Arts & Humanities

Overview
The MRes in Arts and Humanities is a research preparation degree that offers students the opportunity to undertake advanced studies within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen's. The course is structured around the personal research interests of each student and supported by a bespoke research preparation portfolio and a range of optional modules in areas related to the research. The MRes is available in a wide range of disciplines within the School of Arts, English and Languages and also in Archaeology.

Course Structure
Students may enrol on a full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) basis.

The MRes is awarded to students who successfully complete four taught modules (80 CATS points) and a 20,000 word dissertation plus seminar presentation or final portfolio of similar depth and scope (100 CATS points).

Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.

Learning and Teaching
Learning opportunities associated with this course are outlined below:
You will receive one-to-one supervision for the Research Preparation Portfolio modules and for the final dissertation or portfolio. You may have a second supervisor as well as a first supervisor. For the optional modules, you will be taught as a member of a small class. You are encouraged to attend research seminars in your field of study and to be involved in the activities of the Graduate School.

Arts And Humanities Highlights
* Ranked 4th in the UK for Career prospects in Music (Guardian University Guide 2022)

Career Development
• The MRes develops practical, analytical and critical research skills, as well as project management capacities, relevant to a variety of professional and intellectual contexts.

Archaeology
- Research theory and practice (ARP7041)
- Irish archaeology in a global context (ARP7202)
- Current Debates in prehistoric Archaeology (ARP 7511)
- Advanced Excavation (ARP 7520)
- Workplace internship (ARP 7306)

Note: these modules are normally available only to students being supervised in Archaeology. Contact: Dr Dirk Brandherm (d.brandherm@qub.ac.uk).

Arts Administration
- Professional Development and Work Placement (SCA7005)
- Cultural Policy: International Perspectives (SCA7002)

Note: other modules in this pathway are not normally open to the M-Res. For further information, contact Dr Kim-Marie Spence (k.spence@qub.ac.uk)

Broadcast Production
Individual modules may be available as listed above (BCP).

Research areas covered for Broadcast include:
- Digital art
- Digital media
- Documentary
- Gender and popular culture
- Gothic / horror, science fiction, fantasy in and across media and literature
- History of media, particularly in the UK
- Immersive media
- Interdisciplinary practice
- Journalism
- Performance
- Podcasting
- Representations and uses of history, memory and nostalgia in media and literature
- Representations of terrorism in film and TV
- Sound art
- Voice

For further information, contact Gaby Matthews (g.matthews@qub.ac.uk)

Course Details
The MRes degree is intended for applicants who already have a clear dissertation project (or equivalent, e.g. composition portfolio, performance, creative writing). In liaison with the supervisors, a plan of work in semester 1 and 2 is agreed and serves as preparation for the project as well as assessed work in its own right. The programme provides students with the opportunity to work closely with a supervisory team to produce a substantial piece of independent research and to develop wide-ranging research skills within disciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks.

The programme normally comprises the following elements:
• A Research Methods module appropriate to your field of study (20 CATS)
• Two research preparation modules (AHS7031 and AHS7032), defined by the supervisors and aiming to equip students with the skills, research tools and background work required for the final dissertation or portfolio (2 x 20 CATS)
• One optional module drawn from a selection available from within the Faculty (20 CATS) including Independent Study in Arts, Humanities and Languages (AHS7000)
• An extended dissertation (20,000 words plus seminar presentation - AHS7040) or a portfolio of similar scope and depth (AHS7041). (100 CATS).

Note: registration in any module that begins other than those with an 'AHS' code requires the permission of the named subject contact (see below). This applies to: ARP, BCP, CEL, ENG, LIB, MML, MUS, and SCA modules.

Drama Research areas for Drama include:
- Beckett Studies
- Gender and Theatre Studies
- Post Conflict Theatre
- Irish Theatre
- Shakespeare in Performance
- Adaptation
- Monodrama
- Dance Theatre
- Drama and Medical Humanities
- British Theatre
- Applied Drama
- Theatre Historiography
- Symbolist Theatre
- Victorian Theatre and Melodrama

For further information, contact Dr Trish McTighe (t.mctighe@qub.ac.uk).

English For Research areas covered in English, see module titles below:
Semester 1
- Literary Research Methods (ENG 7163)
- Contemporary Literature in Crisis (ENG7076)
- Dickens in Context (ENG7065)
- Narratives of Atlantic Slavery (ENG7364)
- Special Topic Irish Writing (ENG7119)
- Decadence and the Birth of Modernism (ENG7362)
- Adaptation: Texts, Screens, Cultures (ENG7372 )
- Irish Women's Writing (ENG7373)
- Shakespearean Childhoods (ENG7024)
- Debating Modernity in Contemporary Indian Literature

Semester 2
- Fictions of Female Community1668-2019 (ENG7367)
- African Fiction: Race, Rites and Religion (ENG7366 )
- A Space for Radical Openness? Writing the Margins in Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature (ENG7370)
- Magic and Science in Medieval Writings (ENG7371)
- Irish Poetry (ENG7305)
- Trauma and Memory (ENG7365)
- Shakespeare and Asia (ENG7374)
- Popular Fiction at the Fin de Siècle (ENG7368)

For further information, contact Dr Justin Livingstone (j.livingstone@qub.ac.uk)

European Literature in Translation
Individual modules may be available as listed above (MML 7019, 7021, 7024, 7035).

