English BA (International Hons) 2018 entry

The BA (International Hons) in English will provide you with the opportunity to explore a range of historical periods and critical appraches to literature. Through this course, you will develop your writing skills, sensitivity to language, awareness of the aesthetic and intellectual enjoyments of literature, and understanding of the cultural values reflected in literature. You can also choose to take creative writing classes.

The BA (International Hons) is a joint degree delivered by both the University of St Andrews and the College of William & Mary in Virginia, USA. This joint degree allows you to spend two years at each institution.

Applications for 2018 entry for this course have now closed, see which courses are available for the upcoming academic year.

Course type

Bachelor of Arts (International Honours degree)

Course duration

Four years full time

  • Start date: 10 September 2018
  • End date: 30 June 2022

Entry requirements

The following entry requirements are for students applying to St Andrews. 

SQA Highers AAAB
GCE A-Levels AAA
IB points 38

How to apply

You can only apply for the programme through one institution, and each institution will honour the admissions decisions of the other. You must specify which subject area you wish to apply for on your application form.

If you wish to begin your studies at the University of St Andrews, you can apply through the St Andrews direct application form or the Common Application form.

If you wish to begin your study at the College of William & Mary, you should apply through the William & Mary Common Application form.

International applicants

If English is not your first language you will need an overall IELTS score of 7.0, with a minimum score of 6.5 in each component (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking), or an equivalent English Language qualification.

Do I need to have studied this subject before?

No previous knowledge of this subject is required.

Faculty entry requirements

You must also meet the Faculty of Arts minimum qualifications. These vary depending on which qualifications you hold.

Other qualifications

Passes in other examinations at equivalent levels and subjects may be accepted by the Dean of the Faculty. More information on how to apply via other entry routes or accreditation of prior learning and experience can be found on the University’s entry requirements webpage.

Find out more about Faculty of Arts entry requirements.

Timetables

St Andrews students must meet with their Adviser of Studies at the beginning of Semester 1 in September to complete advising – a compulsory part of the matriculation process. After module choices have been decided, a timetable will be allocated indicating the dates and times of classes.

Reputation

The School of English at the University of St Andrews enjoys an international reputation as a centre for both academic research and literary creativity.

The School of English was ranked first in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2018 and second in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2018.

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rated 86% of research from the School as world leading and internationally excellent.

The University of St Andrews as a whole was voted top in the UK for student satisfaction in The National Student Survey 2017 as 94% of St Andrews final year students gave the University top marks for the quality of the learning and teaching experience.

In 2017, the University received a TEF Gold award for the quality of teaching and the undergraduate experience.

Find out more about studying English at St Andrews.

Course information

The BA (International Hons) in English is a four-year course run jointly by the School of English at St Andrews and the Department of English at the College of William & Mary.

You will study for two years at both St Andrews and William & Mary, spending the first year of the programme at one institution and the second year at the other. You will then be able to choose where you wish to spend your third and fourth years of study and graduate from either university.

You will apply to the university where you intend to spend your first year, and then you will transfer to the other institution for your second year.

What you will study

If you study a BA (International Honours) in English, you will learn to:

  • read, discuss, and reflect with clarity on a wide variety of texts and to develop analytical, descriptive and evaluative skills
  • communicate more fluently and persuasively
  • write creatively and read a wide range of English-language texts, including plays, novels, poems and short stories.

The BA (International Honours) is a broadly based degree, and other combinations – such as joint Honours degrees – are not available with this programme. However, during the programme you will have opportunities to study a range of other subjects offered by both institutions. Find out more about the St Andrews – William & Mary joint degree.

Find out more about studying English at St Andrews.

The coat of arms for the BA (International Honours) programme which features crossed keys, gold diamonds, a rising sun, an open book, a griffin, and a lion rampant
The BA International Honours coat of arms represents each university's unique heraldry and symbols. Find out more about the coat of arms.

 

About the BA (International Honours) programme

The BA (International Honours) is a four-year undergraduate degree that combines the best of the Scottish and American educational experience.

