Literature & Culture

Graduate Taught (level 9 NFQ, credits 90)
The MA in Literature & Culture is our flagship MA programme in English-language literature and culture. Students work with leading international scholars and world-class teachers, who have expertise in a wide range of areas, from the literature of the Middle Ages to the modern and contemporary. 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

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/

Students on this programme take two core modules, Literary Research Methods’ and the MA Dissertation module, as well as four taught modules from their specialist strand, choosing from a range of core and option modules.

Stage 1 - Core
Public Humanities and Ireland ENG42090
Dissertation: Lit & Culture ENG42120

Stage 1 - Option
Digital Methods EDF40060
Gender and Sexuality in Theory and Representation ENG40940
Joyce, Ulysses ENG41640
Expressions of Modernity ENG41650
Contemporary US Genre Fiction: Intersection, Disruption, Protest ENG41670
American Lyric: Document and Memoir ENG41840
Un/Settling Global Literatures ENG42080
Energy, Modernity, Culture ENG42150
Chick Flicks: Women and Hollywood Storytelling FS40240
Media, Gender, and Sexuality FS40370
Creative Approaches HUM40040
Arts and Events Programming HUM40050

Entry Requirements
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.

The following entry routes are available:
MA Literature & Culture FT (Z251)
Duration 1 Years
Attend Full Time
Deadline Rolling*

MA Literature & Culture PT (Z252)
Duration 2 Years
Attend Part Time
Deadline Rolling*

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised

90

MA Literature & Culture FT (Z251): 1 Years Full Time
MA Literature & Culture PT (Z252): 2 Years Part Time

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.

Next Intake: 2024/2025 September.

Careers & Employability
Our graduates progress to a wide range of interesting careers.
Some of our alumni opt to stay on for doctoral work with a view to career in academia. Most have gone on to work in a wide range of industries, including teaching, journalism, broadcasting, publishing, advertising, the Civil Service, libraries and archives, public relations, creative industries, cultural heritage, arts administration, banking, business and NGO and advocacy work.