MA English and American Studies: The University of Manchester

Course description

The MA in English and American Studies prepares students for higher study and research in English literary cultures across a range of periods, genres and national and social contexts. The MA comprises a 15,000 word dissertation and four taught course units, only one of which - a subject-specific research training unit - is compulsory. The programme's broad constitution means that students have a great deal of choice in building a bespoke MA according to their interests, tastes and aptitudes. Indeed, diversity and flexibility are the programme's great strengths. Courses on offer stretch from the Anglo-Saxon era to the contemporary period, and encompass theory-based options as well as geographically and historically specific modules.

Module details

Typical course units include:

• Early Modern Masculinities
• Ugliness, Disability and Selfhood, 1560-1770
• The Eighteenth-Century Novel
• Byron and Byronism from Ireland to Russia
• Reading Dickens
• The Future of Modernism
• Postcolonial Cultures: Gender, Identity and Community
• Modernis

Career opportunities

This non-vocational Masters degree teaches and develops a wealth of transferable skills, and thus enables students to keep open a very wide range of career options. Recent graduates have gone on to pursue careers in the fields of education, publishing, journalism, library and information sciences, law and public relations. The MA has also proved to be a productive springboard to PhD study for many graduates, whether here at Manchester or at other universities in Britain, Ireland and the US.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview: A First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent, in English or a closely related area.

English language: Students whose first language is not English are required to take either the IELTS or TOEFL test. On the IELTS test applicants are normally expected to score a minimum of 7.0 overall; on the TOEFL test a minimum score of 600 (paper test) or 250 (computer test) is expected.