Media and English Literature with Foundation Year

Media and English literature is a combination that addresses two of the most powerful forces through which meaning is made and contested in contemporary life. English literature develops your ability to read imaginative texts with precision and depth, to understand how writers have used language, form, and narrative to engage with the human condition across many centuries and traditions. Media studies examines the technologies, institutions, representations, and audiences of modern communication, asking how media shape what we know, how we think, and who we understand ourselves to be.

The two disciplines have been in dialogue since the twentieth century, and studying them together gives you a critical vocabulary for both.

At York St John University, this four-year programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year in industry with work placement, and a year abroad, making it one of the most structurally comprehensive programmes of this kind available. The foundation year provides a strong grounding in both subjects before the main degree begins, making the programme accessible to students from a range of educational backgrounds. The sandwich year and work placement give you extended professional experience in a media, publishing, or communications organisation.

The year abroad gives you the opportunity to study in another country, encountering different literary and media traditions and gaining the international perspective that is increasingly valuable in both fields.

York St John is located in one of England's most historic and culturally rich cities, with a vibrant arts, media, and cultural scene that enriches the study of both disciplines.

Graduates work in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, content creation, public relations, education, and the full range of communications and media roles. Postgraduate study in English literature, media, journalism, or creative writing is a natural next step for those who wish to specialise further.