Courses and structure

Credits and levels of learning

An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 courses in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 courses in your final year. A standard course is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half courses or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project.

Level 4

You take four courses (120 credits in total):

• Introduction to American Literature and Culture
• Explorations in Literature
• Approaches to Text
• either Engaging Poetry or The Short Story

Level 5

You take four courses:

• two courses (60 credits) chosen from the range of options available within the Department
• plus Inventing the Nation: American Literature in the Mid-19th Century and Further Studies in American Literature and Culture (30 credits each)

Level 6

You complete the following:

• The Emergence of Modern America: American Literature 1890–1940
• one 6,000-8,000-word Dissertation (30 credits), covering some aspects of English and American literature or culture
• courses worth a total of 60 credits chosen from the range of Level 3 options available within the Department (a rotation of single-term half-units is available at Level 3)

Please note: At Level 5 at least 30 credits must be chosen from those designated by the Department as encompassing pre-1800 literature, and a pass in the Level 6 Dissertation is compulsory for award of the degree.

Skills and careers

The skills you'll develop

Our degrees open up a wide range of careers by developing critical and analytical skills, proficiency in assessing evidence, the clear expression of ideas, and the ability to bring together insights from a range of subjects – all of which are attractive to a variety of employers. You will learn to solve problems, to think critically and creatively, and to communicate with clarity.

Careers

According to data collated by Unistats, the definitive UK university guide and part of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Goldsmiths’ English undergraduate students attain the highest-paid jobs upon graduation.

Our graduates have a good employment record: professions include publishing, journalism, PR, teaching, advertising, civil service, business and industry, European Union private sector management and personnel work, and the media.

• Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths
• Our alumni

About the department

The Department of English & Comparative Literature (ECL)

The Department of English and Comparative Literature, with its rich research base, large student community, and proximity to the resources of the capital, offers a particularly lively environment for undergraduate study.

We combine the wide-ranging research interests of our staff in English, European and American literatures. You will therefore benefit from a stimulating context for the study of literatures, linguistics, literary theory and creative writing.

Our staff come from a variety of cultural backgrounds – and, with their diverse research interests, they are ideally equipped to help you develop your own interests whether they lie in American, British, Caribbean, Irish, French, Spanish, German or Postcolonial literatures.

One of Goldsmiths’ major strengths is the way in which our departments (and smaller centres and units) co-operate to offer new perspectives and insights on each other’s subjects – this is the case, for example, with English and Drama (to which both the Departments of ECL and Theatre and Performance contribute) and Media and Modern Literature (taught jointly by ECL and the Department of Media and Communications).

In the last Research Assessment Exercise, 65% of the research/writing produced by the academic staff in ECL was judged to be of 3* or 4* standard, which means that our research publications have been judged to meet international standards of excellence. Additionally, selective reviews of our programmes continue to produce a clear 'vote of confidence' in the teaching provision in ECL.

You’ll find a list of our staff and their research interests here.

Key features

• We're large enough to provide a wide range of courses and specialists, but small enough to let you get to know other students and staff.
• Degree programmes are structured to give you a broad foundation in literature/cultural studies, and the opportunity to study the topics that interest you.
• A diverse range of courses from which to select, such as The Art of the Novel; Shakespeare; The Emergence of Modern America: American Literature 1890-1940; Oedipus: Myths, Tragedies and Theories; Studies in Literature and Film; Postcolonial Literatures in English, alongside courses exploring every period of writing in English.
• Every student has a personal tutor to provide advice and support.
• Our strengths include 20th-century literature, creative writing, European literatures, 18th-century literature, Renaissance literature, socio-linguistics, Romanticism, American literature, Caribbean writing, postcolonial writing and literary theory.
• Our degree in English and Comparative Literature and departmental links including those with Theatre and Performance, History, and Media and Communications enrich our teaching and research.
• Postgraduate degrees present a range of opportunities for you to continue your study of English at that level: MAs in Creative and Life Writing; Comparative Literary Studies; Sociocultural Linguistics* plus MRes, MPhil and PhD research degrees.
• Each year the Department runs a series of special lectures/readings for the benefit of its students. In the Richard Hoggart Lectures in Literature, major international writers and critics present and talk about their work; they have included: Harold Pinter, Doris Lessing, Seamus Heaney, Alan Bennett, Will Self and Germaine Greer.
• The Department is making increasing use of learn.gold – Goldsmiths’ resource for on-line learning.
• You can also use the University of London Library, which has over one million volumes, over 5,000 learned journals, a number of special collections, plus slides and music recordings.

See for yourself

If you’re thinking of studying at Goldsmiths, we recommend you come and visit us to have a look around. Our Open Days are ideal opportunities to find out more about what Goldsmiths can offer you. If you’d like further information please visit www.gold.ac.uk/opendays.

The Department of English and Comparative Literature also runs Applicant Days in the Spring Term for applicants who have received an offer of a place or an interview.

Student profiles

"I initially applied to Goldsmiths on account of the university’s reputation in arts circles; I was applying to study English, and hoped that the freedom often affiliated with the creative arts would apply here to the humanities. My expectations were exceeded.

The American side of the course has been brilliant – establishing a little community that seems driven by a mutual respect between staff and students – arguably echoing the atmosphere in the College at large – a kind of learning environment that feels ingratiating rather than exclusive.

The Department has been welcoming throughout the degree, and the tutors have always been approachable – whether I’ve knocked on doors with tangible questions or just to chew the fat, teachers have always been encouraging. The course itself has been comprehensive, running from the Renaissance to the post-modern moment, and has proved to strengthen not only a knowledge but also, I would argue, a love of literature: the enthusiasm of the lecturers precipitating a mutual sense of excitement. The degree has, as hoped, been an opportunity to consolidate this love.

Given the current cultural and political climate, it feels of unique significance to be affiliated with an institution that champions the humanities, and that exercises this championship without any sense of elitism. Currently in the final year of my undergraduate program, I hope to continue studying at Goldsmiths, and undertake a Masters with the Department."

Dominic, BA English & American Literature