phd in english literature ireland

UCC University College Cork

English department roinn an bhéarla.

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22 Apr 2024

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Phd applications, phd admission procedures.

To be eligible for consideration to enter on a programme of study and research for the Degree of PhD, a candidate must have obtained a standard of at least Second Class Honours, Grade I, in an approved primary degree.  It is increasingly the case that applicants for a PhD will have completed an MA prior to embarking on PhD research. 

Before making an application, we advise you to consult the research profiles of our staff and contact a staff member who has expertise in the area in which you are interested and who may be willing to act as your supervisor.  All applications for a PhD in English (and in the College of Arts more generally) must include a Research Proposal, which your prospective supervisor will want to read before you submit a formal application.  You may receive some guidance on improving your proposal before the formal application.  If you would like to make a general enquiry about the posibility of doing research on a particular topic, please contact the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee, currently Dr Maureen O'Connor:  [email protected]  

All applications (whether EU or Non-EU) are made online through  UCC's application system

Once your application is received by UCC via PAC, it will be forwarded to the Department of English, and approved by the named supervisor(s) and the Head of Department.   It must then be approved by the College of CASSS. The process, from initial enquiry to final approval, can take several months, so do be sure to plan well in advance.  There are 4 recognised start dates for PhD students in UCC: October, January, April and July.  

In the case of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, all successful applicants are registered as "PhD track" (i.e. provisional registration for a PhD) in the first instance. Students will be subject to a review within 12 to 18 months from the date of registration and will be required to demonstrate progress in the form of 10,000 words minimum written work, as well as defending their work at interview. Students may then, on the recommendation of the Head of Department and the Supervisor(s) and with the approval of the College/Faculty, transfer to the PhD. 

For further guidance on application procedures, fees and entrance requirements please consult the following links:

Study@UCC: Postgraduate Students

Studyabroad@UCC (International Students)

PhD Scholarships

Information about the PhD Excellence Scholarships provided by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences PhD Excellence Scholarships is published on the  CACSSS Graduate School website .

PhD students are also encouraged to apply to the IRC's Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. More information on deadlines for the Irish Research Council scholarships can be found IRC website .

Scholarships & Awards

The graduate students and postgraduate researchers of the Department of English have an excellent track record in securing scholarships and research funding, in what is an increasingly competitive environment.  The various awards made are listed here by year:

IRC POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

Sarah McCreedy "The Resurgence of American Literary Naturalism in the Neoliberal 21st Century"

Kieran Nee "Solastalgic America: Literature of the environmental psyche"

Ciaran Kavanagh "Reading Postmodernism: Indeterminacy, Instability and the Changing Role of the Modern Reader"

Fiona Whyte "On Lindisfarne: A Novel"

Loretta Goff  "Hyphenating Ireland and America: Examining the Construction of Contemporary Hybrid Identities in Film and Screen Media 1990-2015"

Patricia O'Connor "Retrieving the Textual Environment of the "Old English Bede": A Digital Remediation of Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 41"

Sean Travers "Innovative Representations of Trauma in Contemporary Literature, Postmodernism and Popular Culture"

Eoin O'Callaghan "Submerged Stories: The Evolution of William Faulkner's Short Fiction"

Martin McConigley "The Border in Contemporary Irish Fiction 1970-2014: Interrogating the lines that continue to separate"

Niamh Kehoe "Vernacular Saints' Lives in England 900-1300: Humour, Gender, and Violence.

Yen-Chi Wu "Temporalities in the Novels of John McGahern: "Against the Tide"

Kathy D'Arcy "A Poetic Heteroglossia Re-Articulating 1930s Irish Women's Poetry: Weighted Silences"

Rebecca Graham "An Ecofeminist Reading of Identity, Place, and Language in Éilís Ní Dhuibne's Fiction" 

David Roy "The Unity of Edmund Spenser's  Complaints

Dan O'Brien "The Intertwining Fiction of Philip Roth and Edna O'Brien: 'A Piece of Fine Meshwork'"

M urphy Irish Exchange Fellowship (University of Notre Dame)

Dan O’Brien  "The Intertwining Fiction of Philip Roth and Edna O'Brien: 'A Piece of Fine Meshwork'"

UCC CACSSS 2013/14 PhD SCHOLARSHIP

Rebecca Graham "An Ecofeminist Reading of Identity, Place, and Language in Éilís Ní Dhuibhne's Fiction"

Eoin O'Callaghan "William Faulkner's 'Snopes' Trilogy"

IRC POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

Donna Alexander"Women in the Borderlands in the Writings of Gloria Anzaldúa and Lorna Dee Cervantes"

Gwendolen Aoife Boyle "Autobiography and Fiction in the Work of Thomas Wolfe"

Mark Kirwan "Banville as Writer: The Discursive Practices of John Banville"

Laura Pomeroy "Mary Devenport O'Neill: Writing the Free State"

James Cummins "'I shall / be in my segments': Dissecting and Reassessing Raworth's Oeuvre through a Multitude of Influences"

Siobhan Higgins "Britain's Bourse: Cultural and Intellectual Transmissions between the Low Countries and Britain in the Early Modern Era"

Edel Mulcahy "Travel, Pilgrimage and the Family in Middle English Writing"

Niamh O'Mahony "Poetic Epistemology and Philosophical Fact"

Michael Waldron  "Verbal Painting: Elizabeth Bowen and the Art of Visuality"

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP

UCC COLLEGE OF ARTS, CELTIC STUDIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PHD SCHOLARSHIP

Donna Alexander "Women in the Borderlands in the Writings of Gloria Anzaldúa and Lorna Dee Cervantes"

IRCHSS POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP 

Coirle Mooney "Infected Vision in the Works of Thomas Middleton"

WILLIAM J. LEEN AWARD (UCC)

IRCHSS CARA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

Dr. Carrie Griffin  "Learning and Information in the English Middle Ages and Early Modern Period: An Analysis of Textual Genres, Material Structures and Reorganisation"

UCC DOCTORAL SHOWCASE

Michael Waldron (2nd Place)

IRCHSS POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

Adrian Goodwin  “The Language of Space”: The Influence of Twentieth Century Irish Gay and Lesbian Narrative on the “Post-Gay” moment in Irish Literature.

Colin Lahive    "Milton and Romance: Vernacular Romance and Chivalric Traditions in Paradise"

Cian O'Mahony    “A King for the Queene”: Samuel Sheppard’s The Faerie King and his reception of Spenser’s epic authority.

Bairbre Anne Walsh "Claude McKay and the Transnational Novel"

Alan Foley, "The Objects of Laughter:  A Poetics of Humour in Old and Middle English Literaure".

Sarah Kate Hayden, "Resonances of the Radical in the Female Modernist Poetic"

IRCHSS POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS

Richard A. Hawtree, "Vox Meditans:  Studies in the Anglo-Saxon Liturgical Imagination and the Unity of Old English Poetic ManAuscripts.

Victoria Kennefick, "Lonely Voices of the South:  Exploring the Transatlantic dialogue of Frank O'Connor and Flannery O'Connor"

IRCHSS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

David Coughlan, "Ghosts of American Writing"

NUI POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

Liam Lenihan

UCC COLLEGE OF ARTS, CELTIC STUDIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PRESIDENT'S SCHOLARSHIP

Katherine D'Arcy

IRCHSS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

Dr Andrew King, "Mirrors Of British Kingship: The Galfridian Tradition in Early Modern Drama"

Sarah Louise Melnyk, “The Arthurian Legend in Scottish and English Literature”  

Mary O’Connell,  “Truth from the bookseller”:  Murray, Moore and the manufacturing of Byron

Louise Denmead,  “Representations of ‘Blackness’ and the Female Foreigner in Aemilia Lanyer and Elizabeth Cary.”

Sorcha Fogarty, In Memoriam:  Jacques Derrida, The Working of Mourning, and the Regeneration of Responsibility.

