Undergraduate Admissions
We encourage every student with a talent for the subject to consider applying for English at Oxford. Regardless of background, we are looking for those with ability, a love of literature, and the willingness to work hard.
English is one of the most rewarding degree subjects you can take at university, giving you the opportunity to study a challenging and diverse range of literature written in English, including poems, fiction, plays and essays. You will get to know the writings of particular authors, movements, and periods in great detail and develop your own interests in English literature and language – interests that we hope will remain with you for the rest of your life. This kind of study affords a unique way of appreciating the cultural history of England and other countries in which English has been a major literary medium.
An English degree will equip you with analytical and writing skills that are readily transferable into many other situations and many professions. It opens up the opportunity to go into a great variety of careers.
We believe that Oxford offers you the best English course in the country, along with outstanding tuition, library, and IT facilities.
At Oxford you have the benefit of being taught both in your college and in the Faculty of English. The Oxford English Faculty is the largest department of English in the country, and contains some of the leading critics and writers in the subject. At Oxford, you will be given one-on-one tuition by active academic researchers, which brings advantages for both students and tutors.
Because Oxford tutors are also researchers, the University provides world-class Library and IT facilities. Students reading English have access to one of Britain's major libraries, the renowned Bodleian Library, and can borrow books from the English Faculty Library and their college libraries.
We believe that Oxford's combination of direction, choice, and personal attention gives it unique appeal. At the end of three years we hope you will have a wide but also deep knowledge of English literature and language, and that you will have specialised in the areas of this that you particularly enjoy.
You can find further information about the BA (Hons) English Language and Literature, and our joint courses - BA (Hons) English and Modern Languages, BA (Hons) Classics and English, and BA (Hons) History and English - using the links on the left.
You'll find videos of current undergraduates talking about their experiences (including some studying English) on the University's Videowall.
