Strand Campus
Strand Campus sits along the Thames at London's cultural heart. Alongside world-class teaching spaces, students enjoy access to the pedestrianised Strand Quad, with Somerset House and iconic landmarks just steps away.
Overview
Our dynamic English BA degree offers a varied literature syllabus with areas of study ranging from medieval performance to contemporary poetry, global fiction, and creative writing. With many optional modules to choose from, you can shape your own specialism by selecting the topics that interest you most.
You’ll learn how to apply a range of theoretical and historical approaches to literary study and develop essential skills in critical thinking, expression, and research at one of the oldest English departments in the country.
Your central London location will encourage you to engage with the literary history and culture right on your doorstep, with sites such as Shakespeare’s Globe and the British Film Institute a short walk away. You’ll pair this with a deep understanding of global literature gained via a curriculum that explores writing from beyond the UK to include the US, Anglophone Africa, Ireland, and South Asia.
Key benefits
- Diversify your perspective by studying an inclusive curriculum that teaches English literatures written in the US, Africa, Ireland, South Asia, and within the UK.
- Learn from academics who share their cutting-edge research from their work at a range of research centres, including the Centre for the Humanities and Health, Queer@King’s and the Shakespeare Centre London
- Enhance your education by exploring the cultural institutions on your central London doorstep, with opportunities to work with Shakespeare’s Globe, amongst others.
- Join one of the oldest English departments in the country, with an outstanding international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching.
- Enjoy individual attention and support from your personal tutor.
- Choose to complete a dissertation or extend your learning with additional modules.
I still remember my first lecture. Ten minutes in, we had branched out into countless different subjects, theories, ideas – the connections seemed infinite. I’m studying English, but I’m also learning about history, philosophy, art, politics, psychology, socioeconomics.
DilaraEnglish BA
Course essentials
By choosing an English degree at King’s, you will encounter literature that stretches back through the centuries and reaches out across the globe.
This BA in English combines contemporary literary theory, close textual examination and historical study to offer open and imaginative approaches to classic English texts.
Many modules are offered in collaboration with cultural institutions and local archives, including the Globe Theatre. This enables you to move beyond the university and see literature in its largest cultural contexts.
You will learn from research-active academics who bring their findings into their teaching and will introduce you to current developments in the discipline, both in the classroom and at numerous extracurricular activities and events. Your teachers will include award-winning novelists, poets, essayists, biographers, non-fiction authors and literary critics.
By joining one of the oldest English departments in the country, you’ll enjoy access to a range of extracurricular opportunities. Alongside invites to a wide range of cultural events, you’ll also be encouraged to get involved in writing and editing the student magazine or to participate in the many drama and music groups at King’s.
You’ll also benefit from being based in central London, at the heart of the arts and media district and close to historic literary locations. Just a short walk away, you’ll find Shakespeare’s Globe and the site of the Tabard Inn, where Chaucer’s pilgrims started out on their journey.
Even closer at hand are the Inns of Court, Covent Garden, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which is London’s oldest working theatre, and countless other sites and buildings with literary associations. Just across Waterloo Bridge is the South Bank arts complex, including the IMAX Cinema, as well as the BFI Southbank, which contains the BFI Mediatheque, a studio cinema, and a gallery, among other facilities
Special features
Optional study abroad
Key Information
UCAS code:
Q300
Course type:
Single honours
Delivery mode:
In person
Study mode:
Full-time
Required A-Levels:
AAA
Duration:
Three years
Application status:
Start date:
September 2027
Application deadline:
Administrative bodies
Awarding body
King's College London and Affiliates
Regulating body
Base campus