English Literature (MA)
- Duration: 1 year
- Mode: Full time
Open day
Find out more about studying here as a postgraduate at our next Open Day.
Why study this course
Pursue your passion for English literature, inspired by experts at the forefront of world-leading research.
Forge your own path
Freedom to assemble a programme of study tailored to your personal and professional interests.
Focus on research
High-level training in the latest research methods, critical theory, scholarly writing, and presentation skills.
Hone your craft
The opportunity to present a short paper in a supportive and lively atmosphere at a popular student-led conference.
Your career in mind
A commitment to your future career, including a symposium dedicated to increasing your employability skills.
Our MA in English Literature is a stimulating, challenging and flexible degree programme, taught by staff with an international reputation for innovative and influential research.
We’re a diverse and supportive community, passionate about the subject and with a broad and varied research base. This underpins our teaching and shapes a programme that is exciting and diverse.
We take an inclusive approach, teaching across the whole chronological span of English literature – from Middle English to texts of the 21st century. We also offer modules with a range of critical approaches, from editorial and textual studies to the latest advances in critical theory. Our textual range encompasses drama, film studies, contemporary women’s writing, queer textualities, material culture, and archives. You’ll find that we’re intrigued by the connections between literature and popular culture and literature and theory, and our teaching reflects these interests.
Our modules are led and designed by staff who are internationally respected in their fields of research. They bring their knowledge and experience to the seminar room, allowing you to engage with up-to-date ideas and debates that are helping to shape and redefine English literature for the future.
Core modules in research methods and communication will allow you to practise and perfect a range of essential professional research and communication skills that will assist you on the course and beyond. Our range of optional modules gives you the freedom to develop critical and textual specialisms aligned to your interests and future ambitions.
You’ll graduate with a range of critical, creative and analytical skills, and the confidence to apply them, which will benefit you in a number of different careers and sectors.
Where you'll study
School of English, Communication and Philosophy
Powered by pioneering research, we celebrate curiosity, engage in informed debate and critical analysis, and encourage creative thinking - across and beyond our disciplines.
Admissions criteria
In order to be considered for an offer for this programme you will need to meet all of the entry requirements. Your application will not be progressed if the information and evidence listed is not provided.
With your online application you will need to provide:
- A copy of your degree certificate and transcripts which show you have achieved a 2:1 honours degree in any subject, or an equivalent international degree. If your degree certificate or result is pending, please upload any interim transcripts or provisional certificates. Applications from those with 2:2 are considered on a case-by-case basis.
- A copy of your IELTS certificate with an overall score of 7.0 with 6.5 in all subskills, or evidence of an accepted equivalent. Please include the date of your expected test if this qualification is pending. If you have alternative acceptable evidence, such as an undergraduate degree studied in the UK, please supply this in place of an IELTS.
If you do not have a degree qualification or have a 2:2 honours degree you may still apply but should provide additional evidence to support your application such as a CV and references. You should also provide a sample essay on a literary topic of your choice. Something you have submitted previously for part of your assessment for a previous degree will be acceptable.
Application Deadline
We allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications normally close at the end of August but may close sooner if all places are filled.
Selection process
We will review your application and if you meet all of the entry requirements, we will make you an offer.
Find out more about English language requirements.
Applicants who require a Student visa to study in the UK must present an acceptable English language qualification in order to meet UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) requirements.
Criminal convictions
You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.
If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- access to computers or devices that can store images
- use of internet and communication tools/devices
- curfews
- freedom of movement
- contact with people related to Cardiff University.
Course structure
This is a 1-year, full-time programme. You’ll complete 180 credits in total, comprised of two 20-credit core modules and four 20-credit optional modules plus a 60-credit dissertation.
The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum. Final modules will be published one month ahead of your programme starting.
The taught stage of your degree comprises core and optional modules. You’ll take 2 core modules worth 20 credits each in the autumn and spring semesters. You’ll then choose 4 optional modules (2 per semester) from a range of specialist options.
After successfully completing the taught stage, you’ll progress to the dissertation stage of the programme, during which you’ll write a 15,000 to 16,000-word dissertation with support from your supervisor. The dissertation stage is weighted to count for one third of the final degree result.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| English Literature MA Dissertation | SET230 | 60 credits |
| Research Methods and Communications I | SET296 | 20 credits |
| Research Methods and Communications II | SET297 | 20 credits |
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Neo-Victorian Metatextualities | SET255 | 20 credits |
| Creative Critical Practices | SET288 | 20 credits |
| Ways of Translation | SET292 | 20 credits |
| The Myth of King Arthur in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries | SET298 | 20 credits |
| Heroes and Villains from Chaucer to Shakespeare | SET299 | 20 credits |
| Spectral Femininities | SET300 | 20 credits |
| Learning to Lead in Shakespeare | SET303 | 20 credits |
| Wandering, Retreat and Exile: The Romantic Imagination and Place | SET305 | 20 credits |
| Material Culture and Modern American Women Poets | SET309 | 20 credits |
| British Children’s Literature in Japan | SET315 | 20 credits |
| The Literary Afterlives of Elizabeth Siddal | SET316 | 20 credits |
| Experimental Early Modern Drama | SET317 | 20 credits |
| Writing Welsh Environments | SET318 | 20 credits |
The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.
Learning and assessment
How will I be taught?
All teaching is by seminars and workshops, structured around student participation, featuring opportunities to present your work. Each module consists of a two-hour seminar per week.
The teaching in the optional modules is text-based and revolves around the exploration of concepts from a range of literary, historical, and theoretical perspectives within the broad field of English literature.
