Expand+Postgraduate Taught

In general, there are no closing dates for the majority of courses (those with closing dates will be highlighted in the Course Finder). However we advise you to apply as early as possible, particularly for those courses where t...

Hide-Postgraduate Taught

In general, there are no closing dates for the majority of courses (those with closing dates will be highlighted in the Course Finder). However we advise you to apply as early as possible, particularly for those courses where there is a high demand for places. Early application is also important for international applicants to allow sufficient time to obtain a student entry visa.

Postgraduate Research

There is no standard closing date. You should however check both the University’s website and refer to the relevant School/Institute webpage for information on deadline dates for postgraduate funding applications, as these will also determine when your application for admission should be submitted.

Expand+MA: a good 2.1 Honours degree in English or joint or combined Honours with English as a major subject or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

PGDip: normally a 2.1 Honours degree in English or joint or combined Honours with Engli...

Hide-MA: a good 2.1 Honours degree in English or joint or combined Honours with English as a major subject or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

PGDip: normally a 2.1 Honours degree in English or joint or combined Honours with English as a major subject or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

All applicants are required to submit a piece of written work to assess their suitability for this programme.

Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL)
Admission to the programme(s) under Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) is permissible in the following circumstances:
•A lower level of performance in an Honours degree, in combination with suitable experience acceptable

International Qualifications
For information on international qualification equivalents please select Your Country from the list on our International Students website.

Additional Information for International Students
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required.

*Taken within the last 2 years.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this programme, our partner INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability to entry to this programme.

•English for University Study - an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level

•Pre-sessional English - a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English

Expand+Overview
To provide students with the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of English Literary Studies, enabling students to pursue specialised fields of study (via guided pathways in specialist areas) or to choose a flexib...

Hide-Overview
To provide students with the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of English Literary Studies, enabling students to pursue specialised fields of study (via guided pathways in specialist areas) or to choose a flexible arrangement of topics which bypass traditional period or national boundaries.

Why Queen's?
The MA in English Literary Studies offers a number of special features. Some of the American Literature and Culture topics will engage with contemporary examples of American art and culture through field work. The topics relating to medieval literature and culture use connections to the School of History and to the archives in Armagh, Belfast and Trinity College Dublin.

Students and staff across the degree also take part in a number of discussion groups, workshops and conferences both within and outside the University. There is the opportunity to organise and/or participate in the School's annual PG conference ('Common Ground') and weekly research seminars.

Course Details
The MA in English Literary Studies offers a flexible system in which students can choose either specific topics to create a focused programme of study or widely diverse areas of literary study, according to their own preferences. The School's literary studies staff comprise the largest group within the School of English and are thus able to offer a wide range of kinds of study: from the earliest writings in English (studied in their own historical and cultural contexts but also in relation to new digital cultures), to contemporary American literature and culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (incorporating literature and other aspects of culture, such as television and graphic arts).

Other strengths of the School's expertise include Renaissance literature (particularly women's writing, the history of the child, and Shakespeare and World Cinema), eighteenth-century literature (women's writing, slavery and abolition, and Indian literatures in English) and nineteenth and twentieth-century literature (with specialisms including the fiction of Dickens, the fin de siècle and modernism).

In addition to the substantive modules offered by the School of English, students will take part in a programme of research training offered by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. This provides training in core research skills, as well as a range of options for developing additional skills in an interdisciplinary forum.

Students may select from a wide range of topics within generic modules, permitting either specialism or diversity in the choice of study, from the earliest writings in English to the contemporary. After two semesters of taught modules, all MA students on the programme then complete a 15,000 word dissertation, which they choose and design and then work on in conjunction with an academic supervisor.

Expand+Career Prospects
Graduates from these programmes have a good employment record. Professions including publishing, journalism, public relations, teaching, IT, library science, corporate advertising, the Civil Service, business, industry and the media...

Hide-Career Prospects
Graduates from these programmes have a good employment record. Professions including publishing, journalism, public relations, teaching, IT, library science, corporate advertising, the Civil Service, business, industry and the media all recruit from our range of graduates. Some students choose to continue their studies to PhD level on a chosen, specialised topic in one of the pathways in English Literary Studies.

Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.