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Oxford University

Faculty of English Language and Literature

Oxford’s Faculty of English Language and Literature is the largest English department in the UK, with a highly distinguished research and teaching record covering all periods of English literature.

Lincoln college library special collections

Lincoln College Library special collections. Credit: Rathika Muthukumaran / Graduate Photography Competition

Overview

The faculty was awarded top grades in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, and it also leads the Complete University League Tables (2025) and QS World University Rankings (2025) for English Language and Literature. Teaching has been graded ‘excellent’ in every quality assurance review.

The size and distinction of the faculty’s graduate school, as well as the intellectual diversity of its graduate students, make Oxford a very stimulating environment in which to study English. The faculty currently has 80 permanent members of academic staff, including nine statutory professors. This is in addition to a further 100 or so members teaching in the colleges.

A (post)graduate introduction to English Language and Literature at Oxford, featuring DPhil student Kristin Grogan. Teaching and research in English at Oxford covers a wide range of work in literature and language over all periods to the present. 

The faculty’s taught Master's courses are designed to serve both as autonomous degrees and as a solid foundation for the pursuit of more advanced research in literature in Oxford or elsewhere. In addition, our Master's programmes offers you the opportunity to pursue topics across period boundaries if you so wish.

The faculty has a lively programme of research seminars in which staff and students have the opportunity to give papers on their work, and to meet specialists from other universities and institutions from the UK and abroad.

Courses offered

Humanities Division

Oxford is at the forefront of international research in the humanities, with five subject areas judged to have the highest volume of world-leading 4*-rated research in the UK in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

“As we delve into our particular subjects, we’re invited not to lose sight of the general awe of what it means to be human,” said Julia, an MPhil student in Linguistics and Comparative Philology. Oxford offers an unparalleled range of Humanities subjects, from music and fine art to ancient and modern languages.

The Humanities Division comprises around a third of the University's community of staff and students, offering taught graduate and research degrees in a very wide range of subjects. Humanities departments and faculties attract outstanding students, academics and researchers from across the globe. As a result, graduate students have the opportunity to undertake their studies and research in a stimulating, challenging and highly rewarding intellectual environment.

Some of these subjects are relatively new, and cross the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Others are areas of academic research that have long been recognised as of central importance, and they include some that few other universities are still able to support. In each case, the objective is to sustain and to teach the highest standards of scholarship. The dynamism of intellectual activity is evident in the wide variety of open lectures and seminars, in addition to those for specific courses.

You will have access to an immense range of research material, including digital resources. These resources are provided through Oxford’s impressive library system, based on the central Bodleian libraries, through the work produced by the University's research projects, and through the rich and diverse holdings of its museums.

In addition to materials and support focused on conveying subject-specific knowledge, there are a wide range of facilities aimed at the personal and professional development of students, strengthening their existing skills, developing new skills, and preparing them for careers after they have completed their studies.

Further information