Teaching in the School of English at St Andrews covers writing in poetry, prose, and drama from Old English up to the present day; it also teaches Creative Writing.

While the St Andrews degree shares many interests with William &and Mary, the emphases of the two departments differ. William & Mary has strengths in American literature and offers specialist strands (for example, on African American literature). St Andrews, meanwhile, has interests in Scottish and Irish writing and offers research-led teaching on specialist modules such as 'Romantic Writing and Women’ and early Tudor literature. In general, the American side of the degree has more general components while the British side offers more in-depth study in the latter two years of the programme.

At both universities, the International Honours degree in English aims to offer students a comprehensive introduction to literary study, to teach effective writing, and to develop skills in critical analysis. At St Andrews, these aims are supplemented by a range of other activities and events, including:

Modules

Students studying the English BA (International Hons) will take the required modules at both institutions in their first and second years.

The following modules are those offered at St Andrews. Find out more about module requirements at William & Mary.

At St Andrews, the compulsory modules in first year are:

  • Culture and Conflict: An Introduction to Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Literature: introduces a small number of texts, in prose and verse, from the 19th and 20th centuries.
  • Explorers and Revolutionaries: Literature 1680-1830: examines travel, colonialism, and different constructions of “man’s natural estate” in the early 18th century.

At St Andrews, the compulsory modules in second year are:

  • Medieval and Renaissance Texts: introduces early forms of English language and literature, using specially edited texts from Old English, Middle English and Older Scots.
  • Drama: Reading and Performance: introduces a number of representative plays from the Renaissance period and from the 20th century. Emphasis is placed upon the context in which these plays were first created and those in which they are now received.

Students will spend either their third or fourth year in St Andrews. You will be able to choose from a wide variety of advanced options.

Here is a sample of Honours modules which have been offered at St Andrews in previous years:

  • Beowulf
  • The Younger Romantics: Poetry and Prose (1810-1830)
  • Postcolonial Literature and Theory
  • Romantic Writing and Women
  • Contemporary British Fiction
  • Civil Wars on Page and Screen.

All English majors in the joint programme have the opportunity to work on an independent research project as part of their degree. You will either write a dissertation at St Andrews or take a senior research seminar at William & Mary.


The sub-honours modules listed here are the compulsory modules that students must take at St Andrews in order to graduate in this subject (depending on year of study). However, most students at St Andrews take additional modules, either in their primary subject or from other subjects they are interested in. For Honours level, students choose from a range of Honours modules, some of which are listed above. A full list of all modules currently available can be found in the module catalogue.

Teaching

Teaching format

At St Andrews, modules are delivered through lectures which are supported by smaller seminar groups or tutorials.

Typical class sizes at St Andrews include:

  • First year: lectures – 240, tutorials – 5 to 9
  • Second year: lectures – 150, tutorials – 5 to 9
  • Honours: classes generally have no more than 20.

Though a good deal of the study of English involves individual effort, group work provides a sense of confirmation, fruitful disagreement, and community to complement the sometimes solitary business of reading and writing.

In addition to these classes, students at St Andrews are expected to undertake substantial independent, but guided, work outside of the classroom. Typically, this will involve:

  • working on individual and group projects
  • undertaking research in the library
  • preparing coursework assignments and presentations
  • preparing for examinations.

At St Andrews, you will be taught by an experienced teaching team with expertise and knowledge of English. Postgraduate research students who have undertaken teacher training may also contribute to the teaching of classes and seminars under the supervision of the module coordinator.

You can find contact information for all English staff on the School of English website.

In addition to your studies in the School, optional academic support is available through practical study skills courses and workshops hosted within the University.

The University’s Student Services team can help students with additional needs resulting from disabilities, long term medical conditions or learning disabilities. More information can be found on the students with disabilities webpage.

Assessment

Modules in English at St Andrews are assessed by a balanced combination of coursework and written exams. In each compulsory sub-honours module, there are two essays and two examination questions each worth 25%. Assessment at Honours level varies, although essays and examinations remain a central component.

