English - Poetry

Overview

Poetry is, quite simply, the activity for which Queen’s University is best known around the world. Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney was both a student and lecturer here at Queen’s, and other famous poet-alumni of the university include Ciaran Carson, Paul Muldoon and Medbh McGuckian. Heaney was a founding member of the famous ‘Belfast Group’ in the 1960s, a forum in which young poets came together with critics to discuss their work and the craft of good poetry more generally. The fruitful interaction of creative and critical activity is at the heart of what this unique MA offers.



Drawing on our long-standing reputation for producing distinguished critics and poets, this programme's creative-critical intersections make it suitable for a new generation of poets and critics alike. Students will be joining an academic environment with a world-leading expertise in the critical appreciation, writing, and understanding of modern poetry.



As a student on the MA in Poetry: Creativity and Criticism you can choose to follow either a critical or a creative pathway, or a combination of the two. Students who follow a critical pathway will be joining an academic environment with a long-standing reputation for the critical appreciation, reception and understanding of modern poetry. Poets who come to develop their own creative writing have the unique opportunity of working with some of Ireland's most renowned poets.



Course Details

In semester 1 students explore a range of writings – both poetry and criticism – through concepts and themes such as: Art, Love, Death, Animals, Nonsense, Music, Weather, Work. Poets studied in the seminars include Yeats, Plath, Auden, Eliot, Bishop, and Heaney. Students are introduced to the form and language of poetry, as well as to the historical dimensions of, and contexts for, various poetic forms – both traditional and experimental. The writing workshops involve detailed discussion of students’ own poetry, which they can bring to class for feedback from the tutor and other students. In semester 2 students study contemporary poetry collections, focusing on the ways in which the structure of a given poetry collection contributes to the overall meaning of the work, as well as choosing from specialist options which include Irish poetry, Love poetry, and writing workshops. The optional module list is indicative only.



Dissertation

Dissertation of up to 15,000 words or a poetry portfolio of 35-40 pages on an agreed topic for the MA.

Core Modules

• Form in Poetry (20 credits)

• Dissertation Modern Poetry (60 credits)

• The Poetry Collection (20 credits)

• Reading and Writing Poetry (40 credits)



Optional Modules

• Poetry: Creative Writing Workshop (20 credits)

• Irish Poetry (20 credits)

• Special Topic Creative Writing (20 credits)

• Love Poetry (20 credits)



Course Structure

Full-time students take 3 taught modules in each semester (the core ‘Reading and Writing Poetry’ module in semester 1 is a ‘double’ module), followed by the dissertation.



Part-time students take 3 modules in each year, on either a 1+2 or 2+1 model across the two semesters, and the dissertation either in the summer at the end of their second year, or from September to May in their third year.



The MA is awarded to students who successfully complete compulsory and optional taught modules totalling 120 CATS points and a dissertation of either a 15,000-word thesis or a 35-40 page poetry portfolio (60 CATS points ).



Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma by successfully completing 120 CATS points from taught modules or a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.

Graduate

Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University either in English, or in Comparative or World Literature, or in Creative Writing; or joint or combined Honours with English, Literature, or Creative Writing as a major subject. In addition, applicants are required to submit a sample of literary-critical written work (eg an essay on literature completed as part of an undergraduate degree), and, for those who also wish to pursue creative assessment options, a sample of 8-10 poems/pages of poetry, which will be assessed to determine if an offer of admission can be made.



Applicants who wish to pursue creative writing-only assessment normally require a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in any discipline and are required to submit a sample of original written work (8-10 poems/pages of poetry) which will be assessed to determine if an offer of admission can be made.



Exceptions may be made in the case of applicants with a strong track record of publication, prize-winning, or relevant professional experience. 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.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 16th August 2024 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

Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Creative portfolios

Essays

1 year (Full Time)

3 years (Part Time)



Teaching Times

Teaching is typically on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings or afternoons.

Entry Year: 2024/25

Career Prospects

Introduction

Graduates of the programme have a good employment record, entering professions such as publishing, journalism, arts administration, events organisation, the media, public relations, teaching, advertising, business and industry. The programme has an excellent track record of student success in publication, and of graduates continuing their studies into (funded) PhDs in modern poetry or creative writing (poetry).

http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/