Dr Mary Pierse, “George Moore and Early Literary Impressionism” 

Emma Bidwell, "Female Performance of Masculinity." 

Siobhan Collins, "Discourses of sexuality in the poetry of John Donne"

Eileen Forristal, "The sublime in Virginia Wolf"

Kalene Nix-Kenefick,  "Una Troy (1910-1993)"

Dr Tina O’Toole, “Narrating the new woman: the feminist fictions of Sarah Grand and George Egerton."

Dr Jason King, "Refugee narratives in Irish historical and contemporary perspective"

Dr Lee Jenkins, "The language of Caribbean poetry" 

Dr Margaret Connolly,  “An Index of Middle English Prose in the Main Manuscript Collection of Cambridge University Library”.

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

Professor Patricia Coughlan,  "Gender, sexuality and social change in Irish literature 1960-2000"

Susan Burke, “The Presence of Wollstonecraft in the Work of Mary Shelley.”

Ruth Connolly, “Subjectivity in the Writings of Mary Boyle Rich and Katherine Boyle Jones.”

Brendan Kavanagh, “W.B. Yeats and Eastern Mysticism”

Catherine MacHale, “Infinity in Language and Literature.”

Eleanor Neff, “A Comparative Study of Beowulf and the Tain Bo Cuailnge”  (Department of Celtic Civilisation and Department of English).

Paul O’Connor,  “Sensibility & Romanticism:  The Poetics of Modernity.”

Michael O’Sullivan, “Where is the Ethics in Ethical Criticism?”

Mary Pierse, “Rattling the Railings:  George Moore’s Creative Literary Resistance to Late Victorian Society.”

IRCHSS POSTGRADUTE SCHOLARSHIP

Kenneth Rooney, “Timor Mortis: Aspects of the Macabre in Late Middle English Narrative.”

PhD Theses since 2000

YEAR	NAME	THESIS TITLE
2019	Edel Mulcahy	"Travel, pilgrimage and the family: displacement, obligation and crises of kinship in Middle English"
2019	Andrew Farrow	"Every Nation under Heaven":  National unity in the poetry of William Blake.
2018	Alison Killilea	"Translating the past: An analysis of  reception history through the figures of Grendel and Grendel's mother"
2018	Niamh Kehoe Rouchy	"Humour in vernacular hagiography from the tenth to the thirteenth century in England"
2018	William Wall	"Stealing From Winter"
2017	Edel Mulcahy	"Travel, pilgrimage and the family: displacement, obligation and crises of kinship in Middle English narrative"
2017	Meadhbh O'Halloran	"Marlowe's medievalism: subversion and medieval literature in Christopher Marlowe's drama"
2017	David Karl Roy	"The unity of Edmund Spenser's Complaints"
2016	Dan O'Brien	"'A piece of fine meshwork': The intertwining fiction of Philip Roth and Edna O'Brien
2016	Ian O'Sullivan	"The masks of Mnēmosynē: modulations of memory from ancient Greece to modern Paris"
2016	Mark Kirwan	"Beneath the penumbral glow: John Banville and the cinema"
2016	Miranda Corcoran	"Social paranoia and absurdist fiction in Cold War America and Soviet Russia: A comparative study"
2015	Niamh O'Mahony	"'I have nothing to say, only to show': Appropriation in the poetries of Trevor Joyce, Alan Halsey and Susan Howe"
2015	Nicola Moffat	"Monstrative acts and becoming-monster: on identity, bodies, and the feminine other"
2015	Ian Murphy	"Corporeal prisons: dynamics of body and  ène in three films by Paul Schrader"
2015	Ross Griffin	"'Something isn't right here': American exceptionalism and the creative nonfiction of the Vietnam War"
2015	Elizabeth Ann Coughlan	"Frederick Douglas and Ireland, 1845: The dynamics of discourse in politics, temperance and poverty"
2015	Laura Pomeroy	"Mary Davenport O'Neill: Writing the Free State"
2015	Michael Waldron	"Elizabeth Bowen and the art of visuality"
2015	James  Cummins	"'I shall / be in in my segments': Dissecting and reassessing Tom Raworth's Oeuvre and its influences"
2014	Donna Alexander	"Chicana poetics: genre and style in Gloria Anzaldúa and Lorna Dee Cervantes"
2015	Anthony Colonna	"Prophets of the beast: the modernist esotericism of D.H. Lawrence and W.B. Yeats"
2014	Diane Fawsitt	"Reading Lydgate's Troy Book: patronage, politics, and history in Lancastrian England"
2014	Kate Kirwan	"Historiographic Intertextuality in American Historical Fiction"
2014	Siobhan Higgins	"Britain's Bourse: cultural and literary exchanges between England and the Low Countries in the early modern era (c. 1580-1620)"
2014	Adrian Goodwin	"Afterwords: reparative queer death and the contemporary Irish novel, 1960-2000"
2014	Karen Moloney	"'Ladyes, damesels, and jantilwomen': female autonomy and authority in Sir Thomas Malory's "
2014	Heffernan, Niall	"Scientism and Instrumentalism after the Bomb: and
2013	Pyburn, Daniel	"Catholicism in the writings of Colm Tóibín"
2013	Boyle, Gwendolen	"Thomas Wolfe and the genre questions: Beyond the 'Charge of Autobiography'"
2013	O'Mahony, Cian	"A King for the Queene: Samuel Sheppard’s The Faerie King and his reception of Spenser's Epic authority"
2013	Mooney, Coirle	"Infected Vision in the Works of Thomas Middleton"
2013	Lahive, Colin	"Milton and Romance: Vernacular romance and chivalric traditions in Paradise Lost"
2013	Murphy, Carmel	"History, revolution and the British popular novel: historical fiction in the romantic age"
2012	Buchanan, Avril	"The Renaissance re-imagination"
2012	Costello, Lisa	"Diverse Heritage: Exploring Literary Identity in the American Southwest"
2012	Hayden, Sarah	"'intimate irritant': Constructions of futurist, dada and surrealist artisthood in the work of Mina Loy"
2012	March, Kirsty	"Performance, transmission and devotion: understanding the Anglo-Saxon prayer books, c. 800-1050"
2012	Dorrington, Jesse	"Defining 'the deare spouse of Christ' : the polemically protestant employment of the sitch in early modern English witchcraft texts"
2011	Foley, Alan	"To 'maken folk to laughe' : humour in medieval English writing"
2011	McCarthy, Bernadette	"The 'lidless eye': William Butler Yeats, Visual Practice and Modernism"
2011	Huguelet, Mary Catherine	"Editing modernity : H.L. Mencken, George Lorimer, and the early magazine owrk of F. Scott Fitzgerald" /
2011	Walsh, Bairbre	"Claude McKay and the Transnational Novel"
2011	Madden, Leonard	"The 'Tempest of Emblems': Intertextuality in some of Samuel Beckett's Early Poems and Prose"
2011	Kennedy, Danny	"Anarratology: The Writings of New Narrative"
2011	Whittredge, Julia	"Irish Modernist Poetry"
2010	Rooney, Peter	"Primitivism in the Short Fiction of Ernest Hemmingway"
2010	Smith, Catherine	"Historical Fiction by Irish Women since 1800"
2010	Mellamphy, Deborah	"Hollyweird: Gender Transgression in the Collaborations of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp"
2010	Melnyck, Sarah	"The Arthurian Tradition in Medieval Scotland"
2010	Fogarty, Sorcha	"The Affirmative Nature of Impossibility in Jacques Derrida's Work on Mourning"
2010	Kennefick, Victoria	"Lonely Voices of the South: Exploring the Transnational Dialogue of Flannery O'Connor and Frank O'Connor"
2009	O'Connell, Mary	"A Poet, his Publisher and Posterity: Byron and John Murray"
2008	Nijhuis, Letty	" : Animals in the Work of Aelfric"
2008	Nix, Kathleen	"Una Troy's Fiction: The Figure of the Irish Woman Writer"
2008	Denmead, Louise	"Representations of Femininity and Blackness in Three Early Modern Texts"
2007	Neff, Eleanor	"  and the Ulster Cycle: A Comparative Study of Narrative Parallels in  ,   and    "
2007	Bidwell, Emma	"Members of Masculinity? Masculine Females in the Work of Carson McCullers"
2007	Walsh, Ann	"Revising the Evidence: A Reappraisal of Robert Lowell's Poetry"
2007	Collins, Siobhan	"John Donne's 'Russet Pawe': Body and Word in  "
2007	Mannion, Una	"'Within Private Armes': Enclosure in the Work of Thomas Carew"
2007	Murphy, Orla	"Handheld Laser Profilometry of Certain Medieveal Inscribed Stones"
2006	Carney, James	"Narrative Space, Narrative Time: A Spatiotemporal Model of Narrative Semantics"
2006	Forristal, Eileen M.	"Schopenhauer's Sublime in a Range of Virginia Woolf's Later Novels"
2006	Griffin, Carrie	'A Good Reder': The Middle English Wise Book of Philosophy and Astronomy, Instruction, Publics and Manuscripts"
2005	Connolly, Ruth	"All our Endeavours Terminate but in This’”: Self-Government in the Writings of Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick and Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh”
2004	Rooney, Kenneth	“Mortality and Imagination:Aspects of the Macabre in Middle English Narrative”
2004	O'Sullivan Michael	“Deterring Deconstruction:I ncarnation, Ethical Criticism and the Joycean Epiphany”
2004	MacHale, Catherine	"Cantor’s Lovely Game: The Mathematics of the Infinite in the Writings of Jorge Luis Borges and Julia Kristeva”
2003	Gaynor, Fergal	"To touch the world of substance’: D.H. Lawrence’s Critical Intervention in the Modern Movement”
2003	Pierse, Mary	“Towards a Novel Freedom: George Moore’s Sophisticated Literary Shapings in  and
2003	Kavanagh, Brendan	“W.B. Yeats and Eastern mysticism”
2002	Byrne, James P.	“Inalienable citizenship:assimilation and the crisis of self-representation in Irish-American and Jewish-American literature”
2001	Sweeny,  Fionnghuaile	“Frederick Douglas: Mask or Maroonage? Atlantic sites and the Politics of Representative Identity”
2001	Howard, Anita	“The Reconstruction of Kinship in the drama of William Shakespeare and Pedro Calderon de la Barca”
2001	O'Toole, Martina M.	"Narrating the New Woman: The Feminist Fictions of Sarah Grand and George Egerton”
2000	O’Donnell, Katherine	“Edmund Burke and the heritage of oral culture”

