Literature & Culture

Graduate Taught (level 9 NFQ, credits 90)

The MA in Literature & Culture is our flagship MA programme in English-language literature and culture. Students work with leading international scholars and world-class teachers, who have expertise in a wide range of areas, from the literature of the Middle Ages to the modern and contemporary. The programme provides an intensive combination of taught courses and supervised research, designed to develop students’ skills and confidence as scholars and critics of literature and its contexts. Current courses include seminars in Medieval and Renaissance LIterature, 18th and 19th-Century literature and culture, Contemporary American Poetics, Modernism, World Literature, Social Network Analysis, and Research Methods.



The supervised dissertation gives you the unique opportunity to work closely on a topic of your choosing with published experts in your field of interest. All students take the core module Research Methods, and can choose other modules in a variety of areas, including British, American and World Literature.

Recent courses have included:



Chaucer and the Fourteenth Century

American Modernism at Home

Re-reading the Renaissance

American Lyric: Document and Memoir

Memory Cultures

Feeling Modern: Thinking and Being in 18th and 19th-Century Britain

Social Network Analysis and Fiction

World-Systems, World-Literature: Mapping the Planet

Contemporary U.S. Genre Fiction: Intersection, Disruption, Protest

Concepts of Modernity



Further information on the MA in Literature & Culture is available on the UCD School of English, Drama & Film website: http://www.ucd.ie/englishdramafilm/study/postgraduate/literatureandculture/

Students on this programme take two core modules, Literary Research Methods’ and the MA Dissertation module, as well as four taught modules from their specialist strand, choosing from a range of core and option modules.



Stage 1 - Core

Public Humanities and Ireland ENG42090

Dissertation: Lit & Culture ENG42120



Stage 1 - Option

Digital Methods EDF40060

Gender and Sexuality in Theory and Representation ENG40940

Joyce, Ulysses ENG41640

Expressions of Modernity ENG41650

Contemporary US Genre Fiction: Intersection, Disruption, Protest ENG41670

American Lyric: Document and Memoir ENG41840

Un/Settling Global Literatures ENG42080

Energy, Modernity, Culture ENG42150

Chick Flicks: Women and Hollywood Storytelling FS40240

Media, Gender, and Sexuality FS40370

Creative Approaches HUM40040

Arts and Events Programming HUM40050

Entry Requirements

An honours undergraduate degree in English or in another cognate subject (NFQ Level 8) with a 2.1 classification (Second Class Honours, Grade One) or equivalent* is normally required. A sample of written work of c.3000 words and two academic references are also required. Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 7 (no band less than 6.5 in each element), or equivalent.



Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information: https://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/int%20pmp/



*equivalencies will vary depending on grade scale of award presented but will generally require a grade average of B or a GPA no less than 3.08;



*However, all applicants will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and in certain exceptional cases an award at a lower level or a 2.2 classification may be considered.



These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes.

The following entry routes are available:

MA Literature & Culture FT (Z251)

Duration 1 Years

Attend Full Time

Deadline Rolling*



MA Literature & Culture PT (Z252)

Duration 2 Years

Attend Part Time

Deadline Rolling*



* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised

90

MA Literature & Culture FT (Z251): 1 Years Full Time

MA Literature & Culture PT (Z252): 2 Years Part Time

MA Literature & Culture (Z251) Full Time

EU fee per year - € 7055

nonEU fee per year - € 19200


MA Literature & Culture (Z252) Part Time

EU fee per year - € 4235

nonEU fee per year - € 9600


***Fees are subject to change


Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.


Each year the School of English, Drama and Film offers a number of competitive tuition bursaries of 1,000 euro. Applicants with an offer of a place on one of the School's MA programmes are eligible to apply.

Next Intake: 2024/2025 September.

Careers & Employability

Our graduates progress to a wide range of interesting careers.

Some of our alumni opt to stay on for doctoral work with a view to career in academia. Most have gone on to work in a wide range of industries, including teaching, journalism, broadcasting, publishing, advertising, the Civil Service, libraries and archives, public relations, creative industries, cultural heritage, arts administration, banking, business and NGO and advocacy work.