BA English Honours - Check Course Details, Colleges, & Jobs

Thinking of getting into a BA English Honours programme? Here is your ultimate guide to get started. 

BA English Honours is a very sought-after degree course among high school graduates, especially those from the arts and humanities streams. This undergraduate programme is 3 years long and a great experience overall. After opting for a BA English Hons course, students get to experience numerous like-minded individuals and learn about English Literature, the language’s history, grammar, phonetics, and more. In this article, let’s find out more details about BA English Honours like course details, top institutes, their fees, eligibility, job opportunities after the course, etc. 

BA English Honours - Course Highlights 

You will find some key information about B.A. English Honors in the table below. 

Particulars	Details
Course Name	Bachelor of Arts in English Honours
Level	Undergrad Level
Duration	3 years
Average Tuition Fee	₹1-1.5 lakhs
Job Roles after BA English Hons	Content Writer, Copywriter, Blogger, Editor, English Teacher, Technical Writer, PR Professional, Content Curator, etc.
Average Starting Salary	₹6 lakhs pa
Top Recruiters	Indian Express, India Today, KPMG India, Hindustan Times, EdTechs, etc.

What is BA English Honours?

BA English Honours is a bachelor’s degree programme that focuses on the comprehensive knowledge of the language. While teaching this course, pretty much all the institutes cover everything that a BA English student must know. BA English hons syllabus includes everything from the basics to much more advanced topics. A typical university course will teach students about classic novels, poetry, European dramas, Anglo-American language, contemporary literature, literary theories, women’s writings, popular literature, grammar, etc. Pursuing a BA in English Hons lets students develop not only their language skills but also their overall communication skills. 

BA English Hons - Eligibility Criteria 

In order to apply for a BA English Honors course, a student must be a high school graduate. Students who have appeared for their final high school board exams and are awaiting their results can also apply. However, they must provide their institutes with their final mark sheets, passing certificates, etc. to complete admission-related documentation. Age is no bar, anybody can apply for these courses given that they have completed their high school education. BA English Honours eligibility criteria may also vary from institute to institute. While most institutes consider entrance exam scores, many also require students to have scored at least 50% marks in their high school finals. 

Entrance Exams for BA English Honours Aspirants 

If not all, a huge number of universities and colleges accept CUET scores for admissions to their BA English Honours programmes. However, universities might also conduct their own entrance examination for this course and a bunch of other relevant courses. For instance, Jamia Millia Islamia has an entrance test called the JMI Entrance Exam, Chandigarh University has CUCET, then there’s PUBDET that the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board conducts, etc. 

Read More:

Top 10 BA English Hons Colleges at DU. 

What is CUET?

CUET or Common University Entrance Test is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). As the name suggests, this common entrance exam is conducted for admissions to various courses and various universities across India. It is conducted annually in at least 500 cities in India and abroad. Since the scale of the exam is enormous and a huge number of students appear for it, it is conducted in a number of slots. NTA also gives students the option of taking this exam in at least 13 different languages. 

Top Government Colleges for BA English Honours 

In the table below, you will find the best government colleges for BA English Hons along with the tuition fees and entrance exams they consider for admissions. 

Colleges	Tuition Fee (Approximate)	Entrance Exams Considered
Hindu College, University of Delhi	₹68,000	CUET
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College, University of Delhi	₹44,000	CUET
Kirori Mal College	₹40,000	CUET
School of Open Learning, University of Delhi	₹25,000	-
Patna Women’s College	₹1,00,000	Admissions Based on Merit and Interview

Top Private Colleges for BA English Honours  

Given below is the list of the best private colleges for B.A. English Hons. 

Colleges	Tuition Fee (Approximate)
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi	₹3,00,000
St. Xaviers College, Kolkata	₹3,50,000
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Howrah	₹2,00,000
Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Kolkata	₹65,000
Raja Narendra Lal Khan Women’s College, West Medinipur, West Bengal	₹30,000

Admission Process for BA English Hons Aspirants 

The process to get admission to an institute for BA English Honours is quite simple. However, it may slightly differ from institute to institute. The steps to the same are provided below. 

• Figure out the institute of your choice and read the eligibility criteria. A simple Google search should do. You would also want to find out if they have an entrance exam coming up. 
• Check out the admission and application dates on the official websites. 
• Fill out the application form with all the required details. 
• It is likely that once the institutes have your contact information, they will send out alerts for further steps of the admission process. Just to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the events, keep an eye on the official websites as well. 
• Appear for the entrance exams (if applicable). Ace them. 
• It is highly likely that you will be interviewed on passing the entrance exams. Ace them as well, and you’re in. 

BA English Honours - Curriculum 

The semester-wise syllabus for BA English Hons is tabulated below. 

Semesters	Subjects/ Papers
Semester-I	English Literature 4 (i) Twentieth Century Indian Writing (i)  Concurrent – Qualifying Language
Semester-II	English Literature 4 (ii) Twentieth-Century Indian Writing (ii) English Literature 1 (i) Concurrent – Credit Language
Semester-III	English Literature 1 (ii) English Literature 2 (i) Nineteenth-Century European Realism(i)/ Classical Literature (i)/ Forms of Popular Fiction (i) (students are supposed to choose one) Concurrent – Interdisciplinary
Semester-IV	English Literature 2 (ii) English Literature 3 (i) Nineteenth-Century European Realism (ii)/ Classical Literature (ii)/ Forms of Popular Fiction (ii) Concurrent – Discipline-Centered I
Semester-V	English Literature 3 (ii) English Literature 5 (i) Contemporary Literature (i) Anglo-American Writing from 1930 (i)/ Literary Theory (i)/ Women’s Writing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (i)/ Modern European Drama (i)
Semester-IV	English Literature 5 (ii) Contemporary Literature (ii) Anglo-American Writing from 1930 (ii)/ Literary Theory (ii)/ Women’s Writing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (ii)/ Modern European Drama (ii) Concurrent – Discipline Centered II

 Job Opportunities after BA English Honours 

Wondering what entails after a BA English Hons? Here’s what. BA English Honors students can apply for a number of jobs once they graduate. Listed down below are some of these jobs and what you should expect from them. 

• Content Writer - This job will employ all the language skills that you will acquire during your BA English Honours programme. It is likely that you will be making content for a website. However, publications like newspapers, magazines, etc. also hire content writers largely. 

• Copywriter - A copywriter’s job is relatively creative. They are required to write convincing copies for advertisements, websites, products, etc. The goal here is to sell products and services and engage the audience as much as possible. 

• Novelist - Becoming a novelist is every language lover's dream. With enough knowledge of English that comes with BA English Honours, a killer drive and enthusiasm, you can write your own novel. However, time-consuming and with its own challenges (finding a publisher), writing your own novels is a very rewarding career option. 
• Teacher/ Lecturer/ Assistant Professor - Another rewarding profession is imparting the knowledge that you have gained. Many BA English Hons graduates go on to teach the language. Depending on the institute you are applying to, you may also be required to have a B.Ed. degree in order to teach. If you want to become a college lecturer or assistant professor, you will have to clear UGC NET. For taking this exam, you must also have a master’s degree. 

MA in English 

If you wish to get a postgraduate degree after BA in English Honours, you may want to consider getting a Master of Arts degree in English. It will further increase your knowledge of the language. MA English is a 2-year postgraduate programme offered by many renowned universities and colleges. It deals with subjects like medieval literature, post-freedom Indian literature, poetry, fiction, century-specific dramas and more. You will also get to read the works of many stellar novelists like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, etc. as part of your curriculum.