Undergraduate

BA (Honours) Literature

On this page

• Description
• Planning your studies
• Career relevance
• Suggested routes to the degree
• Courses
• Learning outcomes
• Credit for previous study elsewhere
• Classification of your degree
• Regulations
• How to register

Description

If you’re awarded this degree you’ll have studied prose, poetry and drama, learnt specialised skills of analysis and interpretation of literary texts in a variety of genres, and engaged with a range of current issues in literary study.

Planning your studies

If you’re new to study or to the OU, we recommend that you start with a course at Level 1. For this degree that would mean starting with The arts past and present (AA100). If you complete that course successfully you’ll have a firm foundation for future studies as well as credit points to count towards your degree.

You can register your intention to study for this degree when you reserve your place on individual courses, or you can ask us at any time to link courses that you have already studied towards the degree. This gives you the flexibility to delay your decision or to change your mind as your studies progress. There is no time limit for obtaining the required credit points for this qualification. You must include at least 120 points from OU courses that have not been counted in an OU diploma or other first degree you have been awarded. If you have graduated with an OU BA degree without honours this requirement is reduced to 60 credit points.

Career relevance and employability

In studying literature – reading, discussing and writing about a rich and varied body of literary texts – you’ll simultaneously be equipping yourself with many of the skills required in the modern workplace. Employers in all fields put a high value on anyone who can construct a clearly expressed argument; present ideas concisely, logically and clearly; make a critical analysis of a piece of writing; deal competently with a large amount of complex information; and show initiative in conducting independent research. Although many literature graduates use their degrees to enter obviously related areas such as teaching, public relations, publishing, journalism or the media, most go into careers that apparently bear no relation to the academic study of English. This is because employers recognise the broader skills and competences you have learnt in studying literature. You may need to undertake further training or study in order to enter a new career area. Ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for the careers publication OU study and your career if you want to find out more about the process of career development and about sources of careers information and guidance.

For planning your next career steps, visit the OU Careers Advisory Service.

There’s more information about the career relevance of degrees on the national HE Prospects website.

Suggested routes to the degree

You might want to study your qualification with a particular focus. The two diagrams below show routes that focus on literature and language, and creative writing. 

Please bear in mind that other routes are available – see the full course list for all options.

• Sample route with a focus on literature and language
• Sample route with a focus on creative writing

Courses

For this 360-point honours degree you require:

At least 60 points from the following optional interdisciplinary courses:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 1 the discontinued courses A102, A103, AZX103, at Level 2 the discontinued courses A205, A206, at Level 3 the discontinued courses A324, AA304, AA305

And 60 points from the following compulsory course:

And at least 180 points, including at least 120 at Level 3, from the following optional courses:

Or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 2 the discontinued courses A295, U210, at Level 3 the discontinued courses A312, A361, A319, A421, A430

To complete the 360 points needed for an honours degree, the remaining points up to a maximum of 60 points can be from any OU undergraduate courses. You must ensure that you have the required number of points at each level. (However, you may not count more than 30 points of short courses (10 or 15-point courses) towards this award.)

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Cognitive skills
• Practical and professional skills
• Key skills

Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.

Credit for previous study elsewhere

If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of courses so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.

Credit transfer details for this qualification:

• Essential Information Sheets - BA (Honours) Literature

Classification of your degree

On successful completion of the required number and type of courses you will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Literature degree. Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours. The class of degree is determined by the best grades you achieve in a minimum of 120 and up to 240 points from those courses above Level 1 listed above. At least 120 of those points must come from courses at Level 3. You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Award Regulations and the Student Regulations.

Award Regulations

• Introduction to the Award Regulations
• General Award Regulations
• BA (Honours) Literature
• Schedule A to the Award Regulations

Student Regulations

The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.

How to register

To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the course you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that course.

About this page

An undergraduate qualification in Arts and Humanities.

Study explained

Credit points

- show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit point represents roughly 10 hours of study.

Level

- indicates how difficult a course is. Undergraduate study starts at Level 1.

Financial support

- find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.

Study explained

- all you need to know about studying with the OU.

Got a question?

Contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service
Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90

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