writing and explore facets of English language, literature and linguistics that fascinate you. And we give you industry insight through links with creative organisations.

Our film and media courses let you to explore the culture of communication, and develop your own style of media production – while focusing on the skills and knowledge valued by employers.
Learn how different societies have shaped, and been shaped by, English literature on our full-time English Literature degree in Cambridge. Choose to study abroad for one semester. Become a self-reliant researcher as well as developing many critical and communication skills required in the modern workplace.

• Explore classic literary texts alongside genres including sci-fi and children’s literature
• Improve your writing skills, both critical and creative
• Engage with the global publishing industry while living and learning in Cambridge, a centre for literature and publishing
• Learn from the author who wrote the book on Studying English Literature
• Get a head start with our optional placement year
• Study abroad, and apply for funding to help cover the cost

Our BA (Hons) English Literature will help you understand the importance of English literature; how it is affected by the culture, language, technology and economics of the period, but also how it influences readers and society itself.
You’ll engage with a wide range of texts, including novels, poems, plays, theatrical performances, films, tracts, pamphlets, reviews and critical and cultural theory. By studying English literature, you'll also be exploring a range of other subjects, including history, politics, philosophy, religion, psychology and the history of art.
You will be encouraged to work and think independently, helping you become self-reliant and critically adaptive, with the ability to consider perspectives that are different to your own or to popular opinion. Some exercises will involve you in group work, presenting ideas and information or finding solutions to problems with others, promoting your interpersonal skills and your ability to negotiate.
As well as developing skills such as literacy and communication, which are important for any future career, you will become well-versed in the specific methods of literary research, such as bibliographies, databases and information technology. You can take an optional placement year between years 2 and 3 in a sector of your choice, given you a head-start moving into the world of work.
Our optional modules will also give you the chance to practise and develop your own creative writing, as well as explore the processes of the modern publishing industry. In Year 3, you can develop your own interests and independent research skills by undertaking a short or long Major Project on a subject of your choice, working with a member of staff with expertise in your chosen area.
Your studies will be supported throughout the course by our team of English literature and writing experts. These include Course Leader Dr Cassie Gorman, (The Atom in Seventeenth-Century Literature, forthcoming); Dr Tory Young, (Studying English Literature, a text used on many other University courses as well as our own); Professor Eugene Giddens (Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass: A Publishing History); and Professor Sarah Annes Brown (A Familiar Compound Ghost: Allusion and the Uncanny).