School of English

The School of English was one of the first departments to be established when the University was formally opened (as The Nottingham University College) in June 1881. The School is located in the Trent Building, University Park Campus.

The School of English has a range of Undergraduate, Masters and Distance Learning courses and opportunities for postgraduate research in the following areas:

• creative writing
• literatures in English from the Anglo-Saxons to the present day (including the local authors Byron and Lawrence and the literary and coterie practices of the Cavendish family);
• drama of all periods, with a particular focus on drama as performance;
• English language and applied linguistics;
• historical language study including place-names;
• Old Norse and Viking Studies.

Research in the School of English embraces a wide spectrum of specialisms and interdisciplinary areas:

• Research that covers a unique range, including Viking studies to Contemporary Literature, Applied and Historical Linguistics, Creative Writing, and Performance Studies
• Research which crosses traditional divisions within the discipline (for example, between the study of linguistics and literature)
• Research that involves other disciplines (staff and postgraduates are currently working on research projects that involve collaborations with the Schools of Education, Nursing Studies, Psychology, Computer Science and IT, Geography, History and Art History, and the Departments of Music, Archaeology and Critical Theory)

Our graduates are among the best in the country and move into an extraordinarily wide range of careers. Some go into media work (publishing, TV research or journalism), marketing, law, accountancy or librarianship. Others become school teachers, teachers of English as a foreign language or university lecturers, while our well-developed links to the creative industries and the heritage and tourism sector provide great opportunities for students wishing to work in those areas.