Art and English Literature University of Reading

Overview

Key features

• Throughout the Art and English Literature BA degree from the University of Reading you will join a lively community at one of the top art departments in the UK. You can explore a vast range of media, experiment with emerging art forms and develop as an artist. You will complement your practical art with modules in Contemporary Art theory and the History of Art. 
• The studios are busy places with events, screenings, performances and exhibitions regularly taking place. You will receive a dedicated space, accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and a studio tutor to help develop your individual and professional practice.
• Trips to museums and art galleries help prompt thoughts on how art is displayed and received. You will gain professional experience by taking part in your own exhibitions, public art commissions and events. Your teaching staff are all artists, curators and researchers of international standing and will encourage regular exhibitions and open debate.
• In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that you may not know so well, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary Caribbean and American fiction.

Career opportunities:

• As well as the practical experience gained on this degree our students also graduate with a range of transferable skills, such as self-motivation, time management and strategic thinking. You will enter the job market as a self-confident graduate with well-developed skills in oral communication, research and writing, together with a high level of cultural literacy and critical sophistication.
• In the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21, 95% of our leavers are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation (Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2023, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21; includes first degree English Literature responders). Many of our graduates develop successful careers as artists, writers and curators. These include a number of famous alumni, such as Turner Prize-nominated artists, and PhD students who are award-winning artists and curators at influential museums.
• Others have found employment in galleries, education, art therapy and film and video production. Our graduates have excelled in fields as diverse as law, business administration, web design, teaching and journalism. Recent employers include Tate, Whitechapel Gallery, Christies, Microsoft, the BBC, Victoria & Albert Museum, and Manolo Blahnik.