Overview
To provide students with the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of English Literary Studies, enabling students to pursue specialised fields of study (via guided pathways in specialist areas) or to choose a flexible arrangement of topics which bypass traditional period or national boundaries.
English - Literary Studies
Entry requirements
Graduate
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in English, or joint or combined Honours with English as a major subject.
Applications may be considered from those who hold a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in a subject other than English (e.g. Classics, Law) if previous expertise in textual analysis or cultural history can be demonstrated. 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 are required to submit a piece of written work which may be assessed to determine if an offer of admission can be made.
International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents please select Your Country from the list on our International Students website.
English language requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, 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.
Duration
1 year full-time or 2 years part-time.
Teaching Times
Morning/Afternoon
Mondays-Fridays. Will include study-skill days and field-trips to archives.
Careers or further progression
Career Prospects
Introduction
Graduates from these programmes have a good employment record. Professions including publishing, journalism, public relations, teaching, IT, library science, corporate advertising, the Civil Service, business, industry and the media all recruit from our range of graduates. Some students choose to continue their studies to PhD level on a chosen, specialised topic in one of the pathways in English Literary Studies.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/
Further enquiries
Dr. Alex Murray
Lecturer
Arts, English and Languages
Email: alex.murray@qub.ac.uk
Subjects taught
Course Details
The MA in English Literary Studies offers a flexible system in which students can choose either specific topics to create a focused programme of study or widely diverse areas of literary study, according to their own preferences. The School's literary studies staff comprise the largest group within the School of English and are thus able to offer a wide range of kinds of study: from the earliest writings in English (studied in their own historical and cultural contexts but also in relation to new digital cultures), to contemporary American literature and culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (incorporating literature and other aspects of culture, such as television and graphic arts).
Other strengths of the School's expertise include Renaissance literature (particularly women's writing, the history of the child, and Shakespeare and World Cinema), eighteenth-century literature (women's writing, slavery and abolition, and Indian literatures in English) and nineteenth and twentieth-century literature (with specialisms including the fiction of Dickens, the fin de siècle and modernism).
In addition to the substantive modules offered by the School of English, students will take part in a programme of research training offered by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. This provides training in core research skills, as well as a range of options for developing additional skills in an interdisciplinary forum.
Students may select from a wide range of topics within generic modules, permitting either specialism or diversity in the choice of study, from the earliest writings in English to the contemporary. After two semesters of taught modules, all MA students on the programme then complete a 15,000 word dissertation, which they choose and design and then work on in conjunction with an academic supervisor.
Semester 1 Modules
• Advanced Literary Studies (20 CATS)
• Key Debates in AHSS (20 CATS)
Semester 2 Modules
• Developing Research Specialisms (60 CATS)
• Literary Research Methods (20 CATS)
Summer Period (June-September)
• Dissertation (60 CATS)
Assessment method
Practical exercises, essays and seminar presentations.
Application date
Postgraduate Taught
Closing dates do apply for some of our courses, and details of these are available on our Course Finder. We advise you to apply as early as possible, particularly for those courses where there is a high demand for places. Early application is also important for international applicants to allow sufficient time to obtain a student entry visa.
How to Apply
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal go.qub.ac.uk/pgapply and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply. See application weblink below.
Enrolment and start dates
Entry year: 2018
Remember to mention gradireland when contacting institutions!
Comment
English - Literary Studies highlights
Industry Links
• The MA in English Literary Studies offers a number of special features. Some of the American Literature and Culture topics will engage with contemporary examples of American art and culture through field work. The topics relating to medieval literature and culture use connections to the School of History and to the archives in Armagh, Belfast and Trinity College Dublin.