English Department

Roinn an bhéarla.

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We have 4 english literature PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Ireland

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english literature PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in Ireland

Maynooth University

One of four constituent universities of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth University is in the top 90 global Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024. Maynooth University is a place of lively contrasts–a modern institution, dynamic, rapidly-growing, research-led and engaged, yet grounded in historic academic strengths and scholarly traditions. With over 16,000 students from more than 120 countries, Maynooth offers a range of programmes at, Master’s and PhD level in the humanities, science and engineering, and social sciences, including business, law, and education. Maynooth’s unique collegial culture fosters an interdisciplinary approach to research, which its world-class academics bring to bear in tackling some of the most fundamental challenges facing society today. The University’s research institutes and centres consolidate and deliver this impact as vibrant communities of learning, discovery and creation. Maynooth University is recognised among the top 500 universities in the world and in the top 250 European universities.

Comhar Comaraigh - Stronger together: A Model of Community-Led Rural Village Regeneration (TURISE_2024_202)

Phd research project.

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities and Social Sciences

Self-funded phd students only.

The PhD opportunities on this programme do not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Social Sciences Research Programme

Social Sciences Research Programmes present a range of research opportunities, shaped by a university’s particular expertise, facilities and resources. You will usually identify a suitable topic for your PhD and propose your own project. Additional training and development opportunities may also be offered as part of your programme.

Structured PhD in Child and Youth Research

Funded phd programme (students worldwide).

Some or all of the PhD opportunities in this programme have funding attached. Applications for this programme are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full programme details for further information.

PhD programmes in Liberal Arts

Arts research programme.

Arts Research Programmes present a range of research opportunities, shaped by a university’s particular expertise, facilities and resources. You will usually identify a suitable topic for your PhD and propose your own project. Additional training and development opportunities may also be offered as part of your programme.

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Masters/PhD in Languages, Literature, Culture and Communications

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Brief Description

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is an excellent choice for postgraduate students whose talents and interests lie in subjects such as history; sociology; politics; law; music and languages (English, Irish, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, TESOL). The Faculty offers particular research strengths in the following areas: Criminal Justice; Applied Language Studies; European Studies; Irish German Studies; Peace and Development Studies; International and Commercial Law; International Politics; Social Policy; Gender Studies; Utopian Studies; and Literary or Cultural Studies. Students can choose to do a research degree at Master of Arts/LLM or PhD level in any of these subjects or areas.

• If you enjoyed researching and writing your final year project / graduate thesis or your MA dissertation, then you might enjoy carrying out a more in-depth piece of research at MA (by research) or PhD level.
• FAHSS research students are part of a lively community; every student has his/her own research space with individual PC and desk;
• Funding is available to research students annually to take part in international conferences and carry out fieldwork/archival visits in Ireland and overseas;
• Research degrees develop a wide range of skills which are valued by employers (for example, excellent communication skills (written and oral), and critical/analytical skills);
• Our PhD and MA graduates are employed in a wide range of sectors: education, media and publishing, research and consultancy, civil and public service, business, non-governmental sector, creative arts and media, and politics and local government.

In addition to carrying out research, students enrolled on an MA by Research/PhD take part in generic/transferrable skills training, including, for example, research methodologies and statistics, interview skills and career planning, bibliographical management, academic writing and research networking. MA by Research:

• A Master’s degree by thesis involves in-depth research on a topic leading to a thesis of 60,000 words over the course of one to two years.

MA by Research/PhD:

• Students may start an MA research thesis, but then apply to transfer to a PhD after their first year if research is expanding; or students may register for a PhD thesis directly.
• This involves in-depth research on a topic and an original contribution to knowledge, leading to a thesis of 100,000 words, examined by a viva voce exam. The PhD thesis generally takes 4 years to complete.
• Applicants will normally be expected to hold an Honours degree (minimum 2.1) or equivalent in a discipline appropriate to their area of proposed research.
• Entry points may differ for applicants with postgraduate qualifications. Please contact the Course Director for further information.

Fees for all postgraduate programmes are revised on an annual basis.  Detailed information on fee schedules and fee regulations is available on the Fees Office website.  

Payment by instalment is facilitated by the Fees Office. 

Please contact the Fees Office directly at [email protected] for details.

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Graduate and Professional Studies

+353 (0)61 234377 University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

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Maynooth university department of english.

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At the Department of English we have a strong commitment to Graduate Studies and Continuous Professional Development.

Our MA, MLitt and PhD programmes build on the notable international expertise of our faculty in Irish literature and drama; postcolonial studies; gender; and literary theory. Our Higher Diploma in English is designed for applicants who already hold a BA or comparable degree, and who wish to add English to their list of qualifications.

Our Graduate students become part of a Department that is committed to scholarly excellence and to expanding the boundaries of knowledge in the fields of literature and cultural theory.  As part of our graduate community, you will have access to specialised Department Research seminars featuring new research by our faculty and also invited speakers.

Please read on to find a programme of study that matches your interests and ambitions.

Information on fees, funding and scholarships can be found on the Graduate Studies Office website here .

