English Literature MLitt
Start in: September 2022
Our English Literature MLitt allows you to work around your own research interests. It will prepare you for further research within and beyond academia.
Overview
Our MLitt English Literature is an individually tailored research master's degree. It contains some taught modules, some independently conducted research assignments and a larger research dissertation at the end. The topics are chosen by you, in consultation with your supervisor.
The course is taught by small teams of research specialists clustered in the following research areas:
- Medieval literature
- Eighteenth-century and Romantic period literature and culture
- Victorian literature
- Fin-de-siècle and modernism
- Postcolonial literatures
- American literature and culture
- Children’s literature
- Theatre studies
Find out more about our staff and their specialisms
Important information
We've highlighted important information about your course. Please take note of any deadlines.
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption.
Given the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commitments outlined are subject to guidelines that may be in place from time to time.
View our COVID-19 Study page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2022-23.
See our terms and conditions and student complaints information
What you'll learn
Taught modules aim to extend your knowledge and skills beyond undergraduate level and help to develop your research skills.
Modules
You will study modules on this course. A module is a unit of a course with its own approved aims and outcomes and assessment methods.
Module information is intended to provide an example of what you will study.
Our teaching is informed by research. Course content changes periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.
Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.
Optional modules availability
Some courses have optional modules. Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.
To find out more please see our terms and conditions.
Compulsory Modules | Credits |
---|---|
English MLitt Research Assignments | 80 |
English MLitt Dissertation | 80 |
Research Methods (Literature) | 20 |
How you'll learn
This course is primarily taught on our city-centre campus. Your contact and study times vary across modules although teaching typically includes seminars, tutorials, presentations and independent learning. Where a number of people are working in a similar area we can offer small group tuition from research experts in the field.
The course gives you the flexibility to design a programme of study according to your own research interests. For example, you might choose to write four shorter research assignments of 6,000 words or two longer ones of 12,000 words. Whichever path you take, your learning will be supported through one-to-one supervision with a research specialist.
The course is made up of 180 credits:
- 20 credits for research training modules
- 80 credits for research assignments with a combined length of 16-24,000 words
- 80 credits for a 16-24,000-word dissertation, which is written in the spring/summer for full time students or in the second year for part time students
You may also attend lectures and seminars (not the assessments) for approved taught postgraduate modules.
Depending on your modules, you'll be assessed through a combination of:
- Dissertation
- Essay
Here are some examples of how your programme of study could be structured, in different research areas and with research assignments of different lengths:
MLitt in Children's Literature
- Research Training Assignment
- Research Assignment 1: 6,000 words, Ideology in the children's book
- Research Assignment 2: 6,000 words, Real Children in Jan Marks' Thunder and Lightnings and Robert Westall's The Machine Gunners
- Research Assignment 3: 12,000 words, Children Alone: Independent Child Characters in Philip Pullman and David Almond
- Dissertation: 16-24,000 words, Representing the Real Child: Social Realism in Selected Children's Literature, 1970s-1990s
MLitt in Drama and Theatre Studies
- Research Training Assignment
- Research Assignment 1: 6,000 words, The Material Theatre: Reading Bodies, Space and the Rehearsal Process
- Research Assignment 2: 6,000 words, Patterns of Repetition in Greyscale's Gods Are Fallen and All Safely Gone
- Research Assignment 3: 6,000 words, Come Again? Iteration and Narrative Structure in Contemporary British Theatre
- Research Assignment 4: 6,000 words, Assignment attached to placement at Northern Stage
- Dissertation: 24,000 words, Once More, From the Top:The Rehearsal Process as a Form of Collective Authorship in Contemporary British Theatre
Our mission is to help you:
- stay healthy, positive and feeling well
- overcome any challenges you may face during your degree – academic or personal
- get the most out of your postgraduate research experience
- carry out admin and activities essential to progressing through your degree
- understand postgraduate research processes, standards and rules
We can offer you tailored wellbeing support, courses and activities.
You can also access a broad range of workshops covering:
- research and professional skills
- careers support
- wellbeing
- health and safety
- public engagement
- academic development
Your future
Our Careers Service
Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.
Quality and ranking
All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body
From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK
Facilities
The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics is a lively and diverse community with over 700 undergraduates and 200 postgraduates.
We are based in the Percy Building. Our purpose-built postgraduate suite includes:
- several dedicated computer clusters
- meeting rooms
- a kitchen
- lounge area
Find out more about the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics
Our award-winning Philip Robinson Library offers excellent resources for archival research in the Special Collections. There are also collections at Newcastle City Library and the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees for 2022 entry (per year)
Home fees
For 2022-23 entry, we will be aligning our standard Home research fees with those set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The standard fee will be confirmed in Spring 2022 by UKRI.
If your studies last longer than one year, your tuition fee may increase in line with inflation.
Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.
EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.
If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.
Scholarships
We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our searchable postgraduate funding page for more information.
What you're paying for
Tuition fees include the costs of:
- matriculation
- registration
- tuition (or supervision)
- library access
- examination
- re-examination
- graduation
Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.
Find out more about:
- additional costs
- living costs
- tuition fees, including how to pay them and available discounts
If you are an international student or a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland and you need a visa to study in the UK, you may have to pay a deposit.
You can check this in the How to apply section.
If you're applying for funding, always check the funding application deadline. This deadline may be earlier than the application deadline for your course.
For some funding schemes, you need to have received an offer of a place on a course before you can apply for the funding.
Search for funding
Find funding available for your course
Scholarship information
Seeking funding to support your postgraduate degree? Check out some of the scholarship opportunities we offer for our English Literature MLitt course:
Entry requirements
The entrance requirements below apply to 2022 entry.
Qualifications from outside the UK
English Language requirements
How to apply
Using the application portal
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You can choose to start your application, save your details and come back to complete it later.
If you’re ready, you can select Apply Online and you’ll be taken directly to the applicant portal.
Alternatively you can find out more about applying on our applications and offers pages.
Apply Online
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You'll have a number of opportunities to meet us throughout the year including:
- campus tours
- on-campus open days
- virtual open days
- webinars
Find out about how you can visit Newcastle in person and virtually
Overseas events
We regularly travel overseas to meet with students interested in studying at Newcastle University.
Get in touch
Questions about this course?
If you have specific questions about this course you can contact:
Sherelle Coulson
Programme Administrator
School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 7199
Email: pg.english@ncl.ac.uk
Online
For more general enquiries you could also complete our online enquiry form.
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