Comparative Literature and Film Studies

Our BA in Comparative Literature and Film Studies allows you to combine two complementary subjects and make connections between them.

In the first year you’ll be given a solid grounding in the discipline of literary studies, and an introduction to the history of film and key concepts in film studies.

From the second year you’ll choose modules from modern fairy tales to First World War literature and a host of themes from madness to migration, and cinema in France, Germany or India to film archaeology. You can even try your hand at screenwriting.

The wide range of optional modules in your second and third years means you can tailor your studies to the areas of literature and film which interest you most, and weight your studies towards one field or the other. You can also extend your degree by studying abroad for a year.

You can complete your Comparative Literature and Film Studies degree in three or four years. If you choose to study abroad for a year, this will take place in Year 3, and the Year 3 modules will instead be studied in Year 4.

Year 1

• Approaches and Analysis
• Concepts and History
• Critical Thinking and Writing for Comparative Literature
• Introduction to Comparison
• Introduction to Literature: Texts and Contexts
• The Scene of Learning
• Understanding Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Theory

Year 2

Compulsory

• The Scene of Reading
• What is Cinema? Critical Approaches

Choose six from

• Colonial Literatures, Post-Colonial Perspectives
• Experiments in contemporary Women’s Writing
• Fairy Tales in the Modern World
• Film Curation
• Film, Literature and Adaption
• Homeward Bound: From the Odyssey to O Brother Where Art Thou?
• Introduction to British Cinema
• Literature and Philosophy
• Madness, Past and Present
• Memories of the Holocaust and Colonialism in French Cinema
• Migration through Photography
• Photography and Narrative
• Presentations of London in Modern European Literature and Film
• Scriptwriting: Adaptation and Original Script
• The French New Wave
• Why Belgium? Identities, Cultures, Narratives

Year 3

Compulsory

• The Scene of Writing

Choose seven from

• British Cinema from the 1960s New Wave to the Arrival of Channel 4
• Comparative Literature Research Project
• Comparative Modernisms: the Case of China and India
• Constellations: Online Anthology Group Project
• Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
• Eco-cinemas: Nature, Animals and the Moving Image
• Faust in Legend, Literature and the Arts
• Film and Ethics
• Film Archaeology
• Film Philosophy
• First World War Literatures
• Grand Tours: 19th century Adventure Stories for Young Readers and their 20th century Afterlives
• Lost in Translation?
• New Independent Indian Cinema
• On the Subject of Sex II: Queen to Queer
• Photography: The Self and its Image
• Reading German Film III: Contemporary German Cinema
• The East in the West

General requirements

• A-Level. Grades ABB at A-Level. This must include at least one essay based A-Level in a humanities or social sciences subject. Excludes General Studies.
• IB. International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects. This must include an essay based humanities or social sciences subject at Higher Level.
• BTEC. See our detailed subject and grade requirements
• Access HE. We consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 18 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements.
• GCSE. Minimum five GCSE passes including English at grade C or 4.
• EPQ. Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.
• Contextualised admissions. We consider every application on its individual merits and will take into consideration your individual educational experiences and context. More information on how academic schools and programmes use this information as part of the admissions process, can be found on our contextualised admissions pages.

Non-UK students

We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.

If your qualifications are not accepted for direct entry onto this degree, consider applying for a foundation programme.

English language

Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.

You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.

Careers

Comparative Literature and Film Studies graduates have a broad range of skills that can take them through to successful careers, such as analytical and critical thinking, as well as practical film production.

Some apply their degree knowledge directly, entering careers such as directing, film production and copywriting, whilst others transfer skills gained during study into areas such as public relations.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

• Celebrity Chef Consortium
• Heineken UK
• Lateral Film
• Levay Estate
• Mission PR.

Career support

The School of Languages Linguistics and Film offers a range of career support, including for students interested in working during their year abroad. You’re able to get advice on how to gain work experience in the film industry, attend networking or industry events, apply for internships, volunteer and work part-time.

Our careers team can also offer:

• specialist advice on choosing a career path
• support with finding work experience, internships and graduate jobs
• feedback on CVs, cover letters and application forms
• interview coaching.