[1] The institute faced closure in 2014,[2] but a successful campaign in 2014[3] resulted in the reversal of this decision.

The institute has an established academic partnership with the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery.

The Institute is a leading organisation in the research of English literary studies.

Current projects include: Previous and ongoing projects include: The institute's MA in book history, which started in 1995, is credited as the United Kingdom's first postgraduate course in the subject.

The Institute of English is home to the Yeats Annual, edited by Professor Warwick Gould, and published in association with Palgrave Macmillan.