English Literature (Taught)

This programme gives you the chance to pursue your own interests in English Literature at postgraduate level by selecting from a rich variety of courses led by internationally renowned experts. A core research training course will introduce you to key postgraduate study skills, while a flexible degree structure allows you to select from the full range of optional courses on offer from the School of Critical Studies. You can also add options from elsewhere in the University to construct the course of study that’s right for you. The programme ends with an opportunity to write a dissertation on an English Literature-related topic of your choice. The MLitt English Literature includes courses relating to Glasgow’s significant strengths in Early Modern Studies, Romantic Studies, and Victorian Studies, as well as courses covering the three areas that have specific MLitt pathways dedicated to them (Modernities, American Modern Literature, and Fantasy).

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

• The structure of the degree and the wide range of different specialist courses allows you to design a bespoke English Literature MLitt programme; you can focus tightly on a particular historical period or field or range widely to cover a broad range of interests.

• You will have access to world class libraries and museums, as well as the extraordinary diversity of cultural, literary and artistic events that makes Glasgow such a vibrant place for postgraduate study.

• The core research skills programme includes tailored workshops with the University’s archives and world-class Special Collections, as well as providing the academic and technical skills you will need to succeed at postgraduate level in the university and other professional environments.

• Listen to our podcast: Stories from Glasgow – For the Love of Outlander and Stories from Glasgow – Curious Travellers.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
The programme is mostly comprised of optional courses, enabling you to tailor your own Masters programme to your area of interest. All students will study our 20-credit core English Literature Research Training Course. You then take five more 20 credit courses and one 60 credit dissertation. The structure for full-time students is as follows:

Semester 1

• Core course: English Literature Research Training Course

• Two optional courses

Semester 2

• Three optional courses

Summer

• English Literature Dissertation

Courses available change from session to session, but generally we offer at least twenty-five different options in English Literature. A good sense of the subjects we cover can be gleaned from examining the Level 5 options in the course catalogue.

The two semesters of coursework are followed by one term of supervised work towards a dissertation of up to 15,000 words which you will submit at the end of the summer. The topic normally arises out of the work of the previous two semesters, but the choice is very much open to the student’s own initiative. Your supervisor will help you to develop the proposal and plan the most appropriate reading and methodology.

It is also possible to write a dissertation that combines creative writing and a critical component. Normally this possibility is only available to students who have taken the Creative Writing Fiction Workshop (cross-discipline) as one of their options.

Pathways
If you have already identified your area of interest, there are three dedicated pathways through the MLitt in English Literature at Glasgow, in addition to the general programme:

• English Literature: Fantasy [MLitt]

• English Literature: Modernities: Literature, Culture, Theory [MLitt]

• English Literature: American Modern Literature [MLitt]

Each pathway will give you a different mix of core and optional courses.