Welsh and English Literature (BA)
- Subject areas: English language and literature, Welsh
- UCAS code: QQ53
- Next intake: September 2025
- Duration: 3 years
- Mode: Full time
Why study this course
Follow your interests
Choose from modules across a range of areas in Welsh literature and language, and different periods and genres in English literature.
Think for yourself
Critically and creatively engage with different types of texts in an independent and open-minded way.
Adventure and exploration
Opportunities to study abroad in Europe and beyond, fostering independence and resilience.
Welsh at work
Build your confidence and practical skills using Welsh in a professional setting on placement.
Communicate effectively
Develop bilingual skills in shaping and presenting your ideas and arguments.
With our Welsh and English Literature (BA) programme, you’ll develop a thorough understanding of the Welsh language, its literature and culture, and engage with English literature from different periods and cultures, across the range of principal literary genres. You’ll achieve a high level of skill in written and spoken Welsh and English, key skills in collaboration and critical thinking, and well-developed employability and creative skills relevant to modern Wales and beyond. We’ll support you to engage critically and creatively with difficult problems in an open-minded and collaborative way, including on sensitive and controversial topics.
We welcome those who’ve studied Welsh either as a first or second language. If Welsh is a second language to you, you’ll be provided with specific modules in the first and second years to practice and enhance your communication and language skills. After this, first and second language students come together for the majority of second year, and all final year, modules. Module options allow you to explore topics such as historic and contemporary Welsh writing, language policy, and professional translation.
In English Literature, we are intrigued by the connections between literature and film, art, history, technology, language, and everyday life, and our teaching reflects these interests. You’ll learn how literature addresses social, environmental, and economic concerns with the aim of creating a better, more inclusive world and developing sustainable solutions for the future of the planet. In the final year of the programme, you can specialise in your preferred areas of study.
During your degree, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake a work placement in a workplace where Welsh is spoken daily, to develop your confidence and professional skills. You’ll also undertake a dissertation, in which you’ll design and carry out a research project on a topic of your choice related to Welsh language, culture or literature. A final year core module in English Literature gives you the opportunity to undertake a detailed examination of a single text across a whole semester and to use the experience and knowledge gained as the basis of a public-facing piece of work.
You’ll graduate with a range of professional skills, including collaboration, communication and critical analysis. You’ll also be aware of the linguistic and cultural challenges that face contemporary society and industry, and have the ideas and confidence required to solve them. The ability to use the Welsh language at a professional level is also extremely attractive to employers, which means that you have a unique opportunity to ensure an interesting and varied career where you can influence the linguistic, cultural, civic and economic future of Wales.
Subject area: English language and literature
Subject area: Welsh
Entry requirements
We accept a combination of A-levels and other qualifications, as well as equivalent international qualifications subject to entry requirements. Typical offers are as follows:
A level
AAB-BBB. Must include Welsh First or Second Language, and Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.
Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.
- Our grade range covers our standard offer and contextual offer. We carefully consider the circumstances in which you've been studying (your contextual data) upon application. Eligible students will be given an offer that is lower than the standard offer (usually the middle or lower end of the advertised grade range).
- Where there is no grade range advertised and/or where there are selection processes in place (like an interview) you may receive additional consideration in the selection process.
Learn about eligible courses and how contextual data is applied.
International Baccalaureate
34-31 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL English Language and Literature, English Literature, or English Literature and Performance. You must also have a Welsh Language qualification equivalent to grade B at A-level.
Baccalaureate Wales
From September 2023, there will be a new qualification called the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales (level 3). This qualification will replace the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (Welsh Baccalaureate). The qualification will continue to be accepted in lieu of one A-Level (at the grades listed above), excluding any specified subjects.
Other essential requirements
You must have or be working towards:
- English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade C/4 or an equivalent (such as A-levels). If you require a Student visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements.
We do not accept Critical Thinking, General Studies, Citizenship Studies, or other similar equivalent subjects.
We will accept a combination of BTEC subjects, A-levels, and other qualifications, subject to the course specific grade and subject requirements.
English language requirements
GCSE
Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.
IELTS (academic)
At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.
TOEFL iBT
At least 90 overall with a minimum of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading, and 20 for speaking.
PTE Academic
At least 69 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.
Trinity ISE II/III
II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.
Other accepted qualifications
Please visit our English Language requirements page for more information on our other accepted language qualifications.
Criminal convictions
You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.
If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- access to computers or devices that can store images
- use of internet and communication tools/devices
- curfews
- freedom of movement, including the ability to travel to outside of the UK or to undertake a placement/studies outside of Cardiff University
- contact with people related to Cardiff University.
