Literature & Culture

The programme provides an intensive combination of taught courses and supervised research, designed to develop students’ skills and confidence as scholars and critics of literature and its contexts. Current courses include seminars in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, 18th and 19th-Century literature and culture, Contemporary American Poetics, Modernism, World Literature, Social Network Analysis, and Research Methods.



The supervised dissertation gives you the unique opportunity to work closely on a topic of your choosing with published experts in your field of interest. All students take the core module Research Methods, and can choose other modules in a variety of areas, including British, American and World Literature.

Recent courses have included:



• Chaucer and the Fourteenth Century

• American Modernism at Home

• Re-reading the Renaissance

• American Lyric: Document and Memoir

• Memory Cultures

• Feeling Modern: Thinking and Being in 18th and 19th-Century Britain

• Social Network Analysis and Fiction

• World-Systems, World-Literature: Mapping the Planet

• Contemporary U.S. Genre Fiction: Intersection, Disruption, Protest

• Concepts of Modernity



This programme is of interest to anyone who has a passion for literature and cultural production in English. It will suit those who want to put a ‘capstone’ on their BA work, but also those who are considering a PhD.



Further information on the MA in Literature & Culture is available on the UCD School of English, Drama & Film website: http://www.ucd.ie/englishdramafilm/study/postgraduate/literatureandculture/



What Will I Learn?

• Articulate knowledge, arguments and ideas clearly and effectively through essays, presentations and proposals

• Be effective independent researchers, who can identify a viable research topic and develop this into a research project

• Demonstrate a developed awareness of historical contexts, theoretical positions and the range of literary and/or cultural production appropriate to their chosen specialization

• Demonstrate an enhanced knowledge of literary and cultural analysis, including methodology, in their chosen disciplines and fields

• Demonstrate mastery of advanced techniques in the use of archival and digital resources

• Demonstrate their facility as readers, thinkers and writers, with advanced skills in detailed textual analysis and close reading

• Make connections across different time periods and cultures, and identify key aesthetic/cultural/social movements in their chosen specialization

Module/Trimester/Credits



Stage 1 Core Modules

ENG42090 Public Humanities and Ireland Autumn 10

ENG42120 Dissertation: Lit & Culture Summer 30



Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1

ENG40940 Gender and Sexuality in Theory and Representation Autumn 10

ENG41570 World-Systems, World-Literature Autumn 10

ENG41670 Contemporary US Genre Fiction: Intersection, Disruption, Protest Autumn 10

ENG41840 US Experimental Poetry: Docupoetics and Lyric Autumn 10

ENG42170 Reading Contemporary Poetry Autumn 10



Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2

EDF40060 Digital Methods Spring 10

ENG41590 The Tradition and the Contemporary Spring 10

ENG41640 Joyce, Ulysses Spring 10

ENG41860 Queer Frictions: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Literature & Culture Spring 10

ENG42080 Un/Settling Global Literatures Spring 10

FS40270 Stardom, Celebrity & Media Culture Spring 10

FS40360 Paranoid and Conspiracy Media Spring 10

HUM40040 Creative Approaches Spring 10

An honours undergraduate degree in English or in another cognate subject (NFQ Level 8) with a 2.1 classification (Second Class Honours, Grade One) or equivalent* is normally required. A sample of written work of c.3000 words and two academic references are also required. Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 7 (no band less than 6.5 in each element), or equivalent.



Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information: https://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/int%20pmp/



*equivalencies will vary depending on grade scale of award presented but will generally require a grade average of B or a GPA no less than 3.08;



*However, all applicants will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and in certain exceptional cases an award at a lower level or a 2.2 classification may be considered.



These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes.



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information at: https://www.ucd.ie/registry/prospectivestudents/admissions/rpl/ Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Online Application.



Who Should Apply?

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EU) applicants: Yes



Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EEA) applicants: No

90

Z251: 1 Years Full Time

Z252: 2 Years Part Time

Delivery: On Campus

MA Literature & Culture (Z251) Full Time

EU fee per year - € 7055

nonEU fee per year - € 19200


MA Literature & Culture (Z252) Part Time

EU fee per year - € 4235

nonEU fee per year - € 9600


***Fees are subject to change


Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.


Each year the School of English, Drama and Film offers a number of competitive tuition bursaries of 1,000 euro. Applicants with an offer of a place on one of the School's MA programmes are eligible to apply.

Z251 Literature & Culture Master of Arts Full-Time

Commencing September 2026

Graduate Taught



Z252 Literature & Culture Master of Arts Part-Time

Commencing September 2026

Graduate Taught

Career & Graduate Study Opportunities

Recent graduates are working in the following areas:

• Arts, culture, heritage & museums

• Media/publishing/broadcasting/journalism

• Charities / NGOs / International Aid

• Business /HR/ training

• Public sector – government/EU



Some students have also progressed to and successfully completed PhD study.