MA Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies

A primary degree (with first or second class honours) (Level 8 – National Qualifications Authority of Ireland) in an appropriate discipline e.g. Languages, Literature, Cultural Studies, European Studies, Media & Communication Studies etc. Applicants with an approved equivalent qualification will be considered. Good proficiency in English is required.

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence of either prior successful completion of a degree qualification taught through the medium of English or meet one of the criteria below (no longer than two years prior to application):

Acceptable English Language qualifications include the following:

• Matriculation examinations from European countries where English is presented as a subject and an acceptable level is achieved
• Irish Leaving Certificate English –Ordinary Level Grade D or above
• TOEFL – 580 (paper based) or 90 (internet based)
• IELTS – Minimum score of 6.5* with no less than 6 in any one component.
• English Test for English and Academic Purposes (ETAPP) – Grade C1
• GCE ‘O’ level English Language/GCSE English Language – Grade C or above
• University of Cambridge ESOL –Certificate of Proficiency in English – Grade C / Certificate in Advanced English Grade A
• GCE Examination Boards – Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations – Grade C / Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate – School Certificate Pass 1-6 / University of London Entrance and School Examinations Council – School Certificate Pass 1-6

http://www.ul.ie/graduateschool/scholarship-funding

This MA equips students with strong communicative, analytical, organisational and research skills, which are transferable to a range of careers. Graduates have found employment in areas such as journalism, broadcast and electronic media, tourism, translation, publishing, education, culture and arts administration, business and politics. The programme also provides a sound basis for doctoral research.

The programme combines lectures, seminars, guided reading, individual consultation with relevant lecturers, essays, guest lectures, student seminar presentations and individual library-based research. Students also undertake a research dissertation under the guidance of a supervisor on a topic of their choice in the area of comparative literature and cultural studies (ca 15,000 words, Summer Semester)

Programme Content

Full-time students complete six taught modules, including a research methodology module, and a dissertation in one year. They will take four modules in the first semester and two in the second. Part-time students normally take two modules in a semester as they work over a two-year course of study.  Not all electives may be offered each year or each semester

Full-time students Autumn Semester

Literary and Cultural Theory (9 credits)
Comparative Literature: Cultural Constructions of the Past (9 credits); 
Research Methodologies (3 credits)
Plus one of the following elective modules: 
Language and Culture (9 credits); 
Literature of Migration (9 credits); 
Theoretical Approaches to Gender, 
Culture and Society (9 credits) 
At NUI Galway: Self-Referentiality in Postmodern Media*
Literature, Film and Human Rights (9 credits) 
The Question of the Universal in Modern and Contemporary Literature of French Expression (9 credits)**
Irish-German Cultural Connections (9 credits)***
German Culture in Europe I: Transcultural Theory and Textual Practice (9 credits)*** 
Cultural Transitions: Literature and Film in Spain 1970s- 1990s (9 credits)****

Spring Semester

Utopian Theory and Texts (9 credits);
Textual Constructions of Cultural Identity (9 credits); 
Thesis Writing (3 credits)
Plus one of the following elective modules: 
Feminist Literary Theory (9 credits); 
Culture and the Market (9 credits); 
At NUI Galway: From Division to Unification: Literary Texts and their Political Contexts*; 
At NUI Galway: Contemporary Literary Genres*
Postcolonial Theory and Literature (9 credits)
Modern French Language Literary and Cultural Production (9 credits)**
German Culture in Europe 2: German Literature in a Comparative European Context  (9 credits)***  
The Culture of Memory in Spain and Latin America: Representing Horror (9 credits)****

Summer Semester

Research dissertation in the area of comparative literature and cultural studies (ca 15,000 words; 30 credits)

* These electives are offered in Galway as part of the Link-to-Learn agreement between UL and NUI Galway. They are part of the MA International Contemporary Literatures and Media at NUI Galway.  
**To take this elective module students will need to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Course Director and the relevant module leader that they have sufficient French language skills 
*** To take this elective module students will need to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Course Director and the relevant module leader that they have sufficient German language skills 
**** To take this elective module students will need to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Course Director and the relevant module leader that they have sufficient Spanish language skills