Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Literature and Media

at University of Hertfordshire - De Havilland Campus United Kingdom

What is it for sounds, gestures and marks on paper to have meaning? What are the various uses to which we can put language, and how does it manage to have the effects it has? How do we learn language? And how does the language we use reflect society, the nature of our thoughts, and what we take reality to be like?

Our BA Philosophy and English Language degree allows you to examine the nature of language, through two distinct approaches. You’ll develop a range of skills in analysing the structure of the English language and how it is used in a variety of situations, while exploring and challenging the assumptions about the nature of language, its limits and how it functions.

In your first year, alongside core linguistics modules, you’ll learn to think critically by examining how language may be used – and misused – in reasoning and persuasion. You’ll also study social and political philosophy, covering topics such as freedom of speech, and examine the nature of mind and reality.

All our philosophy lecturers are active researchers, so you’ll share the excitement of doing original work in a supportive and highly-rated academic community. Our Philosophy team is in the top 15 in the Guardian League Table 2019 and rates as one of the 100 best Philosophy departments worldwide in the 2017 QS rankings.

Our English language lecturers are research-active academics working in cutting-edge areas such as language and gender, formulaic language, corpus studies, bilingualism, bilingual processing and codeswitching.

Core modules in your second year focus on English 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. In Philosophy, you may explore a wide variety of topics, including the option to learn some languages of logic.

One final-year option is corpus studies in English language, which will develop your research skills through your use of Sketch Engine, a text analysis tool that allows you to search vast samples of language, or corpora. In Philosophy, there is the option to study more advanced contemporary themes and theories in the philosophy of language, and also to take a module which focuses in particular on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s influential work on the nature of language.

• A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting
• An exceptional academic team, conducting internationally renowned research
• Stimulating, innovative courses that allow you to make rewarding connections between two disciplines
• CV-building potential through extra-curricular activities

Study with a top History department and be taught from the cutting edge of historical research. Learn to write for a broad audience and communicate your ideas effectively with our colleagues in Journalism.

Our BA History and Journalism gives you the opportunity to study two subjects that will help you to hone your investigative and analytical skills, while developing your writing style.

Through our diverse and inclusive History curriculum you will learn about an array of cultures and identities. What links our work is our focus on people’s history and everyday lives. This is represented strongly in our first year programme, which will give you an insight into the making of the modern world through exploration of faith, magic and medicine, campaigns for freedom and equality, Africa and the world, and America from Hamilton to Trump.

Throughout your degree, the common link between the two disciplines will be the development of research skills. As historians you will learn to analyse historical documents and debates among historians, while in Journalism you’ll explore print, digital, photographic and broadcast journalism.

This ability to work as an effective and confident researcher, honed over the course of your studies, will benefit you in the final year of History if you choose to write a dissertation. This extended piece of work will grow out of a topic that interests you. Previous students have been inspired by their year of study abroad, while others have worked on the history of jiu jitsu, women code breakers at Bletchley Park, the Notting Hill riots, and vice and sexuality in 17th-century London. One of our final year students won the British Commission for Maritime History Prize in 2016 for his dissertation on the East India Company.

We give you: 

• An exceptional History team, conducting world-leading research (REF 2014), and a team of industry-experienced journalists,
• Stimulating, innovative courses - our History students reported almost 94% overall satisfaction with their course (2018 National Student Survey)
• A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting and the scope to write a History dissertation on a topic about which you are passionate
• intensive, engaging modules in Journalism designed to help make you a confident journalist, ready for the digital age
• CV-building potential and practical experience through work placements and extra-curricular activities

Our BA English Language and Journalism degree introduces you to the scientific study of the English Language and allows you to examine human communication in different contexts. You’ll develop a range of journalistic skills while exploring the ways language reflects society and how it is used for different purposes.

In your first year you’ll be introduced to the practical craft of journalism and explore the law and ethics surrounding journalism alongside core English Language modules. You’ll also explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, pidgin and creole English, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English.

Our journalism team are highly experienced practitioners, who’ll help you develop the skills to produce work in different styles and for diverse markets. You’ll learn how to source stories and get hands-on experience as part of a vibrant student community and through work placements. You’ll take part in News Lab workshops, conduct interviews, write features and join lively group discussions.

