Careers with this subject
ones. It provides the perfect platform for your future career, leading to PhD research, teaching, writing-based professions and work in cultural industries.
Key features
- Develop your research interests in literature and culture under the guidance of our internationally recognised academic staff. Our department was first in the South West, and in the top quartile of English departments in the UK, for its 4/3-star research outputs and impact in the Research Excellence Framework 2021, signifying 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' work.
Find out more about our research . - Select from an exciting suite of modules, each with a cutting-edge thematic focus and a broad chronological time span.
- Benefit from a rich cultural environment with our
Arts & Culture Programme events and local arts organisations, such asTheatre Royal Plymouth andThe Box , Plymouth's new museum, gallery and archive. - Small class sizes provide invaluable face-to-face contact with your tutors.
- The
University library offers a vast range of electronic and print materials, and a rare books collection. - Choose from modules closely integrated with staff research interests, while being able to pursue your own ideas.
- Build your experience: get involved in curating exhibitions and organising conferences.
- Engage with unique local resources such as the nationally designated 18th-century Cottonian Collection.
- Tailor your time at university to meet your needs by fitting your study around work and personal commitments. Our
part-time route allows you to study over two years, giving you the flexibility to study at a pace which suits you.
Course details
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Programme overview
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In your first semester you take our compulsory research methods module which hones your skills in postgraduate research. You also take a further module drawn from our exciting range of thematic modules which are closely linked with staff expertise. In your second semester, you take two elective modules. Over the summer period you research and write your dissertation on a subject of your choice, with one-to-one supervision and support. This is a chance to work independently on a sustained project that interests and excites you.The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.
Core modules
MAEL700
Research Methods and Debates in Literary and Cultural StudiesThis module will provide research skills including library and IT skills, the use of databases, archival research and the structuring, managing, and presentation of a project. It will explore current areas of debate within literary studies in English, including the nature of cross-disciplinary research, and may include breakaway session's specific to the exit awards.
MAEL701
MA English Literature DissertationThe dissertation module provides the opportunity for students to undertake a supervised, self-directed, research project (15-20,000 words in length), on any topic of their choice, independent of the modules they have studied. It will make use of the IT, library, and other research and scholarly skills learnt the core Research Methods module and developed through subsequent modules.
Optional modules
MAEL712
Independent Research/Professional Experience ProjectThis module enables students to conceive, plan and carry out an independent research project, with guidance from a supervisor on a topic not currently covered by the Programme's other modules. Students may engage with a topic, period or genre relevant to the study of English Literature or use their research to construct a project in the context of a professional work experience.
MAHI726
Filth and the VictoriansIn this module students study the Victorian era from the perspective of environment, public hygiene, cultural values of cleanliness and fear of physical, moral and other forms of contamination. Drawing on urban histories, histories of medicine and science, the module also uses a range of literary and artistic sources.
MAEL713
Natural Knowledge and Narrative Knowing: Literatures of nature in North AmericaWith a chronology from the colonial period to the twentieth century, this module examines the environmental literatures of North America, acknowledging the contexts and legacies of settler colonialism. By engaging with a diverse ranges of prose texts – eg. natural histories, the periodical press, novels, travel narratives – this module will analyse competing systems of knowledge production, western and indigenous, through a variety of literary forms.
MAHI728
Maritime Explorations and EncountersThis module challenges students to rethink their ideas about the use of navies in exploration, leading explorers such as Sir Francis Drake, Captain James Cook and Charles Darwin, the place of Plymouth in maritime exploration and the nature of encounters with native peoples.
MAHI733
Inter-War Britain 1919-40The module examines Britain in the period 1919-40 with an emphasis on Government and politics. The social, economic and foreign challenges facing Britain are examined for their ability to impact on policy and politics.
Every postgraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the programme aims, the programme structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.
The following programme specification represents the latest programme structure and may be subject to change:
Entry requirements
- a first or upper second (2:1) degree with honours (in a humanities subject or related field) or professional qualification, recognised as being equivalent to degree standard
- an ordinary degree, foundation degree, higher national diploma, or university diploma, accompanied by substantial experience in an appropriate field.
Fees, costs and funding
Student | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 |
---|---|---|
Home | £9,700 | £9,700 |
International | £17,600 | £18,150 |
Part time (Home) | £540 | £540 |
Find out more about your eligibility for a postgraduate loan
Tuition fee discount for University of Plymouth graduates
- 10% or 20% discount on tuition fees for home students
- For 2024/2025 entry, a 20% discount on tuition fees for international students (International alumni who have applied to the University through an agent are not eligible to receive the discount)
Postgraduate scholarships for international students
How to apply
When to apply
Before you apply
- evidence of qualifications (degree certificates or transcripts), with translations if not in English, to show that you meet, or expect to meet the entry requirements
- evidence of English language proficiency, if English is not your first language
- a personal statement of approximately 250-400 words about the reasons for your interest in the course and outlining the nature of previous and current related experience. You can write this into the online application form, or include it as a separate document
- your curriculum vitae or résumé, including details of relevant professional/voluntary experience, professional registration/s and visa status for overseas workers
- proof of sponsorship, if applicable.
Disability Inclusion Services
International students
Submitting an application
What happens after I apply?
Telephone: +44 1752 585858
Email: admissions@plymouth.ac.uk
Admissions policy
"We can no longer assume that the oceans are timeless and eternal. Human activities have changed the sea and we need to find new ways of imagining, conceptualising and interacting with them."
Insight: The Utopian Novel and Modernity Module
Insight: Ocean Modernity Module
In this module, we will encounter a diverse array of literary engagements with the ocean and explore how these ocean imaginaries reveal shifting and intertwined cultural, global and ecological relations.
Examples of other modules rotated on this programme
Natural Knowledge and Narrative Knowing: Literatures of Nature in North America
The Legacy of War: Fiction of the 1920s and 1930s
Poetry and the Modern Self
Student testimonial
Learn about the opportunities and experiences that could benefit you
Plastic Scoop: A Synthetic Ocean
“Gaming and virtual reality has often been accused of being a form of escapism. It takes us away from the material world and in some ways distracts us from many of the problems we face in reality."Dr Mandy Bloomfield
Let our graduates inspire you
People
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Dr Mandy Bloomfield
Associate Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature
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Dr Rachel Christofides
Associate Lecturer
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Dr Kathryn Napier Gray
Associate Professor (Reader) in Early American Literature
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Dr Mark Leahy
Associate Lecturer A
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Professor David Sergeant
Professor of English Literature
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Professor Dafydd Moore
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor