Literature

Undergraduate degrees

Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of literature at Essex - exploring diverse genres such as Arthurian legends, writings from Europe, the US, and the Caribbean, Shakespearean plays, Romantic poetry, science fiction, and beyond. Hone your critical analysis and artistic expression skills as you delve into literature from around the world.

At Essex, we embrace radical, challenging, and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of literature, breaking free from conventions rather than adhering to them. Within our Department, you have the opportunity to delve into modules that explore diverse genres such as travel writing, podcasts, autobiography, and more. You'll engage with different media, including books, newspapers, plays, and film, across e a range of topics, from the English Civil War to dystopian literature and film, examining not only significant historical, political, and social events but also the alternative worlds that literature has imaginatively crafted.

Additionally, all our undergraduate programs offer the flexibility of studying abroad for a term or a full year, providing you with a global perspective on literature and enhancing your educational experience.

Career prospects

With a degree in Literature, you will gain key skills such as research, analysing written texts, communication and teamwork that are highly transferable and make you very attractive to various employers. Our graduates go on to find jobs in the following sectors and beyond:

• Academia
• Television
• Publishing
• Teaching
• Journalism
• Law

Masters degrees

Take your study of literature to the next level with our MA programs.

We don't just offer the study of Literature, but the study of world Literature. You explore literature across time, geography, and genre, combining scholarly research with innovative, practical ways of engaging with texts. Your research and reading will take you across the globe; from African American literature, through Caribbean literatures, to the literature and performance of New York, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow and London.

Research degrees

Our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies provides PhD supervision in Literature across various fields aligned with the research specialist areas of our faculty. This encompasses a diverse range of expertise in different literatures and approaches, spanning from early modern to contemporary writing in English and various other languages. The department excels in research areas such as Early Modern literature, Romanticism, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature, US and Caribbean literature, postcolonial literature, modern, postmodern, and contemporary literature (twentieth- and twenty-first century), eco-criticism and nature writing, black and black diaspora writing, travel writing, First World War writing, literature and human rights, science fiction, and the post-human.

Our research strengths extend to producing successful graduates who have embarked on thriving careers as writers. Past students have also achieved recognition as scholars, university lecturers, teachers, publishers, publishers' editors, journalists, arts administrators, theatre artistic directors, drama advisers, and translators.

We also offer MPhil and Masters by dissertation programs in this field. Start your application with us

Start your application with us

Explore our literature research by theme or your area of interest and find a supervisor that can support your through your studies. More information can be found about research degrees on our school pages. Our courses below will help guide you through the various research degree programmes we offer.