Core modules in your second year focus on English 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 specialize in news or feature writing, radio journalism or social media.

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. You’ll also develop your journalism skills portfolio, examine journalism, government and the people.

The MPhys allows you to study astrophysics to a greater depth and breadth than the BSc. It’s particularly recommended if you’re interested in pursuing research in industry, government or academia, or if you want to go on to further postgraduate study. During the course you’ll study more advanced topics such as galaxy formation and evolution, high-energy astrophysics and atmospheric physics. You’ll also undertake a large research project within our Centre for Astrophysics Research. We have an innovative strand of industrial projects, supported by the Institute of Physics, that gives you direct experience of working in industrial research. You’ll also have the exciting opportunity to spend a year at a major astronomical research centre or an international observatory.

• The MPhys programme allows students to study astrophysics to a greater depth and breadth than our BSc programme. An MPhys is particularly recommended for those students interested in pursuing research in the industrial, government and academic sectors, and who are likely to consider undertaking further postgraduate study (MSc and/or PhD degrees).

• The MPhys programme allows students to study astrophysics to a greater depth and breadth than our BSc programme.
• In the MPhys year you will study more advanced courses in a range of Astrophysics and Physics specialisms (including Galaxy Formation & Evolution, High Energy Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics), plus undertake a large research project within the Centre for Astrophysics Research.
• Your research project will form a third of your final year and you will be closely supervised and guided by one of our experienced researchers while you work on a cutting-edge problem in modern Astrophysics. Previous projects include developing Lucky Imaging cameras at our observatory, studying extreme variable stars in the Milky Way, studying observations of powerful Active Galactic Nuclei, and designing new space telescopes to study extrasolar planet atmospheres. We have an innovative strand of industrial projects supported by the Institute of Physics that give you direct experience of working in industrial research.

• Digital Media Arts provides an opportunity to study one or more digital specialisms including video, kinetics, animation, sound, games, photography, social and interactive media.
• Experiment and explore emerging technologies and develop innovative and effective combinations of practices and media.
• Develop high-level skills in your chosen specialisms or areas of interest supported by expert tutors.
• Project-based work where the emphasis is on the creative, informed application of new technologies and devices to produce compelling user experiences.
• You will be able to produce a substantial self-initiated digital media project supported by excellent resources and expertise

Digital Media are everywhere in the modern world, affecting all aspects of our lives, our work, leisure and social and personal relationships. The MA Digital Media Arts award allows students to gain practical experience and knowledge of the ways that a range of contemporary digital media are produced and used, both alone and in combination. Working in one or more specialisms which can include video, kinetics, animation, games, photography, social and interactive media, students are encouraged to experiment with combinations of media through digital ‘sketches’ and then, through developing more extended works informed by their individual interests, to pursue a substantial, practical enquiry into an original creative application of digital media in a major project.

Students typically explore areas such as interactive advertising, responsive objects and environments, networked information and social-media systems, interactive video, live performance technology and digital art installations.

The MSc in Computer Networks and Systems Security considers current research and practice in computer networks and systems security. You will develop technical expertise and practical skills in the design, management and evaluation of networks, and in the use of tools and techniques for systems security. This MSc can lead to a career such as a network system designer or administrator, or as a security consultant.

The MSc Management is designed to provide you with a multidisciplinary approach to management. Upon graduation, you’ll be equipped with the personal and professional skills needed to be competent and successful managers in modern businesses.

You’ll develop a strong foundation of understanding of the role of management and its implementation across different industries. From developing an understanding of the role of management in the wider international economy, to the responsibilities of management to society, sustainability, and the planet, you’ll explore management from a range of perspectives.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to businesses as consumers become more conscious of their impact on the environment. Businesses are required to balance the need for transparency in the choices they make, while considering the needs of the business. Throughout the course, you’ll explore the key challenges of sustainable decision-making and the importance of managing relationships with communities, society and the environment. You’ll learn to bring together a range of business practices, knowledge and skills, and apply them to develop sustainable business activities.

So, whether you’re a graduate looking for a broad management qualification, or a professional who is looking to progress into management through a formal qualification, the MSc Management will provide you with an exciting learning journey.

