The course emphasis is on key critical developments in literary studies, such as:

• the relation of shifting aesthetic forms to political radicalism
• the biographies of books
• how authors and texts articulate their relationship to shifting geographies of cultural power
• textual editing from manuscript to print to digital platforms
• the sexual politics of public and private life in literature
• the mind, the body and affect as sites of and for representation
• the aesthetics and politics of American and world literatures

The course provides an excellent foundation for doctoral research. It also develops skills that are valuable for a career in:

• the creative and cultural industries
• media and journalism
• education
• heritage management
• publishing

We rank in the top 150 for English Language and Literature- QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019

At Newcastle University we have a range of research interests within English Literature. We produce outstanding research on subjects as chronologically distinct as Chaucer and cyberpunk.

Our work has a geographical range across:

• the British Isles
• the Americas
• India
• Anglophone Africa

We research and offer supervision in all major genres, including:

• fiction
• poetry
• drama
• film

We also have world-leading expertise in many emerging forms, including:

• life writing
• children's literature
• digital media

Our aim is to combine excellence in established areas of research across a full range of periods and genres, with innovation in critical and textual scholarship. We are particularly keen to:

• investigate the contexts of literary production
• use and develop archival sources
• integrate the critical with the creative work that goes on in the School

We contribute to many research groups in the University, including the:

• Postcolonial Research Group
• Gender Research Group
• Americas Research Group
• Centre for Film and Digital Media
• Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Along with colleagues from the Universities of Durham, Northumbria and Sunderland we are also key members of the:

• Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies
• North East Forum in Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Studies

The course structure allows you to tailor your own programme of study. It includes:

• optional modules
• compulsory research methods modules
• a dissertation of your choice, supervised by an expert in the field

Teaching typically takes place on Tuesdays (11 am-1pm and 4 pm-6 pm) and Thursdays (11 am-1pm and 4 pm-6 pm) during the teaching semesters.

You will choose four 20 credit modules from a range of options (80 credits). Our optional modules are thematically structured and cover literature from the 16th to the 21st centuries.

You will also take two 20 credit compulsory modules. These modules cover major critical issues in the subject of English Literature. They also include training in disciplinary and interdisciplinary research methodologies. This training is essential preparation for your individual research in the MA dissertation

Our vibrant postgraduate research community enjoy:

• a dedicated workspace
• common room 
• excellent computing facilities

You will also benefit from a range of partnerships, which offer archival materials. These include:

• Seven Stories: National Centre for Children's Books
• The Wordsworth Trust (Dove Cottage)
• Bloodaxe Books
• Northern Stage
• Live Theatre
• Tyneside Cinema

Newcastle University Library has a strong range of archival materials in Special Collections. 

The library also houses the Bloodaxe archive. This is a unique collection of materials relating to one of Britain's leading poetry publishers.

• SEL8047 Dissertation
• SEL8674 Research Methods (Literature)

The range of compulsory modules will be different for those studying part-time.

You take five of the following optional modules:

• SEL8533 Radicalisms
• SEL8536 Literary Geographies
• SEL8540 Poetology
• SEL8543 Manuscript, Print, Digital
• SEL8675 Children's Literature Studies: Past, Present, Future
• SEL8680 Thinking Through Performance

The range of optional modules will be different for those studying part-time.