Coursework takes the form of essays, along with other kinds of assessed work including oral presentations, electronic projects and creative writing portfolios.

Examinations are held at the end of each semester during a dedicated exam diet with revision time provided beforehand.

Several Honours-level modules involve creative coursework, such as:

  • literary journal keeping
  • writing a short play
  • medieval forgery. 

The School provides feedback on every assessment, with a view to improving your performance in future, and aims to provide feedback on assessments and coursework within three weeks.

Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews must achieve at least 7.0 on the St Andrews 20-point grade scale to pass a module. To gain access to Honours-level modules, students must achieve the relevant requisites as specified in the policy on entry to Honours and in the relevant programme requirements. Please note that some Schools offer qualified entry to Honours, and this will be clearly specified in the programme requirements. To find out the classification equivalent of points, please visit the common reporting scale webpage.

Fees

Tuition fees for 2018 entry

Tuition feesGBP sterlingUS dollars
BA International Hons £29,190 $39,990

These figures were calculated using the exchange rate on 1 June 2018 (1 GBP = 1.37 US Dollars).

The tuition fee for all students on the BA (International Honours) is the same regardless of domicile, and will always be the pound sterling equivalent of the US dollar amount per year, as converted on 1 June preceding the start of each academic year.

If you commence your studies at the University of St Andrews, you will pay your tuition each year to St Andrews regardless of which institution you are studying at for that year.

Find out more about the cost of attendance.

Accommodation fees

Find out about fees and funding section for University accommodation in 2018-2019.

Funding and scholarships

The University of St Andrews offers a number of scholarships and support packages to undergraduate students each year.

Information about scholarships available to students on the BA International Honours can be found in the fees and funding section of the BA International Honours webpage.

Find out more about undergraduate scholarships.

Careers

The skills you gain through studying English are marketable in many career areas, and recent graduates in English have pursued a wide variety of career paths.

Perhaps the major strength of all English graduates is communication skills, both in speech and in writing. Other skills you will develop during your degree include critical analysis, structuring information, organisation of time and workload, and effective IT skills.

Career destinations for recent St Andrews English graduates include:

  • internships with the United Nations
  • writers and editors for various publishing houses and magazines
  • sales for Waterstones and WHSmith
  • charitable organisations
  • teaching
  • public policy
  • the financial sector.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.

Student life

Students are fully involved in student life at both universities. Find out more about the student experience at William & Mary.

From the outset, the University of St Andrews offers an array of events and opportunities which result in a truly unique student experience. Students participate in a range of traditions, notably, the red academic gown and the academic family, where older students adopt first year students as ‘children’ and help guide them in a system of mentoring. These traditions and the choice of over 150 sports clubs and student societies to choose from ensures a community feel amongst students from first year onwards.

Students of English may be interested in joining the following student societies:

  • Literary Society organises readings, socials, creative jam sessions and a book club.
  • Inklight is a creative writing society which runs poetry slams, open mic nights, workshops and an annual journal of student writing.

The School of English is situated in Castle House, a beautiful Victorian building situated directly in front of the St Andrews Castle ruins on the coast. English students will usually attend lectures, seminars and tutorials here.

The town of St Andrews itself has lots to offer. As the campus is located around town, walking around you encounter ancient and modern buildings and areas of greenery and seaside which provide a rich, beautiful backdrop to learning. If you want a change of scenery, St Andrews' position near surrounding towns and cities such as Anstruther, Dundee and Edinburgh make it ideal for getting to know more about Scotland.

Find out more about student life at the University of St Andrews.

"The programme enabled me to access both the New York and London markets, which helped introduce me to a career in finance and fashion. The programme is challenging while we navigate between Virginia and Scotland and meet the heavier academic requirements of both universities. The reward is double or triple: double the friendship, double the opportunities, and ultimately a stronger person than we would have been staying in one university for four years."

Zhu (Shenzhen, China)

Contact

Admissions

University of St Andrews
St Katharine's West
The Scores
St Andrews
KY16 9AX

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2150
Email: admissions@st-andrews.ac.uk

BA International Honours