Other qualifications from inside the UK
BTEC
D in a BTEC in Humanities or Social Science subjects, and grades AB-BB in A-level Welsh First or Second Language, and A-level Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature
T level
Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.
Please see our admissions policies for more information about the application process.
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.
Learn how we decide your fee status
Fees for home status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £9,535 | None |
| Year two | £9,535 | None |
| Year three | £9,535 | None |
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of a course as permitted by law or Welsh Government policy. Where applicable we will notify you of any change in tuition fee by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which the fee will increase.
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2025/26 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees.
Fees for island status
Learn more about the undergraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Fees for overseas status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £23,700 | None |
| Year two | £23,700 | None |
| Year three | £23,700 | None |
Learn more about our tuition fees
Financial support
Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.
Additional costs
Course specific equipment
You will not need any specific equipment.
Accommodation
We have a range of residences to suit your needs and budget. Find out more on our accommodation pages.
Living costs
We're based in one of the UK's most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.
Course structure
This is a 3-year full-time degree, with 120 credits of study in each year. You will study 60 credits in Welsh and 60 credits in English Literature in each year of study.
The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2025/2026 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2025.
Year one
The modules in year 1 introduce you to the key skills and areas of knowledge that feature throughout the degree.
In Welsh, you’ll explore aspects of Welsh language and literature in various contemporary, historical, and social contexts. Your choice of Welsh modules will depend on whether you’ve studied Welsh as a first or second language.
In English literature, you take 3 core modules that enhance your skills in critical reading and critical writing, by examining a range of literary genres and interpretative approaches. These modules lay the foundations for your academic development in literary studies in your second and final years. They also give you key writing, reading, research, and employability skills that you will use throughout your degree and beyond.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Up Close | SE2149 | 20 credits |
| Ways of Reading: Literature, Culture, Theory | SE2150 | 20 credits |
| Writing at University and Beyond | SE6266 | 20 credits |
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Sgiliau Astudio Llenyddiaeth | CY1513 | 20 credits |
| Sgiliau Iaith | CY1515 | 20 credits |
| Y Gymraeg Heddiw | CY1516 | 20 credits |
| Iaith ac Ystyr | CY1600 | 20 credits |
| Awdur, Testun a Darllenydd | CY1601 | 20 credits |
| Y Gymraeg yn y Gymru Gyfoes | CY1602 | 20 credits |
Year two
In year 2, you’ll take a core Welsh module that will help you develop your Welsh language skills within both an academic and a vocational context. This module includes a period of work experience in a workplace in which Welsh is used on a daily basis. You can choose 2 further optional modules on Welsh language, literature and culture, including several with direct relevance to specific fields of employment, such as language planning and the creative and heritage industries.
There are no core modules in English literature in year 2. Instead, you have the freedom to choose your modules from two different ‘baskets’ that have been designed to give you a coherent experience across periods, genres, and thematic areas. Basket A (‘Literary Periods’) covers the range of English literature from the medieval era to the present moment. Basket B (‘Themes, Forms, and Genres’) includes modules that address literature and the environment; film and visual culture; the history and future of the book; race and colonialism; feminisms; and the gothic. You will choose 2 modules from one basket and 1 from the other, with either 20 or 40 credits per semester, depending on the fit with your other subject. These second-year English literature modules build upon work undertaken in Year 1 and continue our commitment to allowing you to study literature alongside other forms of culture (such as film).
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Yr Iaith ar Waith | CY2205 | 20 credits |
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Cymraeg Proffesiynol | CY2215 | 20 credits |
| Myrddin a Merlin | CY2350 | 20 credits |
| Rhyddiaith Ddiweddar | CY2410 | 20 credits |
| Cynllunio Ieithyddol a Pholisi Iaith | CY2610 | 20 credits |
| Tu Hwnt i'r Tudalen | CY2702 | 20 credits |
| Canu'r Gymru Newydd: Barddoniaeth er 1990 | CY2810 | 20 credits |
| Caffael Iaith | CY2910 | 20 credits |
| Race, Empire and Nation: Are We Post Colonial? | SE2270 | 20 credits |
| Seen and Unseen: Tracing the (In)visible in Film and Visual Culture | SE2288 | 20 credits |
| The Versatile Text: Books/Objects/Collections | SE2333 | 20 credits |
| Shakespeare's Worlds | SE2336 | 20 credits |
| Twentieth-century Literature: Conflict, Crisis, Experimentation | SE2340 | 20 credits |
| Feminisms | SE2341 | 20 credits |
| Literature, Science and Environment | SE2344 | 20 credits |
| Uncanny Encounters: Gothic and Culture from the 1760s to the Present | SE2347 | 20 credits |
| Victorian Worlds: Forms of Transformation | SE2353 | 20 credits |
| Contemporary Literature and Culture: States of Emergency | SE2399 | 20 credits |
| Medieval Worlds: Narrative and Genre | SE2640 | 20 credits |
| Eighteenth-century and Romantic Poetry and Prose | SE2641 | 20 credits |
Year three
In your final year, you’re challenged to think more deeply about topics across Welsh and English literature.
