English and Media and Communications

English and media and communications is a degree that brings together the close, careful study of literature with the broader analytical field of media and communications studies. English literature develops your ability to read texts with precision and depth, to situate them in their historical and cultural contexts, and to make and defend interpretive arguments about how they work and what they mean. Media and communications extends that perspective to the full range of contemporary media forms and practices, asking how institutions, platforms, and audiences shape what gets produced and consumed, and how media influences culture, politics, and identity.

At the University of Exeter, this three-year full-time degree is taught within a department known for the quality of its English teaching and the richness of its research environment. A sandwich year is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to work in a media, communications, or related role before your final year. A year abroad is also incorporated, and work placement is additionally available, giving you substantial professional and international experience alongside your academic training.

You will engage with literature across periods and genres alongside the theory, history, and empirical study of media, developing both the interpretive depth that literary study cultivates and the broader analytical perspective that media and communications provides. The combination produces graduates who can read closely, think critically about contemporary culture, and communicate their ideas clearly.

Graduates go on to work in journalism, broadcasting, publishing, public relations, marketing, digital media, education, the civil service, arts organisations, and a wide range of other sectors where the ability to engage critically with text and media is valued. Postgraduate study in literature, media, communications, or journalism is a natural next step for those wishing to specialise.