Skills and experience

Practical experience

Many of our modules offer practical experience. In history, this might take the form of conducting interviews with people who remember a particular historical event or undertaking archival research. In literary studies, this might include staged readings of plays, editorial work, or masterclasses with outside experts.

You’ll also benefit from a range of regular field trips organised by both Schools. Depending on the module, these may include visits to:

• The Wordsworth Trust (Dove Cottage) in the Lake District
• Lindisfarne and Holy Island in Northumberland
• City theatres such as Northern Stage, Live Theatre, and Theatre Royal
• Seven Stories (the National Centre for Children’s Books)
• Beamish Living Museum
• The Great North Museum
• Hadrian’s Wall and other Roman sites in Northumberland
• The National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
• Country houses and estates

Research skills

In Stage 2, you’ll undertake an independent research project, and in your final year, you’ll write a dissertation. These introduce you to finding, using and understanding original sources for your own research. The capstone of your degree is your own personal research project which you complete at Stage 3.

These projects will allow you to develop your skills across both disciplines and engage in interdisciplinary thinking.

Your Stage 2 and Stage 3 projects require a lot of independent working but you can also apply for a paid vacation scholarship and work alongside researchers on a shared project You’ll have first-hand experience working on a project and will enhance your key skills of:

• researching original topics
• gathering, analysing and interpreting literary texts and historical sources
• working on a research project independently or as part of a team
• exploring archival collections

Employability

Employability and the engagement of literature and history with the wider world go hand-in-hand in this degree.

Our module assessments develop a wide range of skills. These can be applied to many different tasks you might be employed to do Your exceptionally strong communication, writing and reasoning skills, coupled with the creativity of your degree, might be used in:

• researching and developing policy for public services and private companies
• journalism and other writing in the public interest
• constructing marketing briefs and drafting website copy
• curating exhibitions and programming events
• teaching and training

Beyond our modules, there are plenty of extracurricular opportunities to gain work experience or develop your portfolio. These range from writing for Newcastle’s student newspaper or volunteering in local primary schools to paid internships in the department.

The Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts, in particular, hires students to work on everything from event management to app design. The centre also runs workshops with professionals in the creative industries.

Opportunities

Study abroad

You can study abroad for one semester in your second year as part of this degree. In Europe we have links with:

• Ghent University, Belgium
• Leipzig University, Germany
• Groningen University, Netherlands
• Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands

We also have links with universities in other parts of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the USA, including, but not limited to:

• Monash University, Australia
• University of Sydney, Australia
• McGill University, Canada
• University of Hong Kong
• University of Vermont, USA

Find out more about Study Abroad.

Work placement

During your degree, you’ll have multiple opportunities to undertake a meaningful work placement. In your second and third years, you may choose to take the Career Development Module which offers academic credit for 50 hours of placement. You can choose to carry out your placement via part-time work, volunteering or in a local school. You will be assessed through a mixture of written work, presentations, and professional skills assessment.

In addition, you’ll have the option to spend 9 to 12 months on a work placement with University support from our dedicated Careers team to help you secure your dream placement in the UK or abroad. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You’ll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice, and developing your professional expertise. Previous placements have been in a range of sectors, including:

• Journalism and Broadcasting
• Sustainable Energy
• Politics
• Digital Media and Marketing
• Education
• Finance
• Museum and Heritage
• Travel and Tourism

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements.

Facilities and environment

Facilities

You’ll be based in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics. The School is located in the Percy Building, which is at the heart of our city-centre campus. You’ll join a lively community of students, academics, writers, and professionals.

You’ll have access to:

• a digital media lab – for students with documentary and film-making modules
• a PC cluster
• a student-led café
• plenty of spaces to work and socialise

You will have exceptional library provision from our award-winning Library Service. It houses over one million books and a huge range of electronic resources.

Our literature and creative writing teaching is linked to the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA) programme. This will give you regular contact with leading creative artists. You’ll also have access to a diverse programme of events, including spoken-word events and creative writing courses.