You will experience cutting-edge scholarship, develop advanced analytical skills, and explore literature’s role in shaping cultural, social, and political movements worldwide. Whether your interests lie in British, American, or postcolonial literatures—or even beyond the traditional English-speaking world—you will have the freedom to explore a broad spectrum of topics with expert guidance.

Our vibrant academic community welcomes students from across the world. This fosters cross-cultural exchanges and provides you with opportunities to collaborate on projects, experience events that bring internationally-esteemed scholars to Durham, and develop connections that extend well beyond the classroom.

You will be sorted into one of Durham's 17 colleges, which will serve as your home during your time here, offering accomodation, social events, and support outside of your academic life. We are one of the only universities in the UK which offer a traditional collegiate structure like this!

An inspirational local environment with international appeal

Our Department of English Studies is proudly based in a medieval city which features a UNESCO World Heritage Site at its heart. Durham also has a rich literary legacy. You'll find us in environs that have inspired many authors over the centuries, from the writer of one of the oldest English plays, the twelfth-century Peregrini, to modern novelists like A.S. Byatt, Pat Barker or Benjamin Myers. C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia was, allegedly, sparked by a particular lamppost in Durham when he was briefly based here!

The city also hosts literary and drama festivals throughout the year: Durham Book Festival is a Durham County Council event produced by New Writing North with support from Durham University and Arts Council England. Founded in 1990, it is one of the country's oldest literary festivals. Durham Fringe Festival is a grassroots performing arts event set up in 2021 that celebrates a variety of art forms and offers a platform for new and established artists. Durham Drama Festival has showcased the best new student writing for over 50 years.

The North East region in general boasts a rich literary heritage and a series of lesser-known literary connections. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in Coxhoe Hall in 1806 and baptised in St Helen's Church in Kelloe. Lord Byron married his wife, Anne Isabella Milbanke at Seaham Hall, her family home, in 1815. In his great national tour of 1858, Charles Dickens gave readings in Darlington and Durham, walking thirteen miles to perform at the Theatre Royal in Sunderland. 

Billy Elliott, a film set in County Durham during the 1984-5 Miners' Strike, was adapted into a musical that became a Broadway hit - its writer, Lee Hall, was born in Newcastle and also wrote the screenplay for War Horse and Rocketman. Dame Catherine Cookson was one of the best-known and most prolific British novelists of all time, selling more than 100 million books that are mostly set in her native borough of South Tyneside. Terry Deary, creator of the infamous Horrible Histories series, is from Sunderland.