The learning activities vary from module to module as appropriate but will include such activities as interactive discussions of prepared texts/topics and, in some cases, student-led presentations.
You are strongly encouraged to explore our excellent library resources and are expected to undertake preparation including wide-ranging reading to enable full participation.
How will I be assessed?
The taught stage is assessed by a range of methods that are designed to develop your ability to present your own thoughts in formal speech and writing. This includes essays, oral presentations (which are largely formative and aimed at clarifying your essay ideas in advance of summative assessment) and other assessment types that are designed to improve your research and communication skills; for example, a project that allows you to explore communication forms such as recorded presentations (a video essay), blog, wiki, social media stream, website presentation or podcast. Some taught modules are assessed by a single long (4000-word) piece of work in order to help you prepare for the dissertation stage of the programme.
Your dissertation stage is examined by a 15,000 to 16,000-word dissertation. The dissertation is developed through formal meetings with your supervisor, who provides feedback on draft sections and discusses ideas that you present at the meetings.
There are opportunities for formative assessment on each module; you are also encouraged to discuss ideas for your assessed work with the module leader or supervisor.
How will I be supported?
You’ll be allocated a personal tutor who will meet you at least once per semester, helping you to reflect on your work and advising you, including directing you to available support relating to study techniques, or student support services in the University. The formal meetings with your personal tutor are designed to formulate concrete strategies to help you reach your full academic and professional potential. Your personal tutor is your first point of contact if you experience any difficulties during your studies. Welsh-speaking students can request a Welsh-speaking personal tutor.
Module leaders are available in their office hours or by appointment to discuss any matters relating specifically to their modules. You are encouraged to discuss topics and readings for assessments with your module leaders in the first instance.
You can meet the English Literature MA Programme Director to discuss your progress and any difficulties that you might face.
Discussion of essay plans and dissertation proposals is offered throughout the programme, and written feedback is provided on both formative and summative assessments so that you can develop future assessments in the light of your feedback. Further feedback on progress can be received during seminar discussions and at the student conference.
You’ll also receive individual one-to-one supervision while you are working on your dissertation after you have completed the taught stage of the MA. The dissertation is also supported by the core research and communication modules that run throughout the taught stage.
Writing skills support is available to all students from academic staff and via the School’s Writing Development Centre.
Careers support includes one-to-one career planning advice meetings and information about placement opportunities.
Beyond the School, the University offers a range of support services and events to help you plan your career, manage your emotional, mental, and physical health, advise you on finance or money matters, and access support related to disabilities and dyslexia. These services are located at the University’s Centre for Student Life.
What skills will I practise and develop?
The Learning Outcomes for this programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.
On successful completion of your programme you will be able to:
Knowledge & Understanding:
- Systematically comprehend the relationships between literary texts and their cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts.
- Know critically current and other relevant research in the discipline.
- Systematically comprehend the relationships between literature and other cultural forms, such as film, art, and material/digital cultures.
Intellectual Skills:
- Examine and interpret texts from a variety of sources while showing a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in the discipline.
- Develop critically sophisticated, self-aware, and original research.
- Communicate interpretations accurately for a specialist audience.
Professional Practical Skills:
- Manage information from multiple sources while dealing with complex issues both systematically and creatively.
- Communicate advanced and independently researched ideas clearly to specialist or non-specialist audiences.
- Assess and solve problems independently, taking the views of others into account in a systematic and evaluative way.
Transferable/Key Skills:
- Develop initiative by taking responsibility for and time-managing a major research task.
- Communicate persuasively, conveying advanced academic ideas and technical arguments to specialist or non-specialist audiences, using written or oral techniques.
- Critically assess received knowledge in order to develop and communicate advanced new understandings.
- Foster initiative and personal responsibility in learning independently and pursuing continuing professional development.
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.
Learn how we decide your fee status
Fees for home status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £10,700 | None |
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2025/26 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees.
Fees for island status
Learn more about the postgraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Fees for overseas status
| Year | Tuition fee | Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | £23,700 | £2,500 |
More information about tuition fees and deposits, including for part-time and continuing students.
Financial support
Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.
Additional costs
All assessments are submitted in electronic form so there are no additional printing costs
Living costs
We’re based in one of the UK’s most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.
Funding
Career prospects
Graduates of our English Literature (MA) programme are collaborative and effective communicators who can demonstrate personal and professional integrity, reliability, and competence.
You’ll develop expertise in both established and emergent approaches to humanities research while also preparing for future employment. Your writing, presentation, and research skills will be enhanced in support of your professional development, and you’ll gain a range of essential skills required for successful postgraduate study of literature, as well as a range of future non-academic and public-facing careers.
You’ll learn to communicate your research effectively and professionally across a range of platforms and media, and how to present your ideas in a way that will appeal to different types of audiences. This is ideal preparation for many roles and careers.
During your studies, you’ll have benefited from practical opportunities to discuss, debate and take account of the views of others. This will help you develop your communication, teamworking and critical thinking skills. Planning and writing the final dissertation, meanwhile, will enhance your ability to motivate yourself, meet agreed responsibilities, and communicate effectively in an extended piece of independent research.
You’ll benefit from careers support and services offered by the University and will also be able to attend the Creative Writing Industry Day symposium, which is an excellent professional springboard for those considering a career in publishing or writing.
Postgraduate study in English literature is a gateway to many careers within and beyond academia. You’ll find our graduates in an impressive range of roles and sectors, from the public to the private sector. Our alumni are making their mark in fields including academia, primary and secondary education, journalism, publishing, archival and library work, the Civil Service, arts administration and the creative industries.
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HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.