Higher Diploma in English

The Higher Diploma in English is a programme designed for applicants who already hold a BA or comparable degree, and who wish to enhance their qualification with the addition of English.  It is particularly useful for applicants who may already be teachers, or who wish to qualify as teachers in the future, and who would like to have the background to teach English to Leaving Certificate level.  The programme may also be of interest to applicants who already hold an undergraduate qualification in another subject, and simply want to study English out of interest in the subject.  Modules range from courses on Shakespeare, the Victorian Novel, to Modernism, Postmodernism, and Irish and World Literatures.

The Full-time Higher Diploma, CAO/PAC code: MHK70, requires a student to take both Second and Third Year English from the BA programme in a single year, amounting to 60 credits in English.

The Part-time Higher Diploma, CAO/PAC code: MHK71, requires a student to take Second and Third Year English from the BA programme over two-years, amounting to 60 credits in English. Students may choose any combination of 30 credits from the modules offered each year.

Additional First Year English modules may be added, if required.

Click here for further information and application procedures.

MA in English: Literatures of Engagement

We live in a moment where the key discourses which have dominated our understanding of the world – of politics, economics and culture at large – suddenly seem inadequate to the task of engaging with an allegedly ‘post-truth’ environment. New discourses are struggling to emerge; some old ones appear once again to be urgently relevant.  The political challenges now confronting us are urgent and manifold, and demand serious critical thinking. These include: inequality, migration, climate change, neo-imperialism, neo-nationalism and isolationism, the exploitations and depredations of global capitalism and resurgent misogyny and racism. The MA in Literatures of Engagement addresses this sense of crisis by recognising the significant role that literature – and the critical discourses associated with the study of literature – have in both reproducing and analysing cultural values and ideologies, but also in articulating responses and resistance to those.  The programme is underpinned by a conviction that any critique of contemporary culture must be rooted in an informed understanding of historical currents shaping the present.   The Department of English at Maynooth has an international reputation for producing radical and politically-engaged cultural criticism. This MA will help you to develop skills in creative critical thinking and argument, promote intellectual curiosity and excitement, and affirm the intrinsic and non-instrumental value of education as a social good.   You will benefit from the instruction of committed and energetic scholars working at the forefront of their fields, with research specialisms which include Irish Studies, American, African and comparative literature, Renaissance Studies, and digital humanities. The MA addresses questions of: ecology; economy; diversity; gender, sexuality and race relations; borders; citizenship; terrorism; sovereignty; imperialism; migration and refugees. These questions are addressed using an intersectional model, drawing on key currents in literary and cultural theory: postcolonialism, feminism and gender studies, Marxism and ecocriticism. Through their choice of elective modules and a dissertation topic, students will have the opportunity to pursue their specific research interests.   The MA in Literatures of Engagement will develop its students’ skills in critical analysis, argument, persuasion, and communication, and equip them with the ability and initiative to be engaged, responsible, and informed global citizens.

Core (team-taught) modules: EN6101 Engaging Literature  EN6102 Literatures of Engagement   Electives: EN6103 Afterlives: The Presence of the Past EN6104 Literature, Creativity and Society EN6105 The Political is Personal: Radical Contemporary Literatures EN6106 Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and Culture EN6107 A Literature of Their Own: Gender, Literary Authority and Women’s Writing EN6108 Postcolonial Ecocriticsm: Ireland in a Comparative Framework EN6109 The Novel in Africa EN6110 Resisting Images EN6111 Irish Modernism and Its Legacies EN6112 Imagining the Post-Imperial City EN6113 Orating the Nation EN6114 Same-Sex Passion, Politics and Literature EN6115 Gender/Modernity/Modernism

Please click here for further course information and application procedures.

MA Cultures of Migration

The Master of Arts: Cultures of Migration is embedded in MU’s strong research and teaching profile in social justice and interculturalism as well as its University of Sanctuary status. The MA programme explores the multifaceted challenges and potentials created by past and current (im)mobilities in the broad contexts of the production, circulation and transformation of cultural production in Ireland and internationally. This new MA is distinctive in its specific emphasis on the Arts and Humanities as an intellectual and experiential powerhouse for generating transformative responses to the imaginative and meaningful provision of welcome, refuge and sanctuary. It addresses the transnational and transcultural environment of creative/cultural production globally, and specifically in Ireland, while highlighting the central role of public outreach programmes concerning migration.

The course connects rigorous academic investigations with the enhancement of professional skills related to the world of work. In addition to core modules, students can select three options from a range of modules (from the Departments of English, History, Media Studies, Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge (Modern Irish), as well as the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures). The modules address the centrality of language and translation, narrative (literary, historical, everyday) and archives, as well as artistic creativity and the imagination, in the negotiation of various issues. These include: human rights and humanitarianism, border-crossing and detention, labour migration and human trafficking, asylum and sanctuary, diaspora and exile, citizenship and rights to the city, social and spatial justice, the construction of ‘race’ and ethnic boundaries, gender and sexuality rights, multiculturalism and interculturalism, transcultural memory and integration, globalisation and cosmopolitics, representation and public discourse.

The programme includes a public engagement module that aims at introducing students to a range of practice-based engagements with migration in the cultural sector in Ireland, including attending on-campus talks delivered by practitioners in the field and undertaking off-campus observation of specific activities in relevant institutions.

Further information is available here.

MA in Creative Writing

The MA in Creative Writing combines workshops and seminars with one-on-one mentoring of writing projects. Students may take optional modules in literature or other creative modules from across the Faculty, such as Writing for Screen Media. Assessment is through shorter pieces of writing, such as craft essays and reflective journals, and a longer project.

The MA, taught by award-winning, internationally-renowned writers, will focus on guiding each student to further develop their voice as a writer, as well as to enrich their existing interests as a writer with new perspectives and a grasp of stylistic approaches. Tactics for editing and revision will be taught in tandem with generative exercises and practices aimed at deepening each student’s relationship to their creative process.

Students will have the opportunity to build and develop networks which will sustain their writing practice beyond the MA degree. 

MLitt (Research) and PhD in English

The English Department has a very active research culture, which includes students working towards the degrees of PhD and MLitt.  Research degrees consist of independent research, under the supervision of a faculty member, that take place within the context of a structured programme in which students, over the course of their degree, also take a variety of modules. These include credit given for participation in the Department's regular staff-student research seminar, the Generic Skills modules offered on a Faculty-wide basis, and other, more specialised modules.  However, the core of a research degree in English remains a substantial research project, carried on under the supervision of a member of faculty.

We also accept applications from postdoctoral students interested in becoming affiliated with the Department through fellowship schemes such as those offered by the IRCHSS, and encourage prospective research students to apply for a Hume Fellowship.

Please click here for further information and application procedures for the MLitt in English. Please click here for further information and application procedures for the PhD in English.

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Doctoral Research Scholarships at the School of English

The School of English

Dublin City University

Doctoral Research Scholarships 2024-2025

DCU School of English is a dynamic research-focused school with expertise in a variety of literary eras and genres. As part of our commitment to excellence in postgraduate research the School of English is pleased to offer a scholarship for a full-time PhD student commencing September 2024. The successful candidate will receive a stipend of €22,000 per annum and have their fees paid for up to four years, subject to satisfactory annual progression.

Eligibility:

Applicants should have a relevant undergraduate degree at first-class honours level or at least 2.1 level. It is desirable that they should hold a relevant master’s qualification. Candidates who are currently completing a master’s qualification are welcome to apply. Candidates must be available to register and begin full-time research before December 2024.

The School of English is seeking research proposals relating to ecocritical approaches to postcolonial literature(s). Applications that consider Irish and/or Caribbean writing are particularly welcome but all proposals relevant to this area will be considered.

Scholarship Application Procedure:

Please send email applications to Dr. Ellen Howley, School of English, at  [email protected]  indicating  School of English PhD Scholarship  in the subject line. In advance of submission, please refer to the DCU School of English advice on writing a research proposal, available here:  https://www.dcu.ie/english/writing-research-proposal-school-english  

Applications should include the following:

• A CV including names and contact details of two academic referees.
• A copy of undergraduate and postgraduate degree certificates.
• Copies of transcripts from undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
• A letter outlining the candidate’s suitability for the scholarship.
• A research proposal of  c. 3000 words accompanied by a bibliography (which is not included in the word count).