You’ll be introduced to Linguistics, the scientific study of everything to do with language, from its structure and how it develops in children, to the ways it reflects society, how it’s used, and how it changes over time. You’ll be taught by research-active academics working in cutting-edge areas such as language and gender, formulaic language, corpus studies, bilingualism, bilingual processing and codeswitching.

What links our work is our focus on the applied use of English language, from English Language teaching to the use of forensic linguistics in solving language-related real-life problems such as plagiarism and crime investigation, to speech and language therapy and the study of language disorders.

In your first year, alongside core linguistics modules, you’ll study language and mind, where you’ll analyse child speech transcripts and consider language acquisition. You’ll also explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, pidgin and creole English, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English.

Core modules in your second year focus on English grammar and the sounds of English. You can explore theories of how and why language developed and take a language competencies module leading to a work placement.

In your final year you can develop your own interests in short projects, or 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.

One final year option is corpus studies in English language, which will develop your research skills through your use of Sketch Engine, a text analysis tool that allows you to search vast samples of language, or corpora. Want to know when the word ‘Brexit’ first appeared in print or when ‘backstop’ acquired a new meaning? Find out by delving into databases of billions of words, to pursue your own original research projects.

Study with a top history department and be taught from the cutting edge of historical research. We are ranked first among all History departments in the country for the social and cultural impact of our research and fifth for the overall quality of our research. Our world leading experts have published widely, won prizes for their work, and contribute to national and international television and radio. Our publications include a contribution to Harry Potter: A History of Magic, the companion book to the recent exhibition of the same name at the British Library.

Through our diverse and inclusive curriculum students will learn about an array of cultures and identities. Topics range from magic and witchcraft, to propaganda and popular protest, to health and family life.

What links our work is our focus on people’s history and everyday lives. This is represented strongly in our first year programme, which will give you an insight into the making of the modern world through exploration of faith, magic and medicine, campaigns for freedom and equality, Africa and the world, and America from Hamilton to Trump.

The modules you take in your second and third year allow you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting; you might focus on a region, such as Europe, or a particular period, such as the twentieth century. Whichever path you choose, you will find challenging and stimulating courses.

In your final year, you demonstrate your research skills by producing a dissertation on a topic of your choosing. Previous students have been inspired by their year of study abroad, while others have worked on the history of jiu jitsu, women code breakers at Bletchley Park, the Notting Hill riots, and vice and sexuality in 17th-century London. One of the recent presidents of the University’s Students’ Union wrote her dissertation during her final year of study with us on changing perceptions of the devil, while one of our final year students won the British Commission for Maritime History Prize in 2016 for his dissertation on the East India Company.

We give you: 

• An exceptional academic team, conducting world-leading research
• Stimulating, innovative courses - our students reported almost 94% overall satisfaction with their course (2018 National Student Survey)
• A flexible program of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting
• The opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic about which you are passionate
• CV-building potential through work placements and extra-curricular activities

Biology is the scientific study of living organisms and deals with every aspect of life. During the course you’ll examine the physiology of the human body and how it’s affected by disease and drugs. You’ll study the structure, biochemistry and mechanics of the cell, as well as evolutionary processes and genetics, both in mammals and microorganisms. As you progress, you’ll choose from a wide range of modules including blood sciences, pharmacology, microbiology, immunology and drug discovery. You’ll also have the chance to study abroad or take a year’s work placement, either of which will boost your employability. Ultimately, you’ll gain the technical, analytical and practical skills needed to investigate biological phenomena in microorganisms, plants, humans and animals. This degree is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.

• Biology is a discipline with a broad range of applications affecting many areas of human activity.  You will study life at all levels from molecules, through organelles and cells, to whole organisms.  You will gain the technical, analytical and practical skills needed to investigate biological phenomena in microorganisms, plants, human beings and other animals.
• The Biological Science programme offers you flexibility and a broad range of options for study.  The first year provides a solid foundation in all aspects of biology including topics in areas such as physiology, biochemistry, genetics and cell biology.  It also gives you an opportunity to start developing your practical skills in the laboratory.   At second and final year you can choose from a range of modules from across our biosciences courses according to your particular interests. 
• The degree provides a stepping stone to a wide range of scientific careers, including teaching.