BA (Hons) English and Film

at Edinburgh Napier University

You'll explore genre, narrative, adaptation, film technology, documentary, experimental filmmaking and contemporary trends in film theory and criticism.

A lot of emphasis is placed on the diversity of cinematic practices, as well as the social, political, cultural, historical and philosophical contexts within which films are produced.

English is studied from the early nineteenth century to the present day, providing a truly modern and interdisciplinary approach to literature. This will allow you to develop an appreciation of different genres and explore the value of literature in the modern world.

You'll have the opportunity to study film and literature side by side, across a range of modules and delve into debates around issues of genre, gender and practice.

A vibrant city with a great literary and cinematic heritage, Edinburgh offers a wonderful learning environment and plenty of relevant cultural events, such as the Edinburgh International Film Festival and International Book Festival.

This is a full-time course studied over four years. You'll learn by a variety of teaching methods including lectures, seminars, workshops and independent study.

Module choices in creative writing and screenwriting will allow you to apply your understanding of literature and film to your own creative work.

Additional costs

There are no additional costs that are mandatory to pass the course. 

All compulsory texts studied on the programme should be available in the university library.  Accessing those texts may require student organisation, such as requesting ahead of time if available copies are all on loan.  Many texts are available for free online via the university library holdings, through major online repositories such as archive.org, Jstor, and similar databases.  Some readings are digitised and provided via the Moodle virtual learning environment.  Any films or visual materials studied are usually accessible for free through Box of Broadcasts, or a screening is put on.

However, many students like to have their own copies of compulsory texts.  This can be advantageous in terms of notetaking and detailed engagement over an extended period.  Texts we teach are mostly available in mass-market paperback, and copies can often be obtained cheaply secondhand.

It may also be useful to allow a budget for printing materials (although submission is now almost entirely electronic), and to have a storage device for your work such as a USB stick (although networked storage is available via university computers).

Popular modules

Year 1

• Introduction to Literature: Texts and Contexts
• Reading Texts: Analysing Film, Literature & Culture
• Critical Contexts: Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory
• 19th Century Literature and Culture
• Literature & Adaptation
• Film History

Year 2

• The Modern Novel
• Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
• Film Theory
• Three option modules from:
• Popular Culture
• Modern Drama
• Narratives of Social and Sexual Deviance: Rethinking the Victorians
• Literature of Empire: Texts & Contexts
• Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice
• American Outlaws: Modern American Writing
• Global Literatures of Conflict
• Film Production Management
• A non-subject specific option (from a range of set choices)

Year 3

• 21st Century Literature
• Cultural and Literary Theory: Debates and Applications
• Four option modules from:
• Science Fiction: Text & Film
• Women’s Writing & Filmmaking
• Unacknowledged Legislators: Poets in History and Society
• Everyday Life in 20th Century Literature and Film
• Creative Writing: Genre Writing
• Narratives of Nature
• The First World War and Modernity
• TV Studies: An Introduction
• TV Scriptwriting
• Film Production Management (if not taken in Year 2)
• Work-Related Learning in Film
• Copyright in Photography, Film and Literature

Year 4

• Dissertation
• Four option modules from:
• Post-colonial Fiction & Film
• Modern Scottish Fiction
• Lateness and the Modern
• Reading Experiments: Children’s Literature and Science
• Cities Real & Imagined
• Crime in Text & Film
• The Gothic Tradition
• Fictions of Terror
• Memoir, Documentary and the Essay Film
• Critical Psychology

Undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees 

IELTS (Academic)
6.0 overall, with no component below 5.5

TOEFL Internet Based Test
80 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing

Pearson’s Test of Academic English
56 overall with a minimum of 51 in each component

Cambridge C2 Proficiency (formerly Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Cambridge B2 First (formerly Cambridge English First (FCE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Cambridge C1 Advanced (formerly Cambridge English Advanced (CAE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Trinity Integrated Skills Test (ISE)
ISEII, ISEIII, ISEIV with a pass in each component

LanguageCert English language qualification
B2 Communicator Test with overall 39 or above, and 25 or above in all skills

Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland will be invoiced the tuition fees for 3 years of their 4 years of study. Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by mainland EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2022 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here. For EU students who commenced their studies prior to 1 August 2022 or hold pre or settled status in the UK, fees will remain the same as Scottish Students.

If additional compulsory costs other than the tuition fees are applicable, these will be detailed in the course details.                    

Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2022 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.

Career opportunities include:

• Writer
• Teacher 
• Publisher
• Film Producer
• Scriptwriter
• Arts Administrator