BA (Hons) English and Beginners' Italian Bachelor's degree at Oxford University
BA (Hons) English and Beginners' Italian at Oxford University. The extra year, compared with a standard single-honours English degree, allows time to build Italian from scratch alongside sustained literary study in English, culminating in a joint qualification that draws on both traditions rather than…
About this course
BA (Hons) English and Beginners' Italian is a Bachelor's degree (BA (Hons)) at Oxford University, based in Oxford. It runs 4 years, studied full-time.
For English studies (non-specific) graduates from this provider, 86% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 73% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £27,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for English & Literature, see the sections below.
Course evidence score
The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Moderate evidence Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 86% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 98% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Curriculum & modules
A typical UK English & Literature degree builds from foundations to specialist options and a final project. An indicative structure:
| Stage | Module |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | Introduction to Literary Studies Close reading and critical writing across poetry, prose and drama. |
| Year 1 | Literature in History I Medieval to Renaissance texts in their worlds. |
| Year 1 | Critical Theory Foundations The ideas, from formalism to postcolonialism, critics argue with. |
| Year 2 | Literature in History II Enlightenment, Romantic and Victorian writing. |
| Year 2 | Modern & Contemporary Literature Modernism to the present, including global anglophone writing. |
| Year 2 | Creative or Applied Writing Workshop-based writing craft on many courses. |
| Year 3 | Specialist options Typically Shakespeare, gothic, world literature, or literature and gender/ecology. |
| Year 3 | Advanced Critical Seminar Research-led study at the edge of the field. |
| Year 3 | Dissertation An extended independent literary research project. |
Typical structure for this subject (indicative). Modules vary by university. Check the provider's course page for the exact curriculum.
Specialisations & pathways
Tip: click a specialisation → current jobs in that area.
Course in depth
What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.
What you'll study
The degree is built around core theory in literary study, alongside research and methods training that underpins how students read, analyse and argue about texts. Applied practice runs through the Italian side of the course, since Beginners' Italian is taught intensively from the ground up, moving from basic grammar and conversation towards reading literature in the original language. Students can expect specialisations such as core theory, research and methods, applied practice, specialist options, an independent project and professional skills, allowing some scope to shape the balance between English literature and Italian studies as the degree progresses. The independent project gives students the chance to pursue a topic of their own choosing in depth, whether that leans towards English literary criticism, Italian language and culture, or a comparative angle between the two. Professional skills are woven through the course, supporting the transition from academic study to work or further study after graduation.
Who it's for
This course suits someone who already has a strong interest in reading and writing about English literature and is genuinely curious about learning a new language rather than continuing one studied at school. Because the Italian is taught from beginner level, no prior knowledge is needed or expected, what matters more is a willingness to commit to language learning alongside literary study, and the discipline to build vocabulary and grammar steadily over four years. Students who thrive here tend to enjoy close reading and written argument, but are equally happy tackling the more methodical, practice-based work of learning a language, including regular classes, homework and eventually reading Italian texts in the original. It suits those thinking about a future that might involve translation, teaching, cultural or arts work, or further academic study, and who like the idea of a degree that broadens their outlook beyond a single national literature. Most entrants come in with A-levels or equivalent, typically with a UCAS tariff of more than 240 points, reflecting the calibre of students the course tends to attract, though this describes past entrants rather than a fixed requirement. Anyone drawn to sustained reading, careful writing and the steady, cumulative satisfaction of learning a language will feel at home on this course.
Careers & job market
Graduate outcomes data for English & Literature courses nationally show that 85% of graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with 55% of working graduates in highly skilled roles or further study; these figures describe the national picture for the subject area rather than outcomes specific to this university or guaranteed for individual students. National earnings data (Graduate Outcomes/LEO) for English & Literature graduates show starting salaries, measured 15 months after graduation, ranging from £23,000 to £30,000, moving to between £19,975 and £28,200 after three years, and between £24,650 and £34,800 after five years. These figures are national averages across the subject and should be read as context rather than a promise of what any individual graduate will earn. Nationally, 90% of students on this type of course continue past their first year, either still enrolled or having completed, which offers some indication of how manageable students tend to find the transition into this kind of study. Graduates combining English with a language such as Italian often move into fields involving writing, publishing, education, cultural and arts organisations, or further postgraduate study, drawing on both their literary training and their language skills.
University & format
The course is delivered full-time over four years at Oxford, in the English language, at a public, research-intensive university that is a member of the Russell Group and was founded in 1096. Oxford has 19,791 students in total and holds a Gold rating in the Office for Students' TEF 2023 for teaching quality. As a recognised UK degree-awarding body, the BA (Hons) awarded is nationally recognised on completion.
Student satisfaction
How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.
Share of students responding positively.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Applicant information
The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.
