The programme provides its students with the opportunity to engage in the postgraduate study of English Literature at the highest level. One of the longest-established MA programmes in English Literature in the UK, this programme offers a truly massive range of choice, from Arthurian Legend to Victorian New Media; from early modern political figureheads to contemporary representations of US citizenship and belonging. Areas in which the School has been traditionally renowned – most notably Postcolonial Studies, Victorian Literature, Medieval and Renaissance Literatures – are generously represented. A varied portfolio of modules from the fields of American Literature and Culture, Romantic Literature, Modern, and Contemporary Literatures is also available. The MA in English Literature programme has access to exciting learning opportunities in creative, digital and language-focussed research and practice.
In Year One, students take one thematic module, ‘Yorkshire Literary Landscapes: Writing Places and Identities’. Across both years, they select a total of three option modules from a wide variety of specialist options reflecting the historical, geographical and theoretical range of literature in English. The MA in English Literature programme also has access to exciting learning opportunities in Creative Writing, Digital Humanities and English Language. Staff members of the School of English represent a broad intellectual range in English literary studies and adjacent disciplines, including memory studies, eco-criticism, medical humanities, performance, textual studies, critical editing, and the study of temporality, along with other important and emergent fields.
In Year 2, students undertake a research project on a subject of their choice (within any area of English Literature), supported by specialist supervision.
Throughout the course there is a wide range of intellectual and social activities available to our MA students, including research talks, reading groups, excursions, and access to the exceptional holdings in the University’s Special Collections in the Brotherton Library. The opportunities afforded by these activities will complement the rigour and variety of the more formal learning opportunities offered by this programme.
This rich, distinctive programme creates opportunities to develop existing enthusiasms for many fields, and to explore areas which may not have figured significantly in previous (undergraduate) studies. It provides knowledge and training in skills that are recognised and respected by employers in diverse industries – our alumni have gone on to be, for example, educators, publishers, policy makers, and journalists – and the programme also affords an excellent platform for progressing to doctoral level research.
(Part-Time)
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory module
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5551M | Yorkshire Literary Landscapes: Writing Places and Identities | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Candidates will be required to study 60 credits from the following optional modules. Candidates can choose options from any modules listed in baskets 2, 3 or 4, so long as the distribution across semesters meets requirements:
Basket 2: PERIODS
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5117M | Romantic Identities: Literary Constructions of the Self, 1789-1821 | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5161M | Language After Empire | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5228M | Gothic Transformation | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5230M | Romantic Ecologies | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5700M | Writing, Archives, Race | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5837M | Victorian New Media | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5847M | War, Mourning, Memory: 1914-1939 | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5849M | Culture and Anarchy: 1945-1965 | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Basket 3: ZOOMED-IN
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5226M | Africas of the Mind | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5227M | Climate Writing | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5231M | Writing 101: Navigating English Orthography | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5345M | Reading (with) Psychoanalysis | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5817M | Shakespeare's Tyrants | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5851M | The Brontës | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5950M | George Orwell: The Politics of Literature | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5999M | Shakespearean Transformations | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Basket 4: ZOOMED-OUT
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5217M | Arthurian Legend: Medieval to Modern | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5225M | Children's Literature: Language, Discourse and Education | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5229M | Reader, Writer, Text: Approaches to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5346M | So Where do you come from? Selves, Families, Stories | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5665M | The Digital & English Studies | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5756M | Fictions of Citizenship in Contemporary American Literature | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5828M | Global Indigeneity | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5852M | Language, Society and Fiction | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5940M | Planetary Aesthetics: Animism, Mimesis and Indigeneity | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Students may choose option modules from the following list of Medieval Studies modules if they wish (subject to availability):
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDV5100M | Medieval Manuscripts in the Digital Age | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| MEDV5340M | Medieval Bodies | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
(Part-Time)
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5842M | Research Project | 60 | 1 Dec to 30 Sep |
Candidates will be required to study 30 credits from the following optional modules. Candidates can choose options from any modules listed in baskets 2, 3 or 4, so long as the distribution across semesters meets requirements. Candidates may not take a module they have studied previously.
Basket 2: PERIODS
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5117M | Romantic Identities: Literary Constructions of the Self, 1789-1821 | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5161M | Language After Empire | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5228M | Gothic Transformation | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5230M | Romantic Ecologies | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5700M | Writing, Archives, Race | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5837M | Victorian New Media | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5847M | War, Mourning, Memory: 1914-1939 | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5850M | Culture and Anarchy: 1945-1968 | 30 | Not running in 202526 |
Basket 3: ZOOMED-IN
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5226M | Africas of the Mind | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5227M | Climate Writing | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5231M | Writing 101: Navigating English Orthography | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5345M | Reading (with) Psychoanalysis | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5817M | Shakespeare's Tyrants | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5851M | The Brontës | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5950M | George Orwell: The Politics of Literature | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5999M | Shakespearean Transformations | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Basket 4: ZOOMED-OUT
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGL5217M | Arthurian Legend: Medieval to Modern | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5225M | Children's Literature: Language, Discourse and Education | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5229M | Reader, Writer, Text: Approaches to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5346M | So Where do you come from? Selves, Families, Stories | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5665M | The Digital & English Studies | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5756M | Fictions of Citizenship in Contemporary American Literature | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5828M | Global Indigeneity | 30 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ENGL5852M | Language, Society and Fiction | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ENGL5940M | Planetary Aesthetics: Animism, Mimesis and Indigeneity | 30 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Please note that the above module lists for Year 2 are indicative only. A different selection of modules is offered each year.
Last updated: 30/04/2025 16:03:10
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