MA English Literatures

Whatever your motivation – the chance to pursue your passion for literature or to develop analytical, writing and research skills – our MA can help you achieve this and more, with opportunities to enjoy readings from an exciting range of published poets, novelists and peers within an intellectually stimulating, collegiate environment.

You’ll be supported throughout by our leading academics in the field of literary studies, whose research across a broad spectrum of literary periods and genres feeds directly into teaching and research supervision, giving you significant scope when choosing your dissertation topic.

Core modules are designed to deepen your understanding of methodologies appropriate to the study of literature from the Renaissance to the present. You will approach texts from different theoretical perspectives, enhancing your understanding of a wide range of cultures, values, experiences and intellectual traditions.

The wide choice of optional modules from across the disciplines of English or American Literature, Creative Writing or Film, enables you to tailor your studies to your interests. You can deep dive into classic texts from Lord Byron, Austen or Shakespeare, for example, or explore the weird and wonderful cinematography of directors like Lilly and Lana Wachowski and David Lynch.

Alternatively, using our contacts or through your own networks, you can opt for a work placement, applying your knowledge in a work setting, gaining valuable experience and enhancing your CV. Recent English Literatures students, for example, have worked at the Samuel Johnson Museum, Staffordshire Archives and Heritage, and the New Vic Theatre.

You’ll graduate with knowledge of research design, methods and processes, together with the creative, critical, reflexive, and analytical mindset that employers desire, and the ability to think critically about complex topics from different perspectives.