Are you interested in art, working in galleries and have a passion for reading and literature? Our joint honours programme Art History and English Literature offers a critically engaging and expansive approach to the discipline of art history combined with literary studies.
Kent's School of Arts is well-known for its innovative programmes in the visual arts. Our Art History and English Literature programme combines a comprehensive review of art movements, artists, artistic media as well as literary theory and practice with opportunities to put your knowledge into practice.
As an arts student, you become part of an artistic community based within the School of Arts’ Jarman building – a creative hub for students of art history, film, drama and media studies.
Several of the staff in Kent’s School of English are published authors and poets. Seminars form a crucial part of your learning experience and you become skilled in articulating your own ideas.
In your first year, you are given a firm foundation in some of the aesthetic, interpretative and methodological approaches in art history. You also receive an introduction to work-related skills directly relevant to employment in the visual arts sector, such as visual arts writing and exhibition curation. In addition, you are introduced to literary theory and explore the major forms of literature: poetry, narrative prose and drama.
Throughout your second and third years, there are opportunities for you to develop and expand your engagement with both disciplines through a range of specialist modules. These may include Renaissance and Baroque art, modernism, contemporary art, French painting, surrealism, photography and aesthetics.
The English Literature element of your degree gives you a thorough grounding in literary studies in the English language from the Middle Ages to the contemporary. You can choose from a wide variety of modules in fields such as American literature, creative writing, and postcolonial literature.
Kent’s School of Arts has its own exhibition space, Studio 3 Gallery, where you can develop professional curatorial and gallery management skills.
Kent’s Templeman Library gives you access to a wide range of topical journals and books in hard copy and digital format.
Your designated academic advisor provides guidance for your academic and professional development throughout your studies.
The School of Arts puts on many special events, which you are welcome to attend. In previous years, these have included symposia, seminars, conferences and exhibitions.
There are also a number of student-led societies at Kent which you may want to join, for example:
The School of English runs research seminars, workshops and social events, as well as a successful creative writing series of readings, where well-known writers and publishers share their experiences and skills. Previous guests include:
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. Typical requirements are listed below. Students offering alternative qualifications should contact us for further advice.
Please note that meeting this typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee an offer being made.Please also see our general entry requirements.
If you’ve taken exams under the new GCSE grading system, please see our conversion table to convert your GCSE grades.
BBC including English Literature or English Language and Literature
The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis.
If we make you an offer, you will need to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above.
The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further advice on your individual circumstances. A typical offer would be to achieve DMM plus A level English Literature or English Language & Literature at C.
34 points overall or 14 points at HL. HL English A1/A2/B at 5/6/6 OR HL English Literature A/English Language and Literature A (or Literature A/Language and Literature A of another country) 5 at HL or 6 at SL.
The University welcomes applications from international students. Our international recruitment team can guide you on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country.
However, please note that international fee-paying students cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.
If you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes.
For more advice about applying to Kent, you can meet our staff at a range of international events.
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
Duration: 3 years full-time, 6 years part-time
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
On most programmes, you study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also be able to take ‘elective’ modules from other programmes so you can customise your programme and explore other subjects that interest you.
Going abroad as part of your degree is an amazing experience and a chance to develop personally, academically and professionally. You experience a different culture, gain a new academic perspective, establish international contacts and enhance your employability.
All students within the Faculty of Humanities can apply to spend a Term or Year Abroad as part of their degree at one of our partner universities in North America, Asia or Europe. You are expected to adhere to any progression requirements including achieving a merit at Stage 1 and Stage 2 to proceed to the Term or Year Abroad.
The Term or Year abroad is assessed on a pass/fail basis and will not count towards your final degree classification. Places and destination are subject to availability, language and degree programme. To find out more, please see Go Abroad.
The 2020/21 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Full-time tuition fees for Home and EU undergraduates are £9,250.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Full-time tuition fees for Home and EU undergraduates are £1,385.
Full-time tuition fees for Home and EU undergraduates are £1,385.
Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
There may be some additional costs related to the subjects studied in this programme. Please see the Additional costs section for each subject below. Please note that these may vary depending on your specific module selection:
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Art History modules include weekly lectures and small group seminars; a distinctive feature is that many modules involve visits to London galleries, overseas visits to museums and other out-of-classroom activities. Helping students to acquire independence of thought and the skills of autonomous study are central to our teaching ethos.
All Art History modules are assessed by coursework – essays, presentations, image or text analyses and other module-related activities. This approach to assessment helps you to develop an in-depth knowledge of topics within modules that are most interesting and relevant to your study, and to acquire a wide range of generic and transferable skills.
English literature modules are taught by weekly seminars. Compulsory modules include a weekly lecture, with individual supervision offered for the Long Essay. Assessment at Stage 1 is by a mixture of coursework and examination. Some modules may include an optional practical element.
Our programmes emphasise a close working relationship with students. The academic adviser system ensures that all of our students have access to a designated tutor for pastoral support and academic guidance throughout their time at Kent.
For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
For programme aims and learning outcomes please see the programmes specification for each subject below. Please note that outcomes will depend on your specific module selection:
History of Art at Kent was ranked 12th overall and 7th for student satisfaction in The Complete University Guide 2021.
Over 92% of final-year History of Art students were satisfied with the quality of teaching on their course in The Guardian University Guide 2020.
English at Kent was ranked 1st for research intensity in The Complete University Guide 2021.
English at Kent was ranked 16th in The Guardian University Guide 2020.
Recent graduates have gone into areas including:
Kent’s School of Arts has an excellent reputation and many links with institutions and individuals working in the field. This network is very useful to students when looking for work.
The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service which can give you advice on how to:
As well as gaining skills and knowledge in your subject area, you also acquire key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates.
These include the ability to:
You can also gain extra skills by signing up for our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.
This course page is for the 2020/21 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of undergraduate courses we offer.
T: +44 (0)1227 768896
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
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