Overview
The BA in English is a three-year full-time programme leading to the BA Degree (English). The degree is taught by the Department of English.
To be eligible for the award of the BA (Hons) English degree students are required to have achieved 180 credits by obtaining 60 credits in each of the three years of the degree.
First Year - Arts (English)
Students take English together with two other subjects from the First Arts programme. To avoid timetable clashes no more than one subject may be chosen from any separate group below:
- 1. Computer Science, History, Portuguese
- 2. (a) History of Art 1
- 2. (b)Applied Mathematics, European Studies, Folklore, Greek and Roman Civilisation, Gaeilge/Irish1
- 3. Archaeology, Chinese Studies, German, Latin, Mathematics, Mathematical Studies, Politics
- 4. French, Sociology, Studies in Music
- 6. (a) Geography, Italian 2
- 6. (b) Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy, Spanish 2
See here for Points to Note regarding the above subject choices.
Programme Requirements for Arts subjects begin here.
Second Year - Arts (English)
No student may register for Second Arts (English) until he/she has passed the First University Examination in Arts (English). The selection of any module is conditional on the Professor or Lecturer concerned and the College being satisfied that a student is capable of profiting by attendance thereat. Students may not select modules which involve a timetable clash.
In Second Arts students take a Single Subject Degree consisting of modules to the value of 60 credits in English.
BA (Hons) (English) (International) Pathway
The BA (Hons) (English) (International) Pathway is a four-year programme which enables students to study abroad for a year in an approved University outside Ireland. Student who wish to take the four-year option with a year abroad must register for the BA (English) (International) Pathway at the beginning of Second Year.
Third Year - Arts (English)
No student may register for Third Arts (English) until he/she has passed the Second University Examination in Arts (English). The selection of any module is conditional on the Professor or Lecturer concerned and the College being satisfied that a student is capable of profiting by attendance thereat. Students may not select modules which involve a timetable clash.
In Third Arts students take a Single Subject Degree consisting of modules to the value of 60 credits in English.
Programme Requirements
For information about modules, module choice, options and credit weightings, please go to Programme Requirements.
Programme Requirements
Module List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| |
| EN1010 | Critical Reading and Writing | 5 |
| EN1011 | Literature in Time | 5 |
| EN1012 | Literature in Question | 5 |
| EN1101 | Contexts: The Production and Reception of Literature and Film | 5 |
| EN1103 | Problems in Literature | 10 |
| 30 |
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| 3 | 60 |
| Special Topics in Literature and Culture (10) | |
| Old English Language (5) | |
| Critical Skills Seminar (10) | |
| |
| Special Topics in Literature and Culture (10) | |
| Old English Language (5) | |
| Creative Writing 1 (10) | |
| Critical Skills Seminar (10) | |
| |
| |
| Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales and Related Texts (5) | |
| American Literature to 1900 (5) | |
| Modern Drama (5) | |
| Adaptation, Literature, and Culture (5) | |
| |
| Romance and Realism (5) | |
| Women and Literature (5) | |
| EN2078 | Colony and Nation: Irish Literature before 1900 | 5 |
| Introduction to Renaissance Literature (5) | |
| 60 |
| Dissertation (20) | |
| EN3003 | Special Studies Seminar | 10 |
| 4 | |
| Special Studies Seminar (10) | |
| Creative Writing 2: Fiction Workshop (10) | |
| Dissertation (20) | |
| 4 | |
| EN3110 | Dissertation | 20 |
| EN3112 | Creative Writing 2 Poetry Workshop | 10 |
| EN3109 | Creative Writing 2: Fiction Workshop | 10 |
| 4 | |
| Special Studies Seminar (10) | |
| Dissertation (20) | |
| Creative Writing 2 Poetry Workshop (10) | |
| |
| |
| Modern and Contemporary American Literature (5) | |
| Victorian Literature (5) | |
| Contemporary Irish Writing (5) | |
| The Irish Literary Revival & Irish Modernism (5) | |
| |
| Of Monsters and Men: Old & Early English Literature (5) | |
| Romance: Medieval to Renaissance (5) | |
| Romantic Literature (5) | |
| Contemporary Culture (5) | |
| Total Credits | 235 |
Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.
Programme Learning Outcomes
Programme Learning Outcomes for BA (Hons) (English) (NFQ Level 8, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:
1
1-1
Grasp the scope and range of English as a subject which encompasses topics from Old English to Digital Humanities; which traverses diverse cultural traditions (including Irish, American and African); and which offers ways of addressing such fields as Film, Drama and Theatre Studies;
1-2
2
Articulate knowledge and understanding of texts, concepts and theories relating to the subject of English;
1-3
3
Demonstrate a knowledge of some of the theories which underpin the criticism of literature, film, drama and theatre studies;
1-4
4
Describe the ways in which texts acquire meaning from the material, cultural and political contexts in which they are produced;
1-5
5
Apply their knowledge of texts and theories through the central practice of close reading;
1-6
6
Form independent and sound judgments about texts;
1-7
7
Gather, sift and organise material independently, and evaluate its significance;
1-8
8
Express an awareness of the complexity, uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge;
1-9
9
Write effective and accurate scholarly prose.
*** Only for Incoming First Years and Repeat First Years 2024/2025 ***
*** Click here for Marks and Standards for all other years ***
Marks and Standards
These Marks and Standards should be read in conjunction with the Programme Requirements and the Book of Modules.
