Publishing and English

This flexible and innovative degree will change the way that you think; you will encounter a wide range of literature from across the globe, develop your writing skills, and gain an understanding of how the publishing industry operates. Our graduates enjoy excellent career prospects in fields like teaching, publishing, marketing, librarianship and arts administration.

KEY FEATURES OF THE COURSE


1. Combining two subjects boosts your employability and gives you the opportunity to develop knowledge and expertise in two subject areas, making you a more versatile graduate


2. The course equips you with the skills and knowledge you need for excellent career prospects in fields which include (though are not limited to) teaching, journalism, publishing and arts administration


3. Benefit from the support of a dedicated and enthusiastic teaching team who are published experts in their field


4. The course’s distinctive core of engagement with literary, critical and cultural theory will enable you to develop a highly nuanced and sophisticated approach to the analysis of literature, language and culture


5. Learn the art, craft and processes of writing fiction and non-fiction; we'll cover writing for books, magazines, and digital content


6. Understand how today's publishing industry works and gain the skills you need to get your work — or the work of others — to market


HOW YOU’LL LEARN:

You'll learn through a mixture of:
- lectures, seminars and tutorials


- creative writing workshops


- project work


- technology-enhanced learning


- peer reviews and presentations.


We also arrange visits to literary festivals, local and national museums, cultural heritage sites and other areas of interest for 'location writing' exercises.

YOUR CAREER:

We will provide you with the skills to critically engage with the world in which you live, as well as developing your understanding of cultural difference and of the capacity of language to produce unintended effects and meanings. Such awareness is hugely valuable to employers.

The UK publishing industry is proportionately the largest and most successful in the world, so you'll have an extensive range of career opportunities open to you. You could work as an author, editor or publisher of books, magazines or digital content. You could also consider a career as a literary agent, bookseller, or events co-ordinator at a book festival.

Outside of the publishing world, employers across all sectors always need people who can write and communicate well. The key skills you'll develop on this course — including writing, editing, group work and presentations — are essential for many roles, most obviously copywriters, marketers, advertising executives, events managers and publicists.

Graduates from our previous BA in Writing and Publishing went on to jobs in copywriting, arts development, librarianship, archive and record keeping, computer games and website design, teaching, marketing and law.

You may also choose to continue your studies at postgraduate level, for example on our MA Creative Writing or MA Publishing courses.

STUDY OPTIONS:

On the Joint Honours programme, there are different pathways of study available. You can often study both subjects equally or choose to major in a subject. Please view the course page on our website for more information on pathways.

Based solely on more than 24,000 student reviews, we were named Uni Compare's University of the Year 2027, and voted 1st in the UK for employability and 2nd in the UK for course quality. Not only that, but 97% of students would recommend the University of Derby*, which we can offer you industry-relevant teaching, state-of-the-art study spaces, multi-award-winning accommodation, and a welcoming, inclusive community.

*Uni Compare 2027