Is the BA Academic Writing and Communication an English Literature degree?

No. English Literature is about reading and analysing literary texts. The BA Academic Writing and Communication is about producing, editing and translating scholarly writing across many disciplines. The two share some skills but the career outcomes are different.

Will the BA Academic Writing and Communication prepare me for academic editing?

Yes. The academic editing module is a substantial part of the degree, covering copy-editing, structural editing, journal house style and peer-review interaction. Several graduates each year move directly into editorial roles at academic publishers.

Can I study the BA Academic Writing and Communication if English is not my first language?

Yes — many students come to the BA Academic Writing and Communication from non-native English backgrounds. The course includes a dedicated academic-English-for-non-native-speakers strand covering register, hedging and idiomatic precision.

What is the dissertation on the BA Academic Writing and Communication?

An independent piece (8,000–10,000 words) on a topic that uses academic writing as its primary subject or main vehicle. Recent dissertations have looked at peer-review reform, the rise of preprint culture and citation politics in interdisciplinary fields.

Does the BA Academic Writing and Communication lead to teaching qualifications?

Not directly. The BA is a strong foundation for PGCE entry and for university or further-education teaching with subsequent training. Students considering teaching can take supplementary modules in tutoring and lesson design during the degree.

BA Academic Writing and Communication | LSJHML London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BA Academic Writing and Communication at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-year UK honours degree for students who want a serious training in the writing and communication conventions of higher education and academic publishing. You will read across disciplines, learn how an argument is built and defended in different scholarly fields, and write to the standards a journal editor, a university lecturer and a publishing house copy desk all expect.

The BA Academic Writing and Communication is taught in dialogue with the English Association, the British Council's academic-English standards and the Modern Language Association (MLA) framework. By the end, you can take a complex piece of research and produce a final manuscript, a teaching session, a public talk or a press release from the same body of work.

Key Features

UK honours degree in academic writing and communication — three years full-time, with online and distance-learning routes.
Multi-discipline reading core across humanities, social sciences and selected sciences — so you can move between conventions.
Academic editing module covering copy-editing, structural editing, indexing, peer-review interaction and journal-house style.
Public-facing communication strand — translating research into op-eds, podcasts, school workshops and policy briefings.
Dissertation — an independent 8,000–10,000 word piece of original research with academic writing as its primary subject or its main vehicle.
Industry-led sessions with academic publishers, journal editors, university communications teams and freelance scholarly editors.

What You Will Learn

The BA Academic Writing and Communication is structured around the writing and communication competences of an early-career academic, editor or research communicator. You graduate able to produce a piece of scholarly writing fit for journal submission, edit somebody else's manuscript intelligently, and translate the result into language a non-academic audience will read.

Academic writing conventions across humanities, social sciences and STEM — voice, citation, argument structure.
Citation systems — Harvard, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver — and the editorial discipline of using them consistently.
Copy-editing and proofreading — the editor's marking conventions, style-guide application, query handling.
Structural editing — manuscript shape, argument flow, chapter sequencing.
Peer review — reading as a reviewer, writing a useful report, responding to reviewer comments.
Public-facing science and humanities writing — op-eds, longreads, podcast scripts, school resources.
Academic English for non-native speakers — register, hedging conventions, common idiomatic traps.
Research dissemination — open-access publishing, preprint culture, social-media use, REF impact case studies.

Who This Course Is For

School leavers with strong A-Levels in English, history or a related humanities discipline considering an academic or publishing career.
International students wanting a UK honours degree in academic English and communication with strong employability outcomes.
Mature applicants from teaching, librarianship or academic administration ready for an undergraduate degree.
Career-changers from technical fields considering a move into academic editing, science communication or scholarly publishing.

Career Pathways

Academic writing and communication is a real career market — universities, publishers, journals, research institutes and policy bodies all need people who can write well, edit reliably and translate between specialists and wider audiences. Typical post-BA destinations include:

English Teacher (UK secondary, international schools, EAP units)
Academic Editor (journal publisher, university press, freelance)
Examinations Officer (qualifications body, secondary or tertiary institution)
Lecturer (post-PGCert; further education, language centres, university EAP units)
Educational Materials Writer (publisher, edtech, qualifications body)
Research Communications Officer (university, research institute, learned society)

Graduates progress to a Master's in English, Education, Linguistics or Academic Writing at LSJHML or a partner university, or to PGCE / teacher-training routes.

Entry Requirements

Three A-Levels at BBC or above (or international equivalent — IB 28 points, BTEC DMM, or accepted national qualification).
GCSE English Language at grade 5 or equivalent English proficiency test.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short personal statement and a written sample (approx. 500 words) on a topic of your choice.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with a portfolio and short interview.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.