For further information, contact Dr Kathleen Kaess (kathleen.kaess@qub.ac.uk)

French
Research areas covered in French include:
- French linguistics and sociolinguistics
- 19th-century studies
- Modernist poetry
- Proust
- 20th and 21st-century French literature
- Autobiography and autofiction
- Caribbean literature
- Postcolonial literature and theory
- Crime fiction
- Francophone-Chinese writing, art and film
- Transnational and migration studies
- Travel Writing
- Medical Humanities
- Illness narratives
- French Media Cultures
- French and Francophone Cinema
- Popular Fiction and TV Series
- Literary Theory

Contact: Dr Dominique Jeannerod (d.jeannerod@qub.ac.uk)

Irish
Research areas covered in Celtic Studies include:
- Linguistics
- Lexicography
- Language and society
- Irish and Scottish literature and identity
- Medieval Irish literature and language
- Historiography
- Folkloristics and mythology

Module:
- Independent Study in Celtic (CEL7010).

Note: this module is open only to students being supervised in Celtic.

Contact: Dr Síobhra Aiken (s.aiken@qub.ac.uk)

Liberal Arts
- LIB7001 Incorrigibly Plural
- LIB7003 America's Aftermaths
- LIB7004 Discourses of Crime and Deviance
- LIB7005 Migrating Identities

Contact: Professor Philip McGowan (p.mcgowan@qub.ac.uk)

Music Research areas covered in Music include:
- Cabaret
- Collections development
- Composition (instrumental, orchestral, electronic, computer-based)
- Editing
- Eighteenth Century studies (J.S. Bach, G.F. Handel, W.A. Mozart)
- Folksong
- Graphic scoring
- Historical dance and music theatre
- Improvisation
- Manuscript studies
- Music in Ireland
- Musical theatre
- New performance environments
- Politics and popular song
- The Voice

For further information, contact Dr Sarah McCleave (s.mccleave@qub.ac.uk)

Portuguese
Research specialisms include:
- Brazilian cultural studies
- Digital culture in Brazil/Latin America
- Contemporary Brazilian film and documentary
- Postcolonial literatures and film
- Portuguese-speaking Africa
- Gender Studies

Contact Dr Sarah Bowskill (s.bowskill@qub.ac.uk)

Sonic Arts
Research specialisms include:
- Sound Art
- Improvisation
- Contemporary Music Performance
- Composition (instrumental, orchestral, electronic)
- Socially Engaged Sonic Arts
- Sound Studies
- Acoustics and Psychoacoustics
- Recording and Production
- Sound Design
- Physical Modelling
- Instrument Design
- Performance Technologies

For further information, contact Professor Pedro Rebelo (p.rebelo@qub.ac.uk)

Spanish Research specialisms include:
- Early Modern Spanish literature
- Spanish Renaissance and Baroque literature and culture
- 18th-century Spanish literature and culture
- Spanish Enlightenment
- 19th-century Spanish literature and culture
- Surrealism
- Memoirs and Autobiography
- Spanish science fiction
- Modern Latin American Studies
- Mexican Studies
- Colonial Latin America
- Argentine literature and art
- Poetics
- Reader response and reception studies
- Gender studies
- Eco-criticism

Contact Dr Sarah Bowskill, s.bowskill@qub.ac.uk

Graduate
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or above in a related subject or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

Applicants with relevant professional experience and a 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Exceptionally, applicants who do not hold a 2.2 Honours degree and who possess relevant experience may be permitted the opportunity to demonstrate achievement at an equivalent level. For example, if intending to study within Creative Arts, this could comprise several years of experience or employment as a composer, sound technician or in theatre work. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The University's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy provides guidance on the assessment of experiential learning (RPEL). Please visit http://go.qub.ac.uk/RPLpolicy for more information.

All applicants will also be required to submit a 750 word research proposal, which demonstrates an understanding of the research area and methodology and a portfolio of practice-based work, if applicable.

International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.0, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

• Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level

• Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 11th August 2023 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.

How to Apply
Applications should be submitted online via the Postgraduate Applications Portal for admission to the vast majority of postgraduate programmes.

New applicants will need to register via the Portal to create an application account. If you are already a Queen's student with an active Qsis account, you can log in using your student number and Qsis password. Guidance on how to complete an application is provided within the Portal and it is possible to save application data and return to complete it at a later date, if you wish. After core details about yourself and your academic background have been provided, you can submit an application, or multiple applications, if required.

If you applied in a previous cycle through the Portal and are re-applying, you should use your previous log in details. Please review and update your personal and contact details, academic and professional qualifications before submitting a new application.

Important – please ensure that the email address you provide is correct and active, as this will be used by us to communicate the progress of your application to you.

1 year (Full Time)
2 years (Part Time)

Teaching Times
Combination of morning, afternoon and evening teaching with 3-4 contact hours per week. Tutorials with supervisor TBA on an individual basis.

Career Prospects
Introduction
The MRes forms an excellent foundation for doctoral (PhD) work. It is also ideal for students who wish to undertake an independent research project for personal and professional development. It encourages practical, analytical and critical research skills and project management capacities relevant to a variety of professional and intellectual contexts.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/

Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.