Fitness to Practise
All students on programmes subject to Fitness to Practise in UCC will be required to comply with the Fitness to Practise Policy and meet the relevant Fitness to Practise standards, in order to progress to the next year of his/her/their programme. Click here for a list of programmes subject to the Fitness to Practise Policy.
Marks and Credits
Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1200.
First Year - Pass and Progression Criteria
To pass first year and progress to second year, students must achieve:
- An aggregate mark of 40% across all modules,
- A pass mark in modules to the value of at least 50 credits, and
- A module mark of at least 30% in any remaining modules.
Pass by Compensation: Students who satisfy each of the above criteria are allowed to compensate in modules to the value of 10 credits and pass the year overall.
Award of Honours in the Degree Award
An honours classification is awarded for the final degree using the final year examination results and marks carried forward from the penultimate year. The aggregate of 33.33% of the penultimate year marks plus 66.67% of the final year marks will be used to calculate the final degree award.
Honours will be awarded as follows:
- First Class Honours: ≥ 70%
- Second Class Honours, Grade I: ≥ 60% and <70%
- Second Class Honours, Grade II: ≥ 50% and <60%
- Pass: ≥ 40% and <50%
Award of Honours when a student undertakes Study Abroad
When students study abroad as part of his/her/their degree programme, the calculation of the final degree award is based on modules in the Book of Modules only.
Examination Boards
- Provisional marks for Semester 1 examinations are released in January/February of each year. These marks are subject to approval at the University Examination Board.
- Marks for all modules taken in Semester 1 and 2, including those wholly assessed by Continuous Assessment, will be presented to the University Examination Board at the end of Semester 2.
Supplemental Examinations and Assessment
- Students who fail to achieve the progression standard for the year at the Summer Examination Board must complete Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment for those specific module(s), where there is provision to do so.
- Please refer to the Book of Modules for requirements governing the Supplemental Examination and Assessment for individual modules. Note: For some modules there is no Supplemental Examination and Assessment.
- The marks achieved in the Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment of a repeat module are considered at the Autumn Examination Board.
- The actual mark achieved by the candidate in the Supplemental or Repeat Year Examination will be recorded on the student record (Academic Transcript).
- The maximum mark that will be taken into account for aggregation and progression purposes is a pass level, unless the student has been granted a cap waiver or deferral by the University Mitigation Committee, or a University Examination Board, or has been approved to defer the previous attempt by the University Mitigation Committee.
- At the Autumn Examination Board, marks from all passed modules approved at the Summer Examination Board are carried forward and are combined with the marks achieved in Supplemental Examinations and/or Assessments. The pass and progression criteria are applied to the aggregate mark achieved.
Note: The mark achieved at the last examination/assessment attempt is the mark that is included in the calculation of the aggregate mark for pass and progression purposes.
Study Abroad
- When students study abroad as part of his/her/their degree programme, they will be assessed by his/her/their host university.
- To pass the study abroad period and progress to the subsequent year, a student must achieve a pass standard as applied by the host institution.
- A Pass/Fail judgement will be presented to the UCC Examination Boards:
- At the Summer Examination Board for students spending Semester 1 abroad.
- At the Autumn/Winter Examination Board for students spending the full academic year abroad or Semester 2 only.
- For students failing to achieve a pass mark, Supplemental Assessment will be prescribed by the School in UCC, and these results will be presented at a Winter Examination Board.
Exemptions
All passed modules carry an exemption, which is limited to a period of five academic years (or two in the case of Computer Science modules) subsequent to the award of the exemption.
Repeat Year Examinations
Students repeating the year may do so choosing one of the following mechanisms:
1. Students retain module exemptions, if any, and must repeat all failed/absent modules, including those modules where the failing mark previously achieved was greater than the level of compensation (≥ 30%) but who failed to achieve the progression standard for the year (see above). The pass and progression criteria are then applied to the combination of full marks achieved in modules passed at the first attempt, plus capped marks achieved in modules in the Repeat Year Examinations.
Note: For students selecting different modules not previously taken, there are no restrictions on the marks awarded for those modules at the first attempt in a repeat year. The selection of different modules by the student means that the student foregoes any previous marks achieved in the original modules (including previously passed modules).
2. Students may forego all module exemptions achieved and repeat the year choosing modules to the value of the full 60 credits. In determining pass and progression, there is no restriction on the marks awarded for modules taken at the first attempt of the Repeat Year. Modules taken at the subsequent Supplemental Examination and Assessment are capped at the pass mark.
Subject to capacity, all students - whether they have failed or passed - are allowed to choose this second option, in an attempt to improve his/her/their grade.
Students repeating the final year are eligible for the award of Honours in the first Repeat Year only. Final year students wishing to repeat the year with a view to improving his/her/their degree result may do so only if they have not been conferred.
Three Year Rule
Students must pass/progress within three academic years of the date of first registration for a year, otherwise they cannot continue in the programme.
Terms and Definitions
Programme Description
Module Descriptions/Assessment
- Module descriptions, including the pass standard for a module, special requirements to pass a module, and assessment elements and their weightings, are contained in the Book of Modules.
Marks and Credits
- A maximum of 100 marks may be awarded for every five credits of a programme.
- Some modules are assessed on a Pass/Fail basis only, i.e. marks are not awarded.
Pass and Progression
- Progression is defined as the permission granted to a student to register in the subsequent academic year for the next set of modules within his/her/their programme of study.
- Compensation is defined as the process by which a student, who fails to satisfy some of the regulations for credit in a specific module, is nevertheless recommended for credit to be awarded on the grounds that the failure is offset by his/her/their performance in the other modules on his/her/their programme of study.
