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What makes English Language and Journalism at Worcester special?

Studying English Language and Journalism in combination develops your linguistic skills and knowledge of communication, contemporary society, and culture. You’ll explore theoretical concepts of language construction and apply them to modern journalistic environments. As you develop a more in depth understanding of how language shapes our worlds, brings thoughts to life and forms our identities, you will shape your own unique journalistic style.

The joint honours course combines lectures and seminars with practical projects, supported by specialist staff with industry experience. Students graduate with a firm understanding of communication valued by employers across a range of industries.

Overview

Overview

Key features

  • Gain an understanding of how today’s media is consumed, how to produce the right content, and look at law, ethical issues, and the role of journalism in today’s society
  • Excellent work placement opportunities, developed in collaboration with local organisations, including the BBC
  • Students are taught by experienced, trained and practising journalists and also benefit from an exciting programme of guest lecturers from within the industry
  • Clear focus on the socio-cultural aspects of language use and an emphasis on the development of research skills with opportunities to present research outcomes through a student conference in the final year
  • Hands-on approach to the study of the social impact of language using real data
  • Teaching (English as a Foreign Language) practice in small group seminars
  • Integrated Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), enhancing your professional portfolio
  • Tailor your course to your individual needs with a joint honours degree
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Joint 10th for Graduate Prospects in the UK

Our English courses are joint 10th for Graduate Prospects in the UK (The Complete University Guide 2024.)

Scope of the course content meant that I could research and write in a wide variety of areas, sometimes crossing into other disciplines such as Sociology. This kept the process of studying fresh and interesting.

Josh Crampton, English Language Joint Honours graduate

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

104
UCAS tariff points

Entry requirements

104 UCAS tariff points.

The University’s standard entry requirements apply: 4 GCSEs (Grade C/4 or above) and a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent Level 3 qualifications). Although A Level English is desirable, evidence of sound written skills through relevant subjects is acceptable. 

T Levels may be used to meet the entry tariff requirements for this course. Find out more about T levels as UCAS tariff points here.

Other information

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk for advice.

Further information about the UCAS Tariff can be obtained from the UCAS website.

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Course content

Course content

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Year 1

Mandatory

  • Introduction to Journalism 
  • Introduction to Digital Techniques
  • Journalism Law and Ethics
  • General Linguistics
  • Intro to TEFL: Language Awareness
  • Intro to TEFL: Teaching Skills

Year 2

Mandatory

  • Journalism, Law, Ethics and Society 
  • Sociolinguistic Theory and Practice
  • TEFL: Access to CELTA

Optional

Year 3

Optional

  • Work Placement
  • Investigative Journalism and Research Skills
  • Advanced Digital Production
  • Final Project
  • Campaigning & Environmental Journalism
  • Advanced PR & Comms
  • Gender, Identity & Inclusivity
  • Podcasting and Live News Production
  • Independent Research Project
  • World Englishes
  • Style and Identity
  • History of English
  • Advanced Language Analysis
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Joint Honours

Discover our full range of joint degrees and read about how your degree will be structured.

Find out more about studying a joint honours course
Teaching and assessment

Teaching and assessment

For more information about teaching, learning and assessment on this course, please see the single honours course pages for English Language (joint honours) and Journalism BA (Hons).

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest English Language programme specification and Journalism programme specification documents.

Worcester was the perfect fit for me. The course and study were relevant and really helped in terms of vocational skills.

Tom El-Shawk, Journalism graduate

In English Language your critical and intellectual faculties are honed in a variety of teaching and learning contexts. You focus on the socio-cultural aspects of language use and exploration of linguistic and stylistic choices. By your third year you will be carrying out your own independent research projects on aspects of English language as it is used in spoken and written communication   – communication central to the construction of human beings’ identities, and that is as varied, diverse and rich as are its speakers and writers. During the course, there are opportunities for you to undertake work placements, supporting you to recognise and apply the very broad range of transferable skills and competencies that you are developing.

Journalism is vocationally focused and aims to support you to acquire the knowledge and skills that will equip you to work in today’s multi-platform media environment. You are taught by experienced, trained, and still practising journalists in state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities, including radio studios linked to a newsroom, industry-standard TV studios, and new podcast studios. There are opportunities for work placements with local media organisations (including the BBC) and a host of guest lectures by high-profile visitors to the course. You are able to tailor your studies to focus on particular aspects of journalism – from sports to entertainment to environmental journalism – or to branch out into wider areas of media and communications. Your learning is hand-on, with an emphasis on supporting you to seek journalism and communications roles once you have graduated.

English Language Studies and Journalism in combination will be for you if your interests lie in the ways in which human beings communicate with one another, how they make sense of their society and cultures, and how communication itself shapes the meanings and ideologies of our ever changing world.

Meet the team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course.

Dr Lefteris Kailoglou

Dr Lefteris Kailoglou

Dr Lefteris Kailoglou is the Course Leader for English Language. He has been working at the University of Worcester since 2011, and previously taught at the University of Essex and University of Sussex. Lefteris has also been supervising a number of dissertations on sociolinguistic variation in Worcester as well as topics on language and identity. He has also been involved in the establishment of the Worcester dialect archive which is located within the Institute.The initial findings of the description of the local dialect of Worcestershire (but also Herefordshire) have now started becoming publicly available in conference papers and publications.

rachel-ammonds

Rachel Ammonds

Rachel Ammonds teaches a wide range of undergraduate modules and is an experienced broadcast journalist.

She began her career at BBC radio in the Midlands before moving to the BBC in Manchester. She worked in radio and television, and was part of the team that won a Sony Award for coverage of the IRA bombing of Manchester. Rachel moved to ITV in 1997, producing the North West's regional news programme. She then helped set up ITV's health channel before moving into making documentaries for ITV, focusing mainly on its flagship current affairs programme, Tonight with Trevor McDonald, for which she worked as a producer/director.

 

Careers

Careers

The Journalism aspect of this course will provide you with practical skills to work as a journalist or researcher, or in related communications jobs such as those in public relations. You will be well placed to progress to postgraduate study in journalism or in a wide range of other areas. Students have found employment in the following areas: broadcast and print journalism, local and national radio presenting, media research, event organising, media planning, television, theatre, marketing, public relations, social media management, campaigns, teaching and further study.

Many graduates of English Language Studies courses will take a postgraduate education course as a fourth year of study and enter the teaching profession. Others will find that the skills acquired through the study of English are particularly highly regarded in all professions where good communication skills are prized such as publishing, journalism, public relations, human resources and web-based communication. English Language Studies provides continuous opportunities to develop employability skills and includes work experience options. There is a range of opportunities to study for a semester abroad in Europe and the USA in the second semester of the second year.

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Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential
Costs

Fees and funding

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £16,200 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the academic year 2024/25 are £1,156 per 15-credit module, £1,542 per 20-credit module, £2,312 per 30-credit module, £3,083 per 40-credit module, £3,469 per 45-credit module and £4,625 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Hall' at £131 per week to 'En-suite Premium' at £221 per week (2024/25 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.

How to apply

How to apply

English Language Studies and Journalism BA (Hons) - PQ53

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application. 

UCAS Code

PQ53

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Rachel Ammonds

Course Leader, Journalism

Dr Lefteris Kailoglou

Admissions Tutor, English Language Studies