Everyone wants the best degree they can get on to. But to do that, you need to know the top-ranking universities for that subject. English Literature and Language are no different. With it being a popular course, we have the best universities for English Literature in the UK to help make your decision.
Deciding what you want to study can be tricky. To then decide where you want to study can be even trickier. Of course, lots of factors come into your decision, such as location, cost and proximity to your friends and family. However, no one can deny that the university’s reputation plays a part too.
If you love books and studying them or have a love for language analysis, then an English Literature course sounds like a great decision for you. Now, you just need to know the top universities.
The Best UK Universities For English Literature and Language
It’s a course that many universities offer, so competition is quite high for who is the best. According to The Complete University Guide, which looks at graduate prospects, research quality, entry standards and student satisfaction, these are the top contenders:
5. University College of London
Moving up into the top five for 2023 is UCL. The university performs well in the entry standards and research quality categories, scoring 87 per cent in both. It then drops slightly to 79 per cent for student satisfaction and down again to 71 per cent for graduate prospects.
Overall, it gets 93 per cent, which is slightly peculiar as it doesn’t get above 87 in any category.. However, it’s certainly a great option.
4. University of St Andrews
The Scottish university dropped a place to settle if fourth for best university for English literature in 2023. St Andrews scores particularly well in its student satisfaction and research quality, getting 84 and 86 per cent respectively. However, it’s in its entry standards that it gets its highest percentage at 92. It performs least well in graduate prospects, getting 79 per cent.
The University of St Andrews gets 94 per cent overall, with the theme from above continuing.
3. Durham University
Replacing St Andrews to make it into the top three is Durham University. Though only third, the university scores the highest in the table in entry standards, achieving 94 per cent. On the reverse, it gets the lowest in the top five for student satisfaction, scoring 78 per cent.
Overall, the university gets 95 per cent.
2. University of Cambridge
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Yes, the University of Cambridge comes in second place for English Literature and Language in the UK.
For some reason, the Russell Group university doesn’t receive a score for student satisfaction, however, it gets a strong 82 per cent in research quality. However, it performs best in entry standards, which is to be expected, scoring 92 per cent. It’s in the graduate prospects category that it dips to 74 per cent, the second lowest in the top five.
As a result, the University of Cambridge scores 95 per cent overall.
The Best University For English Literature and Language
And now, to the top UK university for English in the UK. Its top competitor came in second, but the University of Oxford pips it and all the others to come in first place.
Like its Oxbridge counterpart, it doesn’t get a score for student satisfaction. It scores lowest in graduate prospects, receiving 83 per cent, before climbing to 89 per cent in research quality. The university then gets a high 91 per cent in entry requirements, but slightly lower than Cambridge.
Despite that, Oxford gets 100 per cent overall and you can’t do any more than that.
Getting into Cambridge or Oxford is difficult and incredibly competitive. However, knowing your other options in the top five means you have all the best choices for an English Literature degree. Whether you attempt to get into the top two or one of the others is your favourite choice, good luck with wherever you try.