Dr Ellen Howley, Assistant Professor, School of English at:  [email protected]  

Other useful resources :

DCU Graduate Studies Office:  http://dcu.ie/graduatestudies/index.shtml

Closing date for final applications:

Friday, June 28 th 2024 at 5 p.m.

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Literature & Culture

This course is available through the following application route(s)

Video with Text

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/

About This Course

What will i learn.

• Articulate knowledge, arguments and ideas clearly and effectively through essays, presentations and proposals
• Be effective independent researchers, who can identify a viable research topic and develop this into a research project
• Demonstrate a developed awareness of historical contexts, theoretical positions and the range of literary and/or cultural production appropriate to their chosen specialization
• Demonstrate an enhanced knowledge of literary and cultural analysis, including methodology, in their chosen disciplines and fields
• Demonstrate mastery of advanced techniques in the use of archival and digital resources
• Demonstrate their facility as readers, thinkers and writers, with advanced skills in detailed textual analysis and close reading
• Make connections across different time periods and cultures, and identify key aesthetic/cultural/social movements in their chosen specialization

View All Modules

Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

B) Min 2 of: B) Min 2 of: B) Min 2 of: B) Min 2 of: B) Min 2 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of: C) Min 3 of:

Testimonial

Leanne Waters MA 2015, PhD 2018

I chose this MA because of the depth and expansiveness of the course. Students engaged with an exciting range of literary material and cultural issues such as globalisation, art and the metropolis, sexuality and the body. Approachable lecturers provided a stimulating and open environment that fostered critical thinking, while small seminar groups meant that we were able to explore the material and ideas exhaustively, as well as make some lasting friendships. The dissertation module and the pre-requisite module on research methods prepared me for the challenging, but very rewarding, world of independent research. The research skills I learned have been essential to my subsequent PhD work, and have significantly improved my aptitude and desirability to employers in a range of work environments.

Fees, Funding and Scholarships

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.

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 ​

Who Should Apply?

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

This programme is of interest to anyone who has a passion for literature and cultural production in English. It will suit those who want to put a ‘capstone’ on their BA work, but also those who are considering a PhD.

How to Apply

General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to Literature & Culture :

Literature & Culture

Literature & Culture
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Further Information

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.

Ask a Question:

English Language and Literature MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

One of the highest-ranking English departments in the UK ( The Guardian University Guide 2023 - English ), UCL English provides excellent opportunities for PhD students to study in the heart of literary London, with access to vast quantities of resources and research materials, and a high number of academic staff working on a diverse range of specialist research topics.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

• Entry requirements

An undergraduate degree in English Literature or a related subject is a pre-requisite for this programme, and a UK Master's degree in a relevant discipline, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard will normally be required. Research degree students are expected to start in September, but may request to start in January if there are exceptional reasons to do so. Applicants who wish to be considered for AHRC/ LAHP funding must have submitted a complete application by 5 January 2024.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

With access to vast collections of research materials and supervision from world-leading experts* in a wide range of literary periods and topics, UCL provides an exceptionally strong environment in which to study for an English PhD. UCL English Department has specialists in every period of English and American literature, as well as English language, with an outstanding record of internationally recognised scholarship and publications. A PhD in English at UCL will allow you to pursue original research and make a significant contribution to your field. 

Students accepted for admission are given a principal supervisor with whom they will work closely during the course of the degree. A subsidiary supervisor is also appointed to provide additional advice. Great importance is attached to matching student and supervisor, and ensuring that students' progress is well monitored. Students meet either one or other supervisor approximately ten times during the academic year.

Graduate students initially register for the MPhil degree, but usually upgrade to full PhD student status in the second year, if progress is satisfactory. (The English Department does not offer a standalone research Master's programme, nor is it possible to be admitted as a PhD student directly.) In addition to the upgrade review in the second year, progress is also reviewed at the end of each year. Students who are making good progress will usually be offered opportunities to gain teaching experience from the second year onwards.

There are normally about 45 students undertaking research degrees in the department. They form a diverse, friendly, and vibrant intellectual community. There is a full programme of departmental research seminars at which papers are given by invited speakers and graduate students, and students also have access to a wide range of seminars and research events across UCL and the University of London. Research skills training is provided both within and beyond the department.

PhD students at UCL have access to an incomparable range of libraries, including the British Library and Senate House Library (the library of the University of London). They can also apply to spend a period as a visiting scholar at Yale as part of the UCL-Yale Collaborative Partnership.

Who this course is for

This programme is suitable for applicants with a strong interest or background in a wide range of literary periods or in English Linguistics, and who want to do complete research alongside specialists in literature in English and linguistics of the English language. The programme is suitable for both recent Masters graduates as well as early or mid-career professionals who have achieved the stated entry requirements.

What this course will give you

As one of the most respected academic institutions in the world ( QS World University Rankings 2023 ), UCL is an excellent place to study for a PhD in English. Our PhD students benefit from specialist supervision by world-leading researchers* as well as access to the outstanding range of research resources available to them in London.

The clear structure of the PhD programme, with regular progress reviews, supports successful completion, while the training courses offered by the department and UCL enable the development of both specific research skills and the professional skills needed for an academic career.

The relatively small department also offers many opportunities for formal and informal intellectual exchanges and collaborations, supported by our programme of research seminars. Many of our students also make the most of UCL’s partnership with Yale to spend a period of study there.

PhD students in English at UCL acquire advanced skills of the highest calibre as researchers, writers, and presenters of their work. They will also usually gain experience of teaching (both tutorials and seminars).

*UCL English has an outstanding research record, with 94% of our research outputs being graded as 4* 'world leading' or 3* 'internationally excellent' in the REF 2021.

The foundation of your career

The English Department is proud of its PhD alumni and values its ongoing relationship with them. We welcome alumni to departmental events, and encourage them to keep in touch with us at [email protected] . For more information on UCL’s wider alumni community, please see our website .

Employability

Our PhD graduates have an excellent record of securing employment in institutions of higher education and have progressed to academic positions here at UCL, at Oxford and Cambridge, in the wider University of London, at other universities across the UK, and in international destinations including the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. They are also well placed to pursue careers outside academia, as the skills in research, analysis, writing, and communication obtained during the PhD transfer easily to high-level work in many sectors.

Networking both among students and with academic staff and visiting speakers is facilitated by our lively programme of departmental research seminars, as well as our various reading groups and events. Beyond the department, extensive opportunities to meet fellow specialists and exchange knowledge and ideas are offered by the events programmes of the UCL Institute for Advanced Studies, the University of London Institute of English Studies, and numerous other research institutions near UCL and across London.

Teaching and learning

The MPhil/PhD degree programme primarily consists of independent research and self-directed study, and the central work of defining a thesis topic, and planning the stages of research and writing, is undertaken in close consultation with the primary supervisor. You will also undertake skills training that may take the form of seminars, workshops, and conferences. 

Graduate students initially register for the MPhil degree, but upgrade to full PhD student status at the start of the second year, if progress is satisfactory.

In addition to the upgrade review at the start of the second year, progress is also reviewed at the end of the first year, in the first-year review, where the student submits a portfolio to their supervisory team, and at the Higher Degrees Sub Committee (HDSC) in their third year, where a submitted portfolio is assessed by a panel of senior academics in the department. A successful performance at the HDSC normally means the student will achieve Completing Research Student (CRS) status. Students who are making good progress will usually be offered opportunities to gain teaching experience from the second year onwards.

