English

Entry requirements

Applicants are normally expected to hold a first degree in a relevant discipline, of at least Second Class Honours. Relevant subjects include, for example, English Literature, Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, etc.

Applicants will be invited to an informal interview.

Months of entry

September

Course content

As an English MA student, you will explore an exciting range of themes that build on your existing literary knowledge.

These themes span a broad range, from eco-criticism to the literary representation of the body. We also offer the chance to gain hands-on experience with the recovery and digital editing of historical texts.

You will undertake a special study of evolving literary forms and genres, analysing the way in which forms emerge and genres change in response to social and cultural pressures. Students will be encouraged to develop new specialist interests and research skills in the context of the interdisciplinary Modern Humanities which will culminate in an independent dissertation. Your dissertation will allow you to specialise in a subject of your own choosing, and work with individual guidance from an academic expert to produce a piece of ambitious literary research.

Key features

• Specialise in your chosen subject within the interdisciplinary environment of the modern Humanities
• Study the complexity and evolution of literary genres
• Study exciting contemporary themes such as the relationship between literature and medical science
• Develop your research skills to postgraduate standard, equipping you for professional research or application for doctoral study
• Gain relevant work experience while you study
• Join the thriving research culture of the Institute of Arts and Humanities and gain experience presenting your work at a postgraduate conference

Teaching

You will be taught through a combination of seminars, workshops, individual tuition, and online interaction.

All students take an introductory module on advanced concepts and relevant theories in the Humanities, which also provides a grounding in postgraduate research methods and skills. All students also undertake a grounding in Digital Humanities methodologies, researching from databases and recovering and editing historical documents or literary texts. You will study a module on the interdisciplinary ‘New Humanities’, including environmental, medical, and scientific themes, which are relevant to both historical and literary / cultural scholarship. You will also take the 'Evolving Genres' module dedicated to your main disciplinary focus of English Literature.

All students take a module on Professional Development, in which they apply their academic skills in a practical work project, either on a university-based project, or with a relevant external organisation, such as a media company, local cultural amenity, charity, or voluntary sector body. Opportunities for work-based learning will be tailored to students’ longer-term plans and ambitions, for example, some students may choose to work on a creative industries networking event, while others may prefer to devise and run an academic conference.

The culmination of your Masters study is your specialist Dissertation. The taught modules will all help you to prepare for this by building your higher-level research skills and giving you opportunities to put them into practice. You will develop and expand your initial research plan in a workshop setting, in the light of peer and tutor feedback, and work towards the completion of your full Dissertation with the support of an individual advisor, who will be a research-active specialist in your subject. Staff in the Institute of Arts and Humanities are recognised experts in a wide range of fields. You make all the key decisions relating to your Dissertation, including the subject matter, the intellectual approach, the argument and structure; you own the project from start to finish. You have a totally free choice of theme: the only limitation is that we must be able to provide an expert advisor to support you.