What is an Option subject?

Option subjects are subjects taken from outside the School of English. You take one subject throughout your first year and it constitutes a third of your studies during that year.

Why take a Option subject?

Taking a Option subject will offer you insight into and further knowledge of a subject that interests you. It will help you to develop skills and techniques which are useful in themselves but which will also complement and enhance your abilities as a student of English.

English is, after all, a subject that has always benefited from being open to enquiry through knowledge of other disciplines within the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

It is a University requirement that you take a subject other than English for one third of your time during the first year of your course and that you obtain the necessary credit-units for this Option subject (40 in total) in order to be allowed to continue your studies into the second year. As with all other modules in your first year, though, the marks you achieve in the option subject do not contribute to your final degree classification.

How do I choose my Option subject?

In considering your Option subject, then, you have a wide range of courses from which to choose, usually with some flexibility as to which modules you can take within those courses (as briefly outlined below for each subject).

There are a number of ways of choosing which Option subject is the best one for you. You might want to continue with a subject that you studied at either GCSE or A-level and would like to maintain (such as a Modern Language, for instance). Alternatively, you might like to try something completely new (such as History of Art, Film Studies, or a different Modern Language). Either way, the choice is entirely yours – the School of English has no preferences as to which Option subject you decide to take!

Points to consider:

1. Your Option subject forms an important part of your study as a first-year English student at the University of Leicester comprising one third of your first year studies. For this reason, you should choose a subject that interests you, and that you feel you would enjoy. You need to be able to commit to your option subject in just the same way as you'd commit to an English module.

2. Don’t be surprised by the amount of time and work your Option subject will demand of you!

Option subjects involve a considerable amount of work. Each requires you to take a module (or modules) that should involve up to 150 hours of work per semester. While much of this work will involve private study, nevertheless for each option subject you must attend lectures and seminars, submit both assessed and non-assessed work, and in most cases sit examinations (although modes of assessment vary among the different subjects).

So - when selecting your Option subject, choose one that you think will be interesting, stimulating, and enjoyable for you to study.

3. We ask you to nominate more than one Option Subject when you apply for your choice. This is because the numbers on some Option Subjects are capped and we therefore can't guarantee you your first choice. Please think carefully about the subjects you nominate to ensure you'd be content doing your alternative option(s) if the first choice is full.

If you are having difficulty deciding which option subject is best for you, you can consult either the University Prospectus, or contact any of the relevant option subject departments – they will be more than happy to answer any queries you might have.

Information about Option Subject choices for 2012 entrants will be posted online once it is confirmed.