English Literature at Bristol

The Department of English at Bristol has a distinguished history in the field of literary studies and is consistently ranked as one of the top departments of English in the UK.

Our teaching and research depend on the wide range and depth of our expertise, with our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes covering literature from the early Middle Ages through to the contemporary world of global literatures in English and creative writing. We prepare our graduates to enter a wide variety of employment fields, including communications, media, publishing, editing, business consulting, management, public relations, teaching, heritage, archives, data management, and many other areas.

With world-leading research produced by renowned scholars, the department is an intellectually stimulating environment. As well as producing high-quality individual research, our staff contribute to many research centres and clusters across the university, including the Centre for Medieval Studies, Centre for Material Texts, Centre for Black Humanities, Centre for Environmental Humanities, the Bristol Poetry Institute, Romantic and Victorian Studies, Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, and the Brigstow Institute. We are an outward-looking department which looks for opportunities to engage with audiences in Bristol and beyond. As well as organising public lectures and events throughout the year, our staff work with institutions such as the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the National Archives, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Bristol Old Vic, and the Bristol Theatre Collection.

Unit structure

The department offers many classes that are based in a single semester, and can therefore accept unit requests from Study Abroad students who want to join Bristol for just the autumn or spring semester.

Unit levels

The department offers units across all undergraduate levels of study: year 1 (level C/4), year 2 (level I/5), and year 3 (level H/6) units. Postgraduate units are not available.

Unit codes

Unit codes in the Department of English begin with 'ENGL'. This is followed by a number indicating the year (1, 2, 3). For example:

• ENGL10000 = year 1 unit
• ENGL20000 = year 2 unit
• ENGL30000 = year 3 unit.

For more information about each unit, check the University's unit catalogue for 2023/24. Applicants on all study abroad programmes must review the unit details on the catalogue before listing unit choices on their application form. This includes checking the format of assessment for each unit. The unit catalogue for 2023/24 is updated by April 2023.

Your unit choices cannot be guaranteed. Some units may not have capacity to accommodate all of the unit requests we receive. Registration on a unit also depends on whether you meet the pre-requisite conditions through prior study at your home university.

Study Abroad (Subject pathway)

If you have been nominated to Bristol on the Study Abroad (Subject pathway), you must take the majority of your credits in this department.

Units available on the study abroad programme in 2023/24

The following units from the Department of English are open to inbound Study Abroad students.

Unit combinations

For students interested in taking more than 1 unit from Year 2 (level I/5), the Department recommends taking at least one of the following:

• Arthurian Literature (TB2) - ENGL20060
• Chaucer and Chaucerians (TB2) - ENGL20061
• Literature 1740-1900 (TB1) - ENGL20063
• Literature 1900-present (TB2) - ENGL20064
• Old English Language and Literature (TB2) - ENGL20065
• Shakespeare (TB1) - ENGL20068
• Writing the City: London 1550-1740 (TB1) - ENGL20069

These units include full lecture programmes whilst other units are taught by seminar only.

For students intersted in taking more than 1 unit from Year 3 (level H/6), the Department recommends taking at least one of the following:

• American Revolutions (TB1) - ENGL30108
• Literature, Enslavement, Liberation (TB2) - ENGL30142
• Literatures of Decolonisation (TB1) - ENGL30147
• Novel Territories: Eighteenth-century Prose Fiction (TB1) - ENGL30115
• Victorian Fiction: Art and Ideas in the Marketplace (TB1) - ENGL30117

These units include full lecture programmes whilst other units are taught by seminar only.

Application queries

Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:

Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk