Philosophy and English Literature with Placement Experience BA (Hons)

**With our BA Philosophy and English literature course, develop your critical and analytical skills and apply them to a variety of philosophical and literary texts. Our students become expert at presenting arguments clearly and persuasively.**<br/><br/>In philosophy, we will give you an understanding of the central philosophical principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. You will also have the chance to explore non-Western philosophies, such as Indian philosophy.<br/><br/>Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy. You can also select modules from outside the department. In years two and three you will have the opportunity to explore your chosen topic in more depth. These may include studying philosophy in terms of ethics and animals, crime and punishment or religion.<br/><br/>In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you may already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that may be less familiar to you, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary American fiction.<br/><br/>94% of students in the Department of English Literature said our teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023).

There are so many reasons to choose the University of Reading in Clearing this year. Join a diverse and supportive community where lecturers will inspire you with their discoveries and guide you in making your own. Reading’s award-winning parkland campus offers the spaces and places you need to make the most of your studies and student life.<br/><br/>The University of Reading is a research-intensive university. It works with governments, international agencies, businesses, and charities to tackle some of the biggest problems facing the world today, such as climate change, heart disease, and international conflict.<br/><br/>Named The Sustainable University of The Year, 2025, this year Reading launched one of the UK's largest ever undergraduate scholarship schemes, designed to develop future Global Sustainability Leaders Scholarships. The scholarship offers £6000 per year (for up to 4 years of study) towards living expenses and will be available to apply to, for those entering Clearing and who meet the scheme's criteria. With over 150 clubs and societies, Reading knows how important life is beyond your studies too and with the student union in the heart of the campus, there's little doubt making the University of Reading your first call in Clearing will be one of the best decisions you ever made.