What our students think

My ambition is to become an English teacher at secondary school level, and I really want to be as enthusiastic and passionate about English as my lecturers have been here.

The support offered by the university stood me in good stead for my career following my studies. Since leaving I have delivered papers at several international conferences and published two books.

I love the department. I think that we have one of the best, most enthusiastic, most cohesive departments in the country, and I think that they really show their enthusiasm for their subject.

The system of choosing modules by preference has allowed me to avoid studying subjects I don’t enjoy and specialise in areas I am really interested in or that I have not studied before

The staff are extremely approachable, always willing to give up their time and organise extra one-to-one sessions with us if we need help. I think Southampton is unique in terms of student-staff rapport, I have not encountered another university with such a level of friendliness and support.

I recently completed a six week internship at Gulf News in Dubai which I enjoyed thoroughly. I conducted interviews, attended press releases and wrote a load of articles which were published in the paper. This was great experience for me and a fabulous opportunity. Getting my name in print exceeded any expectation I had for the internship, and my University of Southampton place certainly helped secure the internship!

Supported by the knowledgeable, brilliant faculty, I learnt how to think analytically, to justify my arguments with sound reasoning and approach discussion with an open mind – a skill that has been invaluable in allowing me to hold my own in meetings and consult clients strategically. I think, therefore I am employable!

I’m never tied down to doing something that doesn’t interest me and there’s a real focus of coming up with your own argument on a topic. If a topic fascinates you, you can go away, focus on a part of it, research it further and then start coming up with your own ideas. I love having this kind of freedom

English is such a broad subject, you can find yourself discussing Freud, Wind in the Willows, the French Revolution and Alfred Hitchcock in the same week.

I chose Southampton because the English course is one of the best in the country – as are the lecturers. I also absolutely loved the campus.

I would absolutely recommend other people come here to study. The Union is a really welcoming place, no matter what hobby you're into, there's a place for you to go.

Through the University's Careers and Employability Service, I recently managed to secure an internship at a literary agency.

No one can tell you which university is right for you, but if you want a course with flexibility and variety, if you want to be located on a beautiful campus with an active students' union and you want to feel part of a really inclusive and exciting community then look no further than Southampton

The course looked amazing, and there are loads of great options to choose from in your second and third year so you can do things you really enjoy. It's interesting, challenging and lots of fun, and I've really enjoyed it!

I love my degree programme! The thing I like most about it is the range of different texts which I get to read – no two modules so far have been the same and it’s not always material that I would have read for myself which makes it very interesting.

The English department are really friendly, helpful and passionate about their fields of interest. As a course rep last year I was a part of board of school meetings where it became clear how focused the staff are in constantly improving English and tackling problems that arise. You always feel that there is someone you can talk to if you have any questions, and tutors are always prompt in replying to emails!

The most important part of my degree was being taught how to learn and how to research thoroughly. This has been incredibly important. More practically, of course, my qualification in German helped me to get my first posting with the BBC to Berlin.