BA (Hons) English Language and Journalism

In your first year, you’ll explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English. In journalism, you’ll be introduced to three key skills—research, writing and interviewing over several different platforms and think about the ethical dilemma journalists face every day. 

In your second year, core modules in English language focus on grammar and the sounds of English. You can explore theories of how and why language developed and study language-related real-life problems such as plagiarism and crime investigation in forensic linguistics. You’ll also have the opportunity to find a news story, create your own magazine, make a radio broadcast and learn about the part journalists played in discovering major scandals or covering the growth of social movements such as Black Lives Matter.

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s fine too. You’ll decide in your second year with us, so there is still plenty of time to think about this.  

In your final year, you can follow modules in different topics, including child language and communication, clinical linguistics, gender and language, and formulaic language, informed by our academics’ own research specialisms. In journalism, you will have the opportunity of doing work experience within journalism or a related field, studying international reporting, creating your own journalistic website, and building a journalism portfolio or creating your own freelance or media business, based on your interests.