BA (Hons) English Language and Journalism
DURATION
3 up to 4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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TUITION FEES
GBP 13,450 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international students full time / UK students full time £9250 / EU students full time £13450
Scholarships
Explore scholarship opportunities to help fund your studies
Introduction
"Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, examinations may be replaced by an alternative form of assessment during the academic year 2021/2022. Please refer to the Programme Specification on these pages for further details."
Why choose this course?
We give you:
- A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting
- A supportive, research-active academic team
- Access to huge online databases to underpin your original research projects
- Transferable skills
- A guaranteed post-graduation interview with the School of Education
What's the course about?
In our so-called ‘post-truth’ era of fake news and alternative facts, words have become removed from their original meanings and journalists face a number of challenges in today’s globalised world.
Our B.A. 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 is highly experienced practitioners, who’ll help you develop the skills to produce work in different styles and for diverse markets. We’re also rated TEF Gold, making us one of the best universities for teaching and support. 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.
Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too.
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.
Your main campus is de Havilland
You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, education, and humanities subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool, and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant or bar (in the newly built Enterprise Hub) on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.
This course includes the options of:
- Work placement
- Study abroad
Gallery
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Curriculum
What will I study?
Our English Language students benefit from being part of a supportive, research-active academic community. From tutorials and group work to eye-opening psycholinguistic experiments, we use a range of engaging, student-centred teaching methods to help you work confidently and creatively.
You’ll dive into real-life data, get involved in research, and learn from guest experts. You’ll have the opportunity to get involved in activities that will complement your studies, such as working for the student newspaper or radio station. Not only do these enhance your experience, but they also make for a more impressive CV.
Our journalism students gain practical skills through work placements and writing for the University’s newspaper, TV, or digital channels. You’ll be able to network with invited speakers and take short industry summer courses.
Level 4
- Introduction to Media Communications II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Introduction to Journalism II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Journalism, Law and Ethics II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Communication, Interaction, Context II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Global Media and Society II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Investigating Language II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Introduction to English Linguistics 1 II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Introduction to English Linguistics 2 II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Language and Mind II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language in the Media II 15 Credits II Optional
Level 5
- English Grammar II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Sounds of English II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Graduate Skills II 0 Credits II Compulsory
- Journalism Skills: Features II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Journalism Skills: News II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Learning and Teaching Language 2 II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language and Species II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language in Society II 15 Credits II Optional
- Radio Journalism II 15 Credits II Optional
- Social Media II 15 Credits II Optional
- Forensic Linguistics II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language Competencies in Career Development II 15 Credits II Optional
- History of the English Language II 15 Credits II Optional
- Research Methods in English Language & Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
- Learning and Teaching Language 1 II 15 Credits II Optional
Level 6
- Child Language & Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
- Clinical Linguistics II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language & Communication Project II 30 Credits II Optional
- Language Processing II 15 Credits II Optional
- Communication and Cultures II 15 Credits II Optional
- Meaning and Context II 15 Credits II Optional
- Chunky Language: Investigating Formulaic Sequences II 15 Credits II Optional
- Gender in Language and Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
- Online Journalism II 15 Credits II Optional
- Journalism Skills Portfolio II 30 Credits II Optional
- Global Englishes II 15 Credits II Optional
- International Politics and Reporting Global News II 15 Credits II Optional
- Corpus-based Studies in English Language II 15 Credits II Optional
Study abroad
An opportunity for an amazing experience, which will help make you stand out from the crowd. With more and more companies working internationally, the experience of living in another country can make a great impression on future employers.
This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a sandwich year abroad. The University has partnerships with over 150 universities around the world, including the USA, Canada, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and closer to home in Europe.
If you study abroad between your second and third year of study, you’ll pay no tuition fee to the partner university and no tuition fee to us either. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.
Work placement
Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.
This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought-after professional skills.
Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.
If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Employability is central to everything we do. Our hands-on journalism training equips you to pursue a career in the media, whether in features, news, radio or online. You’ll have opportunities to go on work placements at local newspapers, radio stations or TV channels, where many students have work published.
Over the years many of our English Language graduates have gone into teaching or speech and language therapy, as well as translation, publishing, journalism, marketing, law and business. Many go on to higher levels of study, engaging in research in their chosen fields.
For those interested in teaching, all Humanities graduates are guaranteed a post-graduation interview with the School of Education.
Employability is central to everything we do. Our hands-on journalism training equips you to pursue a career in the media, whether in features, news, radio or online. You’ll have opportunities to go on work placements at local newspapers, radio stations or TV channels, where many students have work published.
Over the years many of our English Language graduates have gone into teaching or speech and language therapy, as well as translation, publishing, journalism, marketing, law and business. Many go on to higher levels of study, engaging in research in their chosen fields.
For those interested in teaching, all Humanities graduates are guaranteed an interview with the School of Education.