Skip to main content

Comparative Literature and Linguistics

Entry Year: 2024

2 study options

Comparative Literature and Linguistics BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
3 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
QQ21
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£23,350
Funding information
Paying your fees

Comparative Literature and Linguistics with Year Abroad BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
4 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
QQ2Y
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£23,350
Funding information
Paying your fees

Year abroad cost

Finances for studying abroad on exchange

View details

Overview

Expand your literary and cultural horizons while also exploring language in all its aspects.

Comparative literature makes comparisons and connections between literatures and cultures. You’ll study a range of genres, time periods, and national literatures, as well as cross-cutting themes.

Linguistics complements the study of literature, focusing on how language works and how we communicate. You’ll develop systematic ways of looking at examples as diverse as youth language in our multilingual cities, or the English used in the media and politics. You’ll consider how new technologies shape the form of English and whether the spread of English is changing or even killing other languages.

In your first year, you’ll take modules introducing you to various aspects of linguistic and literary theory. The exciting range of optional modules in your second and third years means you can tailor your studies to concentrate on the areas of literature and linguistics that interest you most. You can also extend your degree by studying abroad for a year.

Structure

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

Year 1

Compulsory

  • Culture and Language
  • The Scene of Learning

Choose from a range of modules including

  • English in Use
  • Introduction to English Syntax
  • Introduction to Phonology
  • Language Acquisition
  • Language in the UK
  • Languages of the World
  • Sounds of English

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 2

Compulsory

  • The Scene of Reading

Choose from a range of modules including

  • Colonial Literatures, Post-Colonial Perspectives
  • Explaining Grammatical Structure
  • History of English
  • Language and Mind
  • Language and the Media
  • Literature and Philosophy
  • Madness, Past and Present
  • Sociolinguistic Variation and Change

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 3

Compulsory

  • The Scene of Writing

Choose from a range of modules including

  • Bilingualism and Multilingualism
  • Comparative Literature Research Project
  • Comparative Modernisms: the Case of China and India
  • Formal Semantics
  • The East in the West
  • Unfamiliar Languages

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Study options

Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.

Year abroad

Go global and study abroad as part of your degree – apply for our Comparative Literature and Linguistics BA with a Year Abroad. Queen Mary has links with universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (partnerships vary for each degree programme).

Find out more about study abroad opportunities at Queen Mary and what the progression requirements are.

Teaching

Teaching and learning

You’ll receive approximately eight hours of weekly contact time, in the form of lectures led by academic staff, seminar groups and workshops.

For every hour spent in class, you’ll complete a further two to three hours of independent study.

Assessment

Assessment typically includes a combination of exams and coursework, or coursework only. Assessment of linguistics may take different forms, such as research diaries or poster presentations.

Resources and facilities

The School offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including:

  • the Queen Mary library
  • a phonetics laboratory, including a soundproof recording studio
  • Ling Lunch talks and departmental guest speaker seminars, which allow you to hear from Queen Mary academics, researchers and experts from institutions in Europe and North America
  • events throughout the year, such as public debates, film nights and book launches, which attract diverse audiences and offer networking opportunities.

Learn another language

If you’re interested in learning another language, you can sign up for a course at Queen Mary’s Language Centre, where you can choose from Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Japanese, Bengali, Catalan, Italian or Spanish.

Entry requirements

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe 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.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English at grade C or 4.
EPQ

Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.

For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq

Contextualised admissions

Our standard contextual offer: Grades BBC. This must include at least one essay based A-Level in a humanities or social sciences subject. at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades BCC. This must include at least one essay based A-Level in a humanities or social sciences subject. at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe 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.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English at grade C or 4.
EPQAlternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification. For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Contextualised admissionsOur standard contextual offer: Grades BBC. This must include at least one essay based A-Level in a humanities or social sciences subject. at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades BCC. This must include at least one essay based A-Level in a humanities or social sciences subject. at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.

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.

Further information

See our general undergraduate entry requirements.

Funding

Loans and grants

UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.

Scholarships and bursaries

Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.

Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.

Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.

Support from Queen Mary

We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.

Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:

  • additional sources of funding
  • planning your budget and cutting costs
  • part-time and vacation work
  • money for lone parents.

Careers

Comparative Literature and Linguistics graduates have a broad range of skills that can take them through to successful careers, such as analytical and critical thinking, broad cultural understanding and data analysis.

Some apply their degree knowledge directly, entering careers such as education and the arts, whilst others have transferred their skills into areas such as public relations.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

  • Celebrity Chef Consortium
  • ESI International
  • Mandani Girls School
  • Nationwide
  • Tate Modern Project, BBC
  • Weekly Times Newspaper.

Career support

The School of Languages Linguistics and Film offers support to students interested in working during their year abroad. Over the years, we have developed relationships with employers around the world and are able to share a number of interesting roles with our students.

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.

Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.

Data for these courses

Comparative Literature and Linguistics - BA (Hons)

Comparative Literature and Linguistics with Year Abroad - BA (Hons)

The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)

About the School

The School of Languages, Linguistics and Film explores global culture and communication through a vibrant interdisciplinary environment with five distinct but interconnected areas of academic excellence. Our multilingual community brings together brilliant minds from across the world to share a wealth of expertise – from practical film-making and contemporary literature to experimental neurolinguistics and 11 different modern languages – so that students can become truly global citizens.

Our School’s five Departments are united by the common threads of communication and culture, opening the doors to new worlds of opportunity. Both a single and richly varied entity, our School’s work enables creative thinking that goes beyond national, linguistic and cultural boundaries. We combine research excellence with an unrivalled commitment to social justice and social mobility, true to the Queen Mary spirit, achieving the previously unthinkable through our School’s unique mix of bright minds.

 

Back to top