In Welsh, you’ll undertake independent research in the form of either a 20-credit extended essay or 40-credit longer project work, which you’ll complete under the direction of a member of staff who is an expert in the relevant field. This may lead to further research or provide an effective showcase for potential employers. You’ll also choose one or two 20-credit Welsh optional modules on themes such as translation, language and education, and contemporary literature.
In English literature, you take a single 20-credit core module that will give you the opportunity to undertake a detailed examination of a single text across a whole semester and to use the experience and knowledge gained as the basis of a public-facing piece of work. Optional modules engage with current issues in research and scholarship in relation to authors and literary texts, and historical topics and areas both well-known and possibly less familiar to you.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Literature for All | SE2639 | 20 credits |
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Cymraeg i Ymarferwyr Addysg | CY3015 | 20 credits |
| Llenyddiaeth Plant | CY3310 | 20 credits |
| Theori a Beirniadaeth Lenyddol | CY3330 | 20 credits |
| Ysgrifennu Creadigol | CY3360 | 20 credits |
| Bywydau Llên | CY3425 | 20 credits |
| Tafodieitheg | CY3450 | 20 credits |
| Sosioieithyddiaeth | CY3530 | 20 credits |
| Yr Ystafell Ddosbarth | CY3660 | 20 credits |
| Treftadaeth a Thwristiaeth | CY3665 | 20 credits |
| Cyfieithu Proffesiynol | CY3705 | 20 credits |
| Blas ar Ymchwil | CY3900 | 20 credits |
| Ymchwilio Estynedig | CY3905 | 40 credits |
| The Illustrated Book | SE2395 | 20 credits |
| Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Women Writers | SE2476 | 20 credits |
| Dissertation | SE2524 | 20 credits |
| Military Masculinities in the Long Nineteenth Century | SE2597 | 20 credits |
| Island Stories: Literatures of the North Atlantic | SE2598 | 20 credits |
| Medieval Romance: Monsters and Magic | SE2599 | 20 credits |
| Activist Poetry: Protest, Dissent, Resistance | SE2627 | 20 credits |
| Shakespeare's Fractured Britain | SE2637 | 20 credits |
| Modern Utopia/Dystopia | SE2653 | 20 credits |
| The Films of Alfred Hitchcock | SE2654 | 20 credits |
| Visions of Past and Future in Children’s Books | SE2655 | 20 credits |
| Brave New Worlds: Early Modern Encounters | SE2656 | 20 credits |
| The Medieval Supernatural: Death, Demons and Ghosts | SE2658 | 20 credits |
| Technology and Visual Culture | SE2659 | 20 credits |
| Nature and Environment in North American Literature | SE2661 | 20 credits |
| Gothic Literature: The Romantic Age | SE2663 | 20 credits |
| Second-generation Romanticism: Nationalism, Music, and Poetry | SE2664 | 20 credits |
The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.
Learning and assessment
Research is central to the student experience at Cardiff University and all our teaching is informed by the latest findings.
Throughout the degree, our aim is to support you to become an independent thinker. You’ll learn through a wide range of teaching methods including interactive lectures, lively discussion-based seminars and workshops. Seminars and workshops offer a rewarding experience to engage critically with the key ideas and readings on a topic. They provide a valuable opportunity to explore ideas and work closely with your lecturers and to learn from other students. For Welsh, there is also an important role to be played by tutorials, workshops and language classes, especially if you’re following the second language route. You’ll have access to course materials through our electronic learning environment.
In this supportive environment, you’ll develop your abilities to closely analyse texts and arguments, evaluate evidence, collaboratively work through problems, construct your own arguments, hone your language skills, and present your ideas clearly to others.
How will I be supported?
Your main sources of support are your module leaders and your Personal Tutors. You’ll be allocated a personal tutor in both Welsh and English Literature. Personal Tutors can advise you on academic matters, including study skills, careers, and your academic progress, as well as on pastoral matters and you'll be invited to meet them regularly during the academic year. Your module leaders are also available during teaching weeks if you have any questions about course materials or assessments.
