When you study English, the whole world opens up to you: English is now more widely spoken than any other language, and plays a vital role in international communication – especially in business and science. Anglophone culture also pervades daily life through movies, music, advertising, and the media. The academic study of English deals with the contemporary range of the language and the English-speaking world from linguistic, literary, and socio-cultural perspectives, while also addressing its long history. This approach promotes a clearer understanding of cultural change at the global and local level, and of the social and political challenges arising from the status of English as the world’s most important lingua franca. At the University of Basel, we address this spectrum of issues through a strong cultural and interdisciplinary approach based on courses in literary studies, linguistics, and language education.

At the University of Basel’s English Department, research and teaching take place in two academic subfields:Literary Studies and Linguistics.

The subfield Anglophone Literary Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach based on cultural studies to address anglophone literature in the context of intellectual and cultural history, as well as in connection with other media. Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies in Basel focus on the following points:

• English and Irish literature and culture since the Renaissance, especially in the fields of drama in the age of Shakespeare, literature and memory, and literature and space (cultural topographies);
• American literature from the 18th to the 21stcentury;
• Postcolonial literature and theory;
• Literary, cultural and media theory, as well as aesthetics.

The subfield Linguistics of English studies the significance and functions of the English language in the past and present, in public and private, in culture and science, and of course in everyday life. Anglophone linguistics in Basel has the following focal points:

• Cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics, especially language acquisition;
• Sociolinguistics, pragmatics and discourse analysis of English.

At bachelor level, the curriculum introduces students to the complex field of English language(s), literatures, and cultures, andto the theories and methods of linguistics, literary studies, and cultural studies. Students develop an understanding of English and the associated phenomena from a social, cultural, historical, and cognitive perspective. In addition, an essential component of the curriculum is the acquisition of excellent language skills, particularly for academic contexts (both written and oral).

Almost all courses at the English Department are taught in English.

A bachelor’s is the first degree a person can earn. It requires a total of 180 credit points (CP). The Bachelor's Degree Program in English is one of two subjects studied, each worth 75 CP. Free electives (30 CP) are also included. One ECTS credit point equates to approximately 30 hours of work.

Students can choose a subject offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences or a subject from another faculty as their second bachelor’s degree subject. 

Students are free to choose any free elective. These courses allow students to deepen their knowledge of their degree subjects, gain an insight into other degree subjects offered by the University of Basel, or acquire language skills.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in English, students may study toward a master’s in English (in combination with a second major). We also offer the interdisciplinary Master’s Degree Program in Language and Communication, and the multilingual Master’s DegreeProgram in Literary Studies, both of which are studied without a second major.

• MA English
• <link de studium studienangebote master sprache-und-kommunikation-master-studiengang external-link-new-window external link in new>MA Sprache und Kommunikation
• <link de studium studienangebote master literaturwissenschaft-master-studiengang external-link-new-window external link in new>MA Literaturwissenschaft