Objectives
The Higher Education Council For England (HEFCE) which reviews the quality of education, has given English at UWE an excellent rating (the highest possible grade). This assessment applies to all aspects of teaching and learning at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.The number of students taking single and joint honours in English approaches 800; yet we pride ourselves on maintaining an open, supportive, and friendly atmosphere in the School. In addition to our undergraduate provision, we also have an MA programme and supervise PhD students.English received a '4' (on a scale of 1-5) in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2001), and our ambition is to achieve an even higher rating in 2008. Research underpins every aspect of our teaching, and the books and articles we produce have an international circulation and reputation. Members of the School regularly present papers at international conferences, and they have been highly successful in attracting funding for research projects. In addition to a curriculum that explores the wide range of periods and genres that constitute the traditional English curriculum, we offer specialist options in areas as diverse as Gothic Literature, Children's Literature, and the Holocaust. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds, and we are part of the national initiative to widen access. This means that applications are considered not only from students on A-level, IB or BTEC programmes, and the like, but from mature students with less conventional qualifications. A number of recent graduates have entered UWE after completing a variety of access programmes. These have been among some of our most successful students.We are committed to fairness and have examining and marking procedures which ensure that students are treated consistently. The quality of our teaching, learning, and assessment is monitored vigilantly. Students play an important part in this process, not least through the work of the Staff-Student Committee. Students are encouraged to take part in the regular reviews and renovations to which we subject our curriculum.There is an extensive network of student support within the School, Faculty, and University. This includes essay-writing workshops, IT training, advice about module selection, counselling services, and careers guidance. Students with disabilities receive advice at early stages in the application and enrolment cycle from the University's Centre for Student Affairs; and staff are trained to organise teaching and assessment to meet their needs.You should note that if you fail marginally to achieve the grades we have asked for, it is possible that your place at Bristol UWE will still be secure.
Course description
Content
Year One
You are required to take the English double module Approaches to Literature and Criticism (60 credits). You are strongly advised to take a second English module (30 credits): Narrative Literature: Prose and Verse. Your remaining 30 credits would then come from a list of option modules that may include the following: Media and Cultural Studies, Drama, Economics, English Language, History, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Sociology, and a wide range of languages (such as Japanese or Chinese from scratch).
Years Two and Three
You take four 30 credit modules at each level. You take at least six modules in English. You may specialise completely and take all eight modules in English or vary your studies by taking one module at each level in another subject.
At Level two you take four modules, at least three of which must be English. At least one of these must be Literature and the Renaissance; Shakespeare and his Contemporaries; Exploring the Eighteenth Century. You may choose to do all three. Your remaining English choices at Level two are British Fiction 1830-1900; Victorian Poetry; American Fiction 1865-1939; British Writing 1900-1950.
At Level three you take four modules, at least three of which must be English from the following list: English and Drama Dissertation; Children's Fantasy Fiction Since 1900; Decadence and Literature; Fiction in Britain since 1970; The Romantic Period 1789-1832; Gender, Sexuality and Writing; Poetry and Power; Literature and Culture in Britain 1885-1914; Contemporary American Narrative.