- 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted
Your application needs a reference before you can send it.
- 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2027 entryEarly equal-consideration deadline
18:00 UK time for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses.
- 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
Provider-published requirement; check the linked course page before applying.
Entry & how to get in
Who gets in
What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.
UCAS tariff of entrants
Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.
Qualifications held on entry
| Qualification | Share |
|---|---|
| A-levels or equivalent | 100% |
Entry & your chances
An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.
Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. Check how your predicted grades compare and whether a contextual offer applies.
Will you get in? Plot your grades
Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.
Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.
Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.
How to apply
Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.
- 1Register on UCAS Hub
Create your UCAS application and add this course. One application covers up to five choices.
- 2Write your personal statement
A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.
- 3Submit by 15 October 2026, 18:00 UK time
UCAS equal-consideration deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.
- 4Sit any admissions test & interview
Courses with the October deadline often need an admissions test (e.g. UCAT, BMAT or a subject test) and interviews, register early and prepare.
- 5Reply to your offers
When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.
- 6Results day & confirmation
On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.
Fees & funding
What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.
Tuition per year
Provider fee page (England 2026/27 cap where not stated).
Check fees at Oxford University →For students who normally live in England
2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.
Starting on or after 1 January 2027?
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.
Paying for it
- Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
- Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
- Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
- Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.
England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.
Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for
That does not mean no funding exists. Check the university directory for current amounts, eligibility and application dates.
We only display a named award when its provider source identifies the award and who it is for.
Still deciding what to study?
StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.
Careers & earnings
What English & Literature graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.
Graduate earnings: this course
| When | Median | Typical range | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 months after | £27,000 | £25,500 – £29,000 | 35 |
| 3 years after | £29,000 | £25,000 – £37,000 | 220 |
| 5 years after | £36,500 | £27,500 – £52,000 | 230 |
Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23.
Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course
- 1Graduate roleFirst role after the degree · 0–2 yrs
- 2Specialist / PractitionerWorking in english & literature · 2–5 yrs
- 3Senior / LeadLeading work and people · 5–10 yrs
- 4Head of / ExpertSenior leadership or deep expertise · 10+ yrs
How pay grows: this course vs English & Literature nationally
National figures for English & Literature graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.
Work out your pay
Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.
What happened to 100 students?
Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.
were in work or further study
15 months after graduation
Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 35; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.
Value compared with similar courses
How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with English & Literature courses at the same study level.
Compared with 1,436 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.
UK occupations graduates enter
Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.
- Business and public service associate professionalsSOC 2020 35 · 17% of published destinations · ASHE median £38,760
- Teaching ProfessionalsSOC 2020 231 · 15% of published destinations · ASHE median £42,660
- Media ProfessionalsSOC 2020 249 · 11% of published destinations · ASHE median £40,895
- Business, Research and Administrative ProfessionalsSOC 2020 243 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £48,746
Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 205; response rate: 55%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.
Job market & outlook
How English & Literature graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.
How AI is changing the work
AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.
What AI takes off your plate
- Routine information gathering
- First-draft writing and summaries
- Standard analysis and admin
- Repetitive processing tasks
More human than ever
- Judgement and original thinking
- Working with and leading people
- Owning and sense-checking AI output
- Ethics and accountability
The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.
Roles & employers
Where English & Literature graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.
Roles graduates go into
Where they work
- Publishers
- Media & broadcasters
- Marketing & PR agencies
- Charities & public sector
Jobs after this course
Current roles from the StudySmarter job board that suit English & Literature graduates.
English GraduateRibbons and Reeves LimitedEnglish, Maths & Digital Skills ManagerHIT TrainingEnglish Certification Examiner (Written & Oral) – Paid TrainingPearsonEnglish Supply Teachers - Oldham and RochdaleTradewind RecruitmentIs this course right for you?
The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.
Student finance
For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.
Where graduates go
86% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £27,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.
Your entry chances
Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.
Official-data snapshot
Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 9.0 out of 10: NSS 86% · in work or study 86% · continued 98%.
Who studies here and in this subject?
Provider- and UK subject-level context.
The University of Oxford
Language and area studies across the UK
HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.
Local crime-data context
A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.
Around Oxford
1,622 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.
Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.
Is English & Literature right for you?
Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.
International students
What applying to Oxford University from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.
Tuition fees
International tuition is £43,600 / year for this course (from the provider’s fee page). You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.
English language
Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.
Student visa
You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.
Scholarships & funding
Many universities offer international/global scholarships (often £2,000–£6,000/yr), check Oxford University’s funding pages.
Living costs
Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.
Working while you study
A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.
Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with Oxford University and gov.uk before you apply.
Related courses
More at Oxford University
English & Literature at other universities
Common questions
How competitive is entry?
What are the entry requirements?
What do graduates go on to do?
What will it cost me?
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