The MPhil/PhD degree programme consists of independent research and self-directed study. There are no set contact hours for the programme, but it is expected that your hours of study will mirror that of staff engagement as closely as possible (and this should be pro-rata for part-time study). If you have external funding, you should also ensure that you meet the Terms & Conditions of your funder in this regard. You will typically meet with your supervisory team up to ten times per academic year, and you will also undertake skills training that may take the form of seminars, workshops, and conferences.

Research areas and structure

We offer expertise in a wide range of topics within the field of English literature and language. Some areas in which the department would particularly welcome applications are:

• Old and Middle English literature and manuscript studies
• Relations between English and insular and continental French writings from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries
• Post-medieval bibliography and palaeography
• History of the book, textual and editorial theory and practice in all periods
• Shakespeare studies, including Shakespeare’s London
• The literature of the Elizabethan court
• Women writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
• Classicism in seventeenth and eighteenth-century literary culture
• Literature and science in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
• Revolutionary Writings in the Romantic period
• Homosexuality and literary history
• Literature and technology in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century literature
• Victorian and Edwardian writings on sexuality and adolescence
• Contemporary poetry
• Postmodern fiction
• London in literature/urban literature
• English grammar
• English language
• The history of the English language
• Corpus linguistics

You can read about our staff research interests on our website .

Research environment

UCL English has, throughout its history, been a pioneer in the study of English language and English literature, from Old English to contemporary texts. The department comprises a dynamic community of scholars with a breadth of expertise across literary periods and topics, as well as in language and linguistics. The comparatively small size of the department creates a friendly, inclusive research environment, with close contact between staff and students and many opportunities for intellectual exchange and collaboration.

Members of the English department have expertise in a wide range of approaches to English literature and language. Many of our literary research activities are organised around the key themes of The City, Editions, and Intercultural Exchanges, while our research in English Language is co-ordinated by the renowned Survey of English Usage. The department hosts regular research seminars at which PhD students, members of staff, and visiting speakers present their work; these include a themed strand of seminars on Race, Power, and Poetics. There are also many more seminars, reading groups and research events, both within the department, at the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies, and at the University of London’s Institute of English Studies. The department’s PhD students organise an annual Graduate Conference, where UCL speakers are joined by others from across the UK and beyond to share their research. They also publish Moveable Type, a peer-reviewed journal of academic articles, poetry and prose fiction.

UCL Library has outstanding physical and digital collections for literary research, as well as specialist materials in its excellent Special Collections department. Among these are the George Orwell Archive; Little Magazines; the Routledge and Kegan Paul Archives (publishing history); the Brougham Papers and papers of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (19th-century liberalism); and the Chadwick Papers (19th-century sanitary reform). UCL Library also has superb holdings in London history. We enjoy unrivalled proximity to the British Library, with its vast collections, and Senate House Library (the library of the University of London), as well as other rich research resources including the Institute of Historical Research, the Warburg Institute, and the Wellcome Collection.

The period of registration for the MPhil/PhD degree programme is 3 years for full-time study. You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade review 9-18 months after initial registration.

Throughout your period of registration, you will meet regularly with your supervisory team, receiving feedback on work-in-progress. Regular completion of an online research log will help you and your supervisors to assess your specific training needs. The English Department provides a course in PhD Skills Training; many further training opportunities are also offered by the UCL Doctoral Skills Development Programme and LAHP (the London Arts and Humanities Partnership).

To ensure timely and successful completion of the thesis, the English Department formally reviews each student’s progress at regular intervals (usually the end of each year) by requiring submission of a dossier of work which is discussed in an interview. The most important of these reviews falls during your second year (9-18 months from registration) and will assess your readiness to transfer from MPhil to full PhD student status.

Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may apply for a further period of 1 year as a Completing Research Student (CRS) to prepare your thesis for submission. The final degree assessment takes the form of an oral examination based on the thesis and is conducted by two examiners, usually one internal and one external.

The period of registration for the MPhil/PhD degree programme is 5 years for part-time study. You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade review 15-30 months after initial registration for part-time study.    Throughout your period of registration, you will meet regularly with your supervisory team, receiving feedback on work-in-progress. Regular completion of an online research log will help you and your supervisors to assess your specific training needs. The English Department provides a course in PhD Skills Training; many further training opportunities are also offered by the UCL Doctoral Skills Development Programme and LAHP (the London Arts and Humanities Partnership).   To ensure timely and successful completion of the thesis, the English Department formally reviews each student’s progress at regular intervals (usually the end of each year) by requiring submission of a dossier of work which is discussed in an interview. The most important of these reviews falls during your second or third year (15-30 months from registration) for part-time study, and will assess your readiness to transfer from MPhil to full PhD student status.   Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may apply for a further period of 2 years (for part-time students) as a Completing Research Student (CRS) to prepare your thesis for submission. The final degree assessment takes the form of an oral examination based on the thesis and is conducted by two examiners, usually one internal and one external.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£6,035	£3,015
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£28,100	£14,050

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .

Additional costs

Additional costs may include expenses such as books, stationery, printing or photocopying, and conference registration fees.

The Department has some funds which can be applied for, to help offset the cost of travel to conferences or archives in the UK or overseas.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

AHRC grants are available for UK/EU English PhD applicants who are applying to start a research degree in 2024. Applications are made directly to the London Arts and Humanities Partnership, who administer the awarding of AHRC funding at UCL. AHRC funding covers all fees, as well as providing a stipend for living expenses, for three years. If you have any questions about the application process please contact [email protected] .

UCL's Research Excellence Scholarships are available for UK/EU/Overseas applicants starting in 2024 and provides full funding including a stipend for living allowance for the length of the programme.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

Quirk PhD Scholarship

Deadline: 26 January 2024 Value: Fees and maintenance (3yrs) Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need Eligibility: UK

We recommend that applicants look at our list of staff on the UCL English website before submitting an application. Whilst potential supervisors are unable to accept a PhD student without a formal application form, we attach great importance to the match between supervisors and students, so please check that we have a member of teaching staff who could potentially supervise your project before applying. Applicants who are interested in applying for AHRC funding via the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) must submit completed applications (including references) by 5 January 2024 (you will also need to complete a LAHP application form: see the LAHP website for details).

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

Got questions get in touch.

English Language and Literature

[email protected]

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Department of English Language and Literature

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• PhD in British/Irish Literature

PhD in British and Irish Literary Studies

Our concentration in british and irish literary studies (bils) offers concentrations in three areas:.

• Early Modern Studies
• British and Irish Eighteenth and Nineteenth Literary Studies
• Modern British Literature

The PhD in Language and Literature degree with a concentration in BILS requires 51 hours of coursework, comprehensive exams in three areas, a Foreign Language requirement, and a doctoral dissertation. Typically, PhD students have recently completed a Master’s degree in English with something in excess of 30 semester hours. The English department accepts up to 24 of those hours toward the PhD degree, leaving students 30 hours of regular course work to complete from the time of matriculation.   The PhD requires a minimum of four years of extended study to master a specific subject completely and to extend the body of knowledge about that subject. Applicants should already possess a Master’s degree in English or a related discipline. 

Note: Students who did graduate work in a discipline other than English likely will not transfer the full 24 hours to the PhD program. Such students will need to complete more than 30 hours of regular course work before moving on to the dissertation. The Associate Chair of Graduate Studies (ACGS) and the Committee on Studies (CoS) determine the number of hours students are able to transfer to the PhD.

Required Coursework (51 hrs)

(for complete requirements, see the Graduate Handbook)

As explained above, PhD students must take 51 hours of course work before taking the Comprehensive Examinations and moving on to the dissertation. These hours must be distributed as follows:

Core Course (3 hrs)

• Engl. 500: Introduction to the Professional Study of English (3 hrs) (Must be taken in the first semester of graduate study)

Distribution Requirements (15 hrs)

Students must take 15 hours of coursework in Language, Theory, and Pedagogy, as described below.

Language and Theory (9 hrs)

Students must take a total of nine hours from Language and Theory courses, at least three of which are from Language and three from Theory courses.

