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Our MA English Literature is a taught programme, which also provides the appropriate research training for those going on to take PhDs.
As a part of your degree, you will actively engage with the University's world-leading archives and special collections.
There are two teaching semesters, and assessment is by essays or portfolios with a dissertation written over the summer.
Teaching takes place in small seminar groups or workshops and tutorials. You will be offered guidance to help you choose your dissertation topic. You will be given an expert supervisor for your dissertation, who will meet you regularly and offer feedback on your draft work.
You will have a personal tutor with whom you can discuss your academic progress and future.
Part-time students will undertake one module per semester over the two years and will work on their dissertation in the summer of their first and second years.
You’ll usually be taught in weekly two-hour seminars or workshops for each module, typically in much smaller groups than at undergraduate level.
These seminars and workshops involve free-flowing discussion and debate on your weekly reading and/or writing, guided by an expert in the field. Modules are often taught by small teams of lecturers.
You will be offered individual guidance on the essays or writing projects which you produce for each module by your seminar leader.
You will also receive detailed feedback on your written work.
Your dissertation will be supervised in individual meetings with an expert on your topic who will comment on drafts of your work.
You will also have the opportunity to share your ideas with your peers in seminar and/or workshop settings.
The MA English Literature presents students with an exciting range of topics and periods, from the Renaissance stage to minority literatures in contemporary Britain. We deploy our distinctive research strengths, and our world-leading literary collections, to produce a degree that embodies the best of contemporary critical and archival work.
Alannah discusses her modules, experiences and the support she received on our MA English Literature programme.
Juanita West
MA English Literature graduate, now PhD researcher
There are two core modules in the first semester. There is also a core module in the summer: the dissertation.
You choose three from a list which might include:
Join our postgraduate community and become an integral part of our thriving and dynamic Department.
