Careers and employability

Our undergraduate courses produce thoughtful, articulate graduates with highly developed transferable skills such as communication, research, analysis, project management and critical thinking.

From your first day with us, you’ll receive expert guidance on using the skills you've gained to succeed in your future career. On graduating, you’ll be excellently prepared for work or further study.

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What do our graduates do?

English degrees lend themselves to a wide range of career paths, and our graduates have gone on to great success in many different sectors, including journalism, publishing, theatre, law, marketing, the civil service, management consultancy, and charity work.

Many of our graduates go on to postgraduate study, either here at Leeds or elsewhere. We offer a range of Masters degrees that allow you to explore an area of interest in greater depth and enhance your graduate employability.

School opportunities

Within our School there are many opportunities to gain new skills and enhance your career prospects. We offer a number of paid internships that focus on specific areas such as careers or outreach and allow you to enhance your employability alongside your studies. 

You can also support your fellow students as a Peer Mentor or represent them at course or School level by acting as a Student Representative.

If you're considering a teaching career, you'll also have the opportunity to gain valuable classroom experience through our optional module Students into Schools.

University opportunities

The University of Leeds has an excellent reputation with employers both in the UK and abroad, and offers a broad range of careers development opportunities including:

• Enhanced degrees with study abroad or work placements
• Mock interviews, CV workshops and more with the Careers Centre
• Mentoring and skills assessment with Leeds for Life
• Support for start-ups and social enterprises with Student Enterprise
• Jobs, volunteering and skills development with Leeds University Union

You can also take part in a work placement. Former placements have included:

• International Publicity (Public Relations and Corporate Affairs) at HBO
• National Geographic Explorer Engagement Programme Lead at National Geographic
• Marketing Assistant at FTA Global
• Digital Content Developer at Skipton Building Society
• Public Relations Assistant at Blanket
• Press Assistant at WildKat

Lifelong Learning Centre

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The Lifelong Learning Centre provides support for mature and part-time learners across the University, including advice on how to apply to university and support throughout your studies.