Language (at least 3 hrs from the following)

• Engl. 541: English Grammar (3 hrs)
• Engl. 545: History of the English Language (3 hrs)
• Engl. 547: Old English (3 hrs)
• Engl. 548: Beowulf and Other Topics (3 hrs)
• Engl. 549: Middle English Language (3 hrs)

Theory (at least 3 hrs from the following)

• Engl. 510: Criticism and Theory (3 hrs)
• Engl. 511: Special Topics: Criticism and Theory; Literacy and Cultural Movements (3 hrs)
• Engl. 540: Topics in Language or Rhetoric (3 hrs)
• Engl. 542: Major Texts in Rhetoric (3 hrs)
• Engl. 543: Contemporary Texts in Rhetoric (3 hrs)
• Engl. 610: Studies in Criticism and Theory (3 hrs)

Pedagogy (6 hrs)  

Students must take six hours of pedagogy courses from the following or from approved substitutions in other departments. (All new Teaching Assistants, including those who have previous teaching experience or similar course work elsewhere, are required to take Engl. 530, which is offered every Fall semester, in the first semester they begin teaching at UNM.)

• Engl. 530: Teaching Composition (required of all new TAs) (3 hrs)
• Engl. 533: Teaching Professional & Technical Writing  (3 hrs)
• Engl. 539: Composition Theory (3 hrs)
• Engl. 592: Teaching Literature (3 hrs)

Seminars (9 hrs) 

All PhD students must take at least three seminars offered in the English Department; these seminars are often, but not always, in their fields of study.

• Engl. 640: Studies in Language and Rhetoric (3 hrs)
• Engl. 650: Studies in British Literature (3 hrs)
• Engl. 660: Studies in American Literature (3 hrs)
• Engl. 680: Studies in Genre, Backgrounds, Forces (3 hrs)

Electives (24 hrs) 

The required courses above total 30 hours; students who have transferred 24 hours from the MA into the PhD will have fulfilled the minimum course requirements, excluding dissertation hours, required for the degree. Students who need more course credits, should fulfill their remaining hours with approved graduate courses in English or related disciplines under the advisement of the CoS and the ACGS.

All 54 regular course requirements must be completed before enrolling for dissertation hours, Engl. 699.

Dissertation (no fewer than 18 hrs)

• Engl. 699: Dissertation (3-12 hrs, no limit).

Language Skill Requirement

With the approval of the ACGS and COS, PhD students may satisfy the language skill requirement in one of two ways.

By demonstrating competency in two language skills. “Competency” can be demonstrated with a grade of B or better through a second semester, second-year level undergraduate course or through a graduate-level reading course in a language other than English. Students may use English 547 (Introduction to Old English) and 548 (Advanced Old English) to fulfill competency.

By demonstrating fluency in one language skill. “Fluency” can be demonstrated in one of several ways with a grade of B or better: through the second-semester, third-year level undergraduate course in a language other than English; or through two graduate-level reading courses in a language other than English. Students may use English 547 (Introduction to Old English), 548 (Advanced Old English), and an Old English 650 or another 548 to fulfill fluency.

Competency and Fluency can be demonstrated through coursework from previous institutions, coursework at UNM, or tests administered either by UNM or CLEP. The decision as to which research skills courses such as a computer-programming language and Statistics will satisfy the Department’s language requirements will be negotiated between the ACGS, COS, and appropriate faculty from other departments; other research tools may be approved in exceptional cases in which similar provisions must be made for rigorous academic study in the subject.

Note : Course credits for classes used to complete the language skill or research requirement cannot normally be counted toward the 51-hour requirement for regular course work.

Comprehensive Examinations

To ensure a thorough and broad knowledge of English as a discipline, the Department of English requires PhD students to take comprehensive examinations in three different fields. Under the advisement of the CoS, PhD students should select their three fields of study early in the course of their doctoral program, so that they can take course work that enhances their understanding of their three fields.

Dissertation Prospectus and Its Defense

After passing the Comprehensive Examinations, PhD students must organize a Dissertation Committee, write and submit a Dissertation Prospectus, and successfully defend the prospectus before the Dissertation Committee. The prospectus defense must be completed no later than six calendar months after passing the Comprehensive Examinations.

The PhD Dissertation

A dissertation is a formal, scholarly document, seldom less than 150 double-spaced pages and often much longer, which makes an original contribution to its field and shows a professional mastery of academic methods and materials. Few dissertations are written in less than a calendar year. PhD students who are also Teaching Assistants commonly find that the process takes two years. UNM requires that students must complete all degree requirements, including the dissertation and defense, within five years of advancing to candidacy (i.e. passing the Comprehensive Examinations).

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English (MA) [full-time/part-time]

Course overview, course outline, why choose this course, course fees.

• Find Out More

Watch course video presentation here .

The MA in English is ideal for students who wish to build on the foundations of their undergraduate degrees by pursuing more advanced studies in English at postgraduate level, yet who also wish to retain the intellectual breadth of addressing a variety of literature, past and present. This MA offers an intensive specialist training in the study of literary texts and theories, and students explore sources as diverse as vellum manuscripts, serialised novels, contemporary bestsellers, digital texts or films.

The MA in English has two main strands: the taught classes (from a wide selection of modules) and the independent research project (the dissertation). This two-fold dimension enables students to develop their knowledge and skill with the guidance of lecturers in the taught coursework and to develop a substantial autonomous research and writing project.

English at NUI Galway has a number of particular research strengths in areas such as Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Book History, Theatre History, and Colonialism and Travel Writing. The MA in English allows students to take advantage of these and other areas while also pursuing their own topics of individual interest.

Applications and Selections

Applications are made online via the University of Galway  Postgraduate Applications System . 

IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent at least is expected, if applicable.

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Entry requirements.

BA in an Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences discipline with a minimum result of H2.2 overall, with a H2.1 in English, or an equivalent international qualification (e.g., BA with minimum GPA of 3.0 for North American applicants). IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent if applicable.

(Please visit this website for detail of any supporting documents that may be required when applying to this course.)

Additional Requirements

Recognition of prior learning (rpl).

Candidates who do not meet the minimum entry criteria are encouraged to contact the programme director to discuss eligibility under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. Such candidates may be interviewed to ascertain their suitability for the programme.

Further information is available from the Programme Director and on the University’s Recognition of Prior Learning website .

1 year full-time | 2 years part-time

Next start date

September 2024

A Level Grades ()

Average intake, qqi/fet fetac entry routes, closing date.

Please view Review Dates .

Mode of study

Ects weighting, course code.

Students take one core taught module (Writing and Research). In this module students study some indispensable works of literary theory and criticism, develop their critical thinking and refine their skills in writing, research methods and the use of libraries and other scholarly resources. Students learn how to design, revise and carry out a credible dissertation plan. Students choose a further five elective taught modules from a wide range of options in the areas of literature (e.g., Shakespeare, Old and Middle English, American literature, Dickens, travel literature), literary theory (e.g., narratology) and cultural and social theory as well as in the cognate areas of film studies, drama, Irish studies, digital humanities and journalism (e.g., textual studies, book history, colonialism, film theory, Beckett, Wilde, digital film, Irish modernity). The coursework takes place during term, and work on the dissertation spans the second semester for full-time students, or fourth semester for part-time students, and the summer after coursework has been concluded. The dissertation is 15,000 words long and is submitted in early August.

Modules potentially on offer each year include ones on Book History, Literature & Colonialism, Introduction to Digital Humanities, Cinema & Politics, Textual Studies, Medieval Aesthetics and Poetic Art, Thinking About Theatre, Young Ireland to the Free State: Writing in English 1849–1922, Critical Approaches, Representations of the Book in Literature and Film, Early Modern Print and Manuscript Cultures, Approaches to Culture & Colonialism, Travel Literature, Aspects of Old and Middle English Literature, Irish Drama and Theatre, The Nineteenth-Century Century Literary Marketplace, Nineteenth Century Periodicals and Serial Fiction, and Literature of North America, among others.

