Arts (English), Bachelor

Discover where your strengths and interests can lead with a Bachelor of Arts, offering flexibility to explore broadly before specializing in what excites you most. Spanning humanities, creative arts, and social sciences, this versatile degree lets you pursue passions, develop skills, and craft a unique career path—either standalone, focusing on one to three areas, or as a double degree with fields like Law or Education.You'll gain in-demand skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, evidence-based reasoning, communication, and creativity, while broadening your worldview. Engage with profound questions on human existence, challenge assumptions, and apply innovative ideas to issues like climate change, human rights, technology ethics, social justice, and cultural diversity. The Bachelor of Arts equips you to drive meaningful impact in a field you love. Where will your passions take you?

Open your heart and mind to the world around you Literature is the richest record we have of what it means to be human€”of our hopes, our fears, our passions, our struggles, our commitments. Studying English literary studies at UNSW, you will learn how literature from across the globe and across the centuries tells us who we are and shapes who we become. Our teachers bring world-class expertise and infectious enthusiasm to the study of powerful and diverse literary texts. You will learn to appreciate literature's cultural significance and formal sophistication, and to understand literature in its social and historical contexts. You will have an opportunity to think about the role of literature in your life and the lives of others, and the way in which literary writing is involved in solving problems and engaging with the world. You will develop skills in textual analysis and in crafting compelling arguments€”skills which are essential to navigating the modern world. Our offerings are also closely linked to courses in Creative Writing, giving you the opportunity to combine new analytical skills with creative experimentation. Make a difference and expand your opportunities In an increasingly uncertain world, innovative thinking and persuasive communication are vital. Students of English literary studies at UNSW acquire the skills to be the energetic leaders of the future, thinking critically and creatively about the world around them. Our students are uniquely placed to respond to the shifting demands of changing workplaces. Graduates of UNSW English literary studies work all over the world in many fields, from publishing and arts administration, through education, the media, and the law, to careers as writers, actors, and practitioners in other creative industries. Learn from world-renowned researchers English literary studies at UNSW is a dynamic hub of researchers and writers with established international reputations. UNSW English literary studies was ranked in the global top 70 departments for English literature (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025) and it has been home to multiple major ARC-funded research projects. We are also home to Southerly, Australia's oldest and most prestigious literary journal, and to Juvenilia Press, for which students themselves collaborate with teachers in producing edited editions of writers' early works. In addition to research, scholarly editing is a significant strength in English literary studies at UNSW, and both these strengths feed our excellence in teaching.