Faculty of Humanities

Degree Programs

Bachelor's in English

Explore English literature from its beginnings to the present day. Expand your understanding of what language is, and could be. Engage with English in ways you never expected. . .

The BA programs convey basic historical and systematic knowledge of the varieties of the English language as well as English-speaking literatures and cultures. They introduce theories, concepts and methods of English language and linguistics, and literature, advance oral and written competences in English academic discourse and instruct students in their own independent academic work. Students who have studied with us have gone on to work in journalism, public relations, human resources, archiving, librarianship, higher education, and academia.

For more information please visit our website: www.ens.unibe.ch.

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Basic information
Degree: Bachelor of Arts in English, Universität Bern
Number of credits: 180 ECTS
Degree programs:

  • Major English 120 ECTS

 

Offer for other degree programs:

  • Minor English 60 or 30 ECTS credits
Combination possibilities: several
Duration: 6 semesters
Language: English
Beginning studies: Fall semester

Details of program

Requirements BA major (120 ECTS)

In the course of their studies, BA majors must complete the following:

Induction Phase

Propädeutikum

  • Core Curriculum (20 ECTS; all graded, except Literary History lecture)
  • Language Module (12 ECTS, all graded)

Students must pass the Propädeutikum in order to be allowed to continue their studies.

Focussing Phase

  • 1 Focus Module in either Language and Linguistics or Literature (10 ECTS, graded)
  • 3 seminars (7 ECTS each, graded; at least one in Language and Linguistics and one in Literature)
  • 2 lectures (3 ECTS each, ungraded; one in Language and Linguistics and one in Literature)
  • Electives (Wahlbereich, 15 ECTS to be acquired in courses offered outside of the department, must all be graded)

The following modules and courses are compulsory, but ungraded:

  • Optional courses (Wahlleistungen): must be taken within the department or in the form of Independent Studies (subject to advance approval); 9 ECTS in total
  • Stay Abroad (6 months / 10 ECTS), to be approved in advance by International Coordinator
  • Advanced Readings in Linguistics and Literature examination (3 ECTS)

Completion Phase

  • BA colloquium (2 semesters, 4 ECTS, ungraded)
  • BA thesis (10 ECTS, graded)

One of the lectures taken after the Induction Phase must be a lecture flagged as “pre-1800”.

Of the total 120 ECTS, 85 ECTS must be graded.

Please check the Appendix to Study Plan 2017 (PDF, 185KB) for the BA major.

Requirements BA minor (60 ECTS)

In the course of their studies, BA minors (60 ECTS) must complete the following:

Induction Phase

Propädeutikum

  • Core Curriculum (20 ECTS; all graded, except Literary History lecture)
  • Language Module (12 ECTS, all graded)

Students must pass the Propädeutikum in order to be allowed to continue their studies.

Focussing Phase

  • 1 Focus Module in either Language and Linguistics or Literature (10 ECTS, graded)
  • 1 seminar in either Language and Linguistics or Literature (7 ECTS, graded)

The following modules and courses are compulsory, but ungraded:

  • Stay Abroad (3 to 6 months; 5-10 ECTS)
  • Optional courses (Wahlleistungen) must be taken within the department or in the form of Independent Studies (subject to advance approval); (1-6 ECTS, depending on the duration of the Stay Abroad).

Of the total 60 ECTS, 46 ECTS must be graded.

Please check the Appendix to Study Plan 2017 (PDF, 185KB) for the BA minor (60 ECTS).

Requirements BA minor (30 ECTS)

In the course of their studies, BA minors (30 ECTS) must complete the following:

Induction Phase

Propädeutikum

  • Reduced Core Curriculum (14 ECTS, all graded)
  • Language Module (12 ECTS, all graded)

Students must pass the Propädeutikum in order to be allowed to continue their studies.

Optional courses (Wahlleistungen) must be taken within the department or in the form of Independent Studies (subject to advance approval); 4 ECTS in total.

Of the total 30 ECTS, 26 ECTS must be graded.

Please check the Appendix to Study Plan 2017 (PDF, 185KB) for the BA minor (30 ECTS).

Vorgezogene Masterleistungen

Students can begin taking Vorgezogene Masterleistungen in the last semester of their BA, provided that they have accumulated at least 150 ECTS in their entire course of study (Major, Minor, and electives/Wahlbereich). Students are only allowed to do Vorgezogene Masterleistungen for one semester.

Scheme of program

The BA major study program consists of three phases:

  1. Induction Phase: The main focus lies on the acquisition of methodological competences in the areas of language and linguistics, literature and academic language use. The Induction Phase must be completed and passed before students are allowed to move on to the next phase.
  2. Focussing Phase: This phase concentrates on the development of subject expertise, which is deepened within selectable thematic foci.
  3. Completion Phase: The research focus is developed further and students explore their academic interests in their BA thesis.

In the course of their BA studies, major students are also required to do a Stay Abroad, earn a set amount of credits by attending courses of their choice within the Department of English (optional courses/Wahlleistungen) as well as in other departments (electives/Wahlbereich).

The BA minor study programs consist of two phases:

  1. Induction Phase: The main focus lies on the acquisition of methodological competences in the areas of language and linguistics, literature and academic language use. The Induction Phase must be completed and passed before students are allowed to move on to the next phase.
  2. Focussing Phase: This phase concentrates on the development of subject expertise, which is deepened within selectable thematic foci. For 30-minor students, this phase consists of optional courses (Wahlleistungen) mentioned below.

In the course of their BA studies, minor students are also required to earn a set amount of credits by attending courses of their choice within the department (optional courses/Wahlleistungen). 60-minor students must also complete a Stay Abroad of three months or more.

Combination possibilities

The Bachelor's degree program in English consists of the major with 120 ECTS credits and one or more minors for a total of 60 ECTS credits.

Any subject taught in a sufficient scope at the University of Bern can be chosen as a minor. However, students are not permitted to have a major and minor in the same branch of study.

In any combination, performance assessments or modules that are part of several study programs can be credited only to one study program.

Study program structures
Major ECTS
 Minor ECTS 
120  60 
120  30 + 30 

Available minors
Minors you may choose

Additional information

Deadlines

After your BA

Consecutive MA degree programs

The Bachelor of Arts in English, Universität Bern, allows admission without assessment to the following MA degree programs:

Alumni meetings

The Students’ Committee offers regular alumni meetings, at which former students talk about their experiences and lines of work after completing their studies with us. The following selection only lists some of the possibilities:

  • Master of Arts in English
  • MA at other Swiss or foreign universities
  • Internships
  • etc.