The Writing Development Centre provides specialist support for academic writing across the programme. This includes access to online materials, workshops and one-to-one meetings about any aspect of academic writing to support you with your assessments.
Our Professional Services teams in both Welsh and English Literature provide academic and student support and are there to help you with information and guidance if you have any queries. In addition, the University offers a range of support services and events to help you plan your career, manage your emotional, mental and physical health, support you with financial issues, and provide assistance for students with disabilities. These services are co-located at the University's Centre for Student Life. Libraries, study spaces and other resource centres will all be available to you.
How will I be assessed?
Your assessments are designed to cumulatively develop key skills in communication, collaboration, critical analysis and reflection. These can include critical analyses of texts, essays, exams, critical reviews, presentations, group work and group discussion assessments, and reflective assessment of your own skills. In the final year, you’ll take part in a collaborative project in English literature that involves communicating your findings to a non-specialist audience. In Welsh, you’ll undertake an independent research project.
Optional modules can offer a wider variety of assessments, including commenting on an artwork or a media piece, or creative assignments.
You’ll receive regular feedback on your progress as you move through the degree. Oral feedback in lectures, workshops and seminars will help you assess your understanding of the course material and your critical responses to it. You’ll receive formative comments on essay ideas and draft work, and detailed feedback on all marked coursework.
What skills will I practise and develop?
The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.
On successful completion of your Programme you will be able to:
Knowledge & Understanding:
- Know the structures, registers and varieties of Welsh and use them flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes, as appropriate.
- Critique the development of the Welsh language and its literature in different historical periods, from a linguistic, literary, and social context as well as an understanding of the attempts to restore and promote the language.
- Systematically comprehend English and/or Welsh literature from different cultures and periods (including pre-1800) and the range of principal literary genres across prose, poetry, and drama.
- Systematically comprehend the relationships between literature and other cultural forms, such as film, art, music, and material/digital cultures.
- Systematically comprehend how culture, language, technology, and economics affect how, where, and by whom texts are produced and received.
Intellectual Skills:
- Critically assess how meanings are created through language, and the affective power of language.
- Develop and apply arguments that respond independently to linguistic and/or literary and critical sources.
- Critically evaluate texts, data, concepts, and theories relevant to the context of the Welsh language and Welsh literature, using the appropriate vocabulary and terminology.
- Examine different kinds of linguistic data and/or literary and cultural materials closely and critically
Professional Practical Skills:
- Communicate persuasively, conveying academic ideas and technical arguments to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, using written or oral techniques in Welsh and English
- Apply knowledge, understanding and skills in a professional context.
- Assess and solve problems independently, taking the views of others into account in a systematic and evaluative way
- Compile and systematically evaluate complex information and diverse evidence.
Transferable/Key Skills:
- Effectively use IT programmes, including Welsh medium software, to present and analyse materials.
- Explain information and ideas clearly and professionally, applying advanced knowledge and skills to unfamiliar or wider world challenges or contexts
- Develop initiative by taking responsibility for structuring and time-managing a research task, working in teams when appropriate.
- Develop positive and effective working relations with others in teams, especially through constructive and collaborative dialogue and feedback
- Develop creative, critical, and independent responses to problems or tasks
Careers and placements
Career prospects
Graduates from this programme possess a range of transferable skills and areas of knowledge that are sought after by many employers.
Our graduates are versatile, collaborative, and critically independent individuals who are able to communicate complex ideas effectively to diverse audiences. They demonstrate personal and professional integrity, reliability, and competence, and they have the ability to motivate themselves and others in meeting agreed responsibilities.
By studying language, literature and culture in different linguistic, social and cultural contexts, our graduates develop critical knowledge and awareness of cultural diversity and key bilingual communications skills that are highly valued for jobs and roles that require Welsh, in particular.
University services and schemes are also available to you, providing additional ways to increase your professional skills and confidence. The Cardiff Award provides a framework through which to develop your employability further, and Student Futures is on hand to provide career advice and support in gaining placements specific to your degree. You can also take advantage of programmes like Languages for All to improve your foreign language skills, while support from the Enterprise and Start Up team can help you to bring your ideas to life.
Due to the depth and breadth of their skills and knowledge, our graduates are now following careers in areas such as law, politics, media, performing arts, administration and education, or engaged in postgraduate study.
Placements
In year 2 you’ll undertake a period of work experience in a workplace where Welsh is used on a daily basis. This period of work experience is part of a programme of events designed to focus on developing employability and career skills. We also encourage you to undertake placements off-campus through Student Futures in order to further enhance your employability.
Studying in Welsh
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HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.
