English Literature MA

This masters degree in English Literature combines the essential features of academic literary study with opportunities to pursue personal and creative interests.

You will have the chance to study modules from a wide range of specialisms, including early modern writing, children's literature, nineteenth century writing, US literature, ecocriticism, and creative writing.

With a focus on the cultural context of literary production, you will be able to consider the representation of environmental threats in fiction and poetry; the cultural contexts for performing Shakespeare; the relationship between writing and painting; and the expression of politics and power in children’s literature. Learning is structured around small group seminars led by tutors who will introduce a rich mix of literary and contextual material. Teaching and learning methods on the course include lectures, seminars, tutorials and visual and multimedia presentations.

The University is geographically close to sites of literary importance, both ancient and modern: it is less than ten miles from the Malvern Hills, setting of the oldest recorded work of English literature, Piers Plowman, and close to the rolling landscapes of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, including the village of Dymock, with all its associations with the ‘Georgian poets’ as well as with Edward Thomas and Robert Frost, with whom the Georgian poets were associated at the beginning of the 20th century.

Worcester is, itself, a beautiful Medieval city and the University is within easy reach of Ledbury, location of the nationally renowned annual Ledbury Poetry Festival, and Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon. It also provides a pertinent base for students keen to pursue their interests in writers of Wales and the Welsh borders.

Factfile
Entry requirements
Course content
Student views

How to Apply

For all taught postgraduate and PG Cert programmes, please apply directly to University of Worcester. You can download an application form, or can contact the Admissions office on 01905 855111 / pg-admissions@worc.ac.uk

Please post your completed application form to:
Admissions Office
University Of Worcester
Henwick Grove
Worcester
WR2 6AJ

Alternatively you can apply online for postgraduate programmes at University of Worcester via the Prospects online directory of postgraduate programmes. There is no fee for using the online application service.

When we receive your application form, your details will be passed to the MA Course Leader who will contact you to arrange an informal interview. You may include additional material, such as references, in support of your application or bring them with you to interview.

You can apply for postgraduate taught courses and PG Certs at any time, but preferably as early as possible before the start of the academic year, which begins in September

Study options

Full or part-time options.

Opportunities for independent research including the Dissertation.

Course starts in late September. Flexible postgraduate modular scheme means you can study at your own pace.

Two intermediate awards, the Postgraduate Certificate and the Postgraduate Diploma, are available should you be unable to commit the time required to gain the Master’s award. The Certificate requires successful completion of three modules and the Diploma six modules.

The majority of modules run in the evenings (usually 6pm–9pm) but some may include weekend study days. It is possible to take time out from the course, should you need or wish to.

Get in touch

Dr David Arnold
01905 855298
d.arnold@worc.ac.uk

Admissions Office
01905 855111
admissions@worc.ac.uk

Candidates will normally have a First or Upper second-class honours degree in English or a related subject. Other qualifications may be considered where the applicant can demonstrate appropriate professional or academic experience.

If English is not your first language, you will be expected to have reached a sufficient standard on admission to the course (IELTS 6.5, with a minimum of 6.5 in writing).

Graduates of the University of Worcester are entitled to a reduction in fees.

Modules

List of modules, September 2011-September 2013

Contemporary Issues in Literary Studies
The Theory and Practice of Poetry
Literature and Nation
Green Voices: Literature’s Environmentalist Tradition
Contextualising Shakespeare
Word and Image: Visual Culture and the Text in the Victorian Age
Power and Politics in Children’s Literature
Creative Writing
Approaching Postgraduate Research
Dissertation (15,000 or 20,000 words)

The majority of modules run in the evenings (usually 6pm–9pm) but some may include weekend study days. It is possible to take time out from the course, should you need or wish to.

Assessment

Assessment
Most of the assessment will be of a written nature, requiring students to read and research widely, reflect upon the material gathered and structure the synthesised ideas into critical, coherent assignments of varying type and length. There may also be presentations and assessed portfolios. Detailed feedback will be provided to assist your intellectual development

Dissertation
The Dissertation defines the Masters award, enabling you to apply your knowledge and understanding of the subject to a topic of your own choosing. It can only be undertaken after completing the mandatory modules in Contemporary Issues in Literary Studies and Approaching Postgraduate Research, plus 3 or 4 optional modules.

The normal format will be a 15,000 or 20,000 word typed and bound Dissertation. The Dissertation should demonstrate a degree of independent thinking; a sophisticated understanding of contemporary debates within literary studies; a mastery of the range of pertinent sources, and the construction of a logical and sustained argument. The dissertation can also provide the platform for future independent research, at MPhil and ultimately PhD level

Ruth Stacey

Student, English Literature MA

“I write poetry and over the time of the course my skills have developed as I learnt more in class. There is great variety of literary periods to study and this has benefited my creative writing; I have subsequently started to submit my work to poetry journals where I have had some poems accepted. The academic staff are supportive of my needs as a part-time student and they are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their subject which means sessions in class are very beneficial."

Academic department

Institute of Humanities & Creative Arts

“We are a lively community of scholars, researchers and creative practitioners”
Professor Antonia Payne, Head of Institute

Employability

Graduates in Literature at the University of Worcester have gone on to do a PGCE (Post-graduate Certificate in Education), gone on to further study, continued to work with enhanced subject knowledge and personal fulfilment, or found niche roles within the arts and media.

The course can assist those aspiring to see their creative writing published, or who wish to demonstrate to prospective employers that they can create and analyse information with intellectual rigor.