Module details for full-time course

Module details for part-time course, curriculum information, glossary of terms, year 1 (90 credits), career opportunities.

The taught coursework on this programme will enable students to extend their knowledge of English beyond the boundaries of their undergraduate experience and to develop a range of important and transferable skills that will serve them well in the job market, or in further education, for example on a PhD programme. Students will learn how to achieve a regular habit of research and writing, meet deadlines, give persuasive, well-researched talks and presentations, use libraries and resources effectively, articulate ideas to others, work in a team, write well, and revise, edit and improve drafts of written work. These are valuable skills that will translate easily into a wide range of careers. Graduates of this programme are well placed to succeed in arts administration, teaching, creative writing, PR, research, broadcasting, publishing, journalism, non-fiction writing and marketing.  

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning outcomes, transferable skills employers value.

Graduates of the MA in English will be able to: 

• Demonstrate a breadth of understanding of a range of approaches to the study of literary texts and other cultural artefacts 
• Evaluate received knowledge and articulate their own contribution to the existing scholarship 
• Select and apply a variety of critical approaches to the study of literature 
• Retrieve, select, sift, and deploy a range of sources to support original arguments 
• Apply enhanced critical thinking and analytical skills to their object of study 
• Plan, manage, and execute a substantial independent study project 
• Reflect deeply on a range of research perspectives, topics, and approaches related to the object of study 
• Exhibit the ability to self-assess and self-direct 

Work Placement

Related student organisations, fees: tuition, fees: student levy, fees: non eu.

Student levy €140—payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.  Further detail  here .

Find out More

Dermot Burns   T: +353 91 493 974   E: [email protected]  

www.universityofgalway.ie/english Quick Links

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What Our Students Say

Madeline Stephens |   Student

The decision to pursue the MA in English at NUI Galway was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only has it allowed me to further explore my areas of interest, but it has challenged me to become a better student, scholar, and world citizen. The course has allowed me to be surrounded by other students who share a love for literature and has allowed me to explore works of great authors in new and interesting ways. From our core module to our electives, the MA in English has prepared me to continue my advancement in understanding the subject while also giving me the tools to make a real impact in my chosen field. Whether you are from Ireland or an International Student like myself, NUI Galway is a school known for its quality of education and advanced curriculum. Taking on an MA in English was something that I always dreamt of doing, and NUI Galway made that a possibility. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had, the friends and connections I have made, and the knowledge I have received. J.R.R. Tolkein wrote, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us", and choosing this course is time well spent.

What Our Graduates Say

Aimee McDermott |   Graduate

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the MA in English. It's the perfect course for anyone who has a passion for literature. The variety of modules available meant that I could create a course full of content that was specific to my personal interests and encouraged me devise my own research topics throughout. It also meant that everyone had different fields of study to bring to the table in group discussions. The small classes were the perfect environment for exploring various perspectives on texts and avenues of research, which could have been daunting at an undergraduate level. The best part about this course is the freedom to curate your own academic style alongside the constant awareness of support, encouragement, and guidance from the lecturers and academic staff involved in the programme.

Clare Robinson |   Graduate

I wholeheartedly recommend the Masters in English programme to prospective students. The course enabled me to refine my research skills beyond my expectations, particularly my ability to critical approach texts, write clearly and concisely, and engage in scholarship ethically. I particularly appreciated working with a group of diverse international and local students in cross-disciplinary classes. Our current course head Dr. Frances McCormack and our other instructors are genuinely kind and extremely supportive. Graduates of this programme will be prepared for whatever comes next, whether continuing your post-graduate studies or beginning a career outside academia.

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English Literature, Ph.D. / M.Phil.

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Are you a UK or International Student?

Contribute to a thriving research community by undertaking original research, key course details.

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 4,786

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 2,393

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 18,750

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 9,400

Course Overview

A PhD or MPhil in English Literature enables you to undertake a substantial independent research project, which should be of a publishable standard. It takes three years full-time or six years part-time, and the MPhil takes two years full-time or four years part-time.

You submit a thesis of up to 100,000 words for PhD assessment and 60,000 words for MPhil assessment, demonstrating original research with a significant contribution to the subject area. This is followed by an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination, or viva). Related research groups:

• The Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Research (MEMO)
• The Centre for research into Gender in Culture and Society (GENCAS)
• Centre for Research into the English literature and language of Wales (CREW)

We offer supervision in most areas of literature from the middle ages to the present. Our particular research strengths include:

• Welsh writing in English
• American literature
• Medieval, renaissance, eighteenth and nineteenth-century writing and culture
• Modernism and postmodernism
• Irish poetry
• Contemporary literature
• Critical and cultural theory
• Science Fiction and Ecology/Environmentalism
• Human-Animal Studies

Your project will be agreed in consultation with supervisors and we recommend these discussions are started before applying, to help draw up an initial proposal. There are no taught PhD classes but upon request you may attend MA modules relevant to your thesis. You typically undertake a number of distinct but related research studies that ultimately form the basis of your dissertation.

You will develop and hone research skills needed for high-level work in any field of English literature, while skills and training programmes available on campus provide further support. You will have the opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars, and at the School of Culture and Communication Postgraduate conference.

You may also have the chance to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars from the second year, for which you receive training and payment. Financial support is also provided (subject to approval) for attending conferences or conducting research away from Swansea.

The Research Excellence Framework 2014 reported on postgraduate research in the department:

• The environment in the Department is ‘conducive to producing research of mostly at least internationally excellent and at its best world-leading quality'
• ‘Arrangements for postgraduates were deemed of world-leading quality'
• ‘There is clear evidence of the development of a research culture into which research students are fully integrated'
• ‘There are excellent arrangements for support, training and employability’.

Entry Requirements

MPhil:  Applicants for MPhil must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University). See our Country Specific Postgraduate Entry Requirements.

PhD:  Applicants for PhD must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See our Country Specific Postgraduate Entry Requirements.

English Language IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent.  Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

As well as academic qualifications, Admissions decisions may be based on other factors, including (but not limited to): the standard of the research synopsis/proposal, performance at interview, intensity of competition for limited places, and relevant professional experience.

Reference Requirement

As standard, two references are required before we can progress applications to the College/School research programme Admissions Tutor for consideration.

Applications received without two references attached are placed on hold, pending receipt of the outstanding reference(s). Please note that any protracted delay in receiving the outstanding reference(s) may result in the need to defer your application to a later potential start point/entry month, than what you initially listed as your preferred start option.

You may wish to consider contacting your referee(s) to assist in the process of obtaining the outstanding reference(s) or alternatively, hold submission of application until references are sourced. Please note that it is not the responsibility of the University Admissions Office to obtain missing reference(s) after our initial email is sent to your nominated referee(s), requesting a reference(s) on your behalf.

The reference can take the form of a letter on official headed paper, or via the University’s standard reference form.  Click this link to download the university reference form .

Alternatively, referees can email a reference from their employment email account, please note that references received via private email accounts, (i.e. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail) cannot be accepted.

References can be submitted to  [email protected] .

The reference can take the form of a letter on official headed paper, or via the University’s standard reference form. Click this link to download the university reference form .

References can be submitted to [email protected] .

How you are Supervised

You will be closely supervised by two experienced academics with relevant expertise throughout the course of the project. This takes the form of fortnightly meetings in your first term and meetings at regular agreed intervals thereafter.

We take care to ensure that each MPhil/PhD student has the expert supervision required to complete their project within the candidature period. You will have a minimum of two supervisors based in the Department. Upon receipt of your application, we will identify supervisors whose research expertise matches your chosen topic.  

You will usually meet your supervisors once a month, and possibly more often at critical stages of your candidature, including preparing for final submission. When you start the degree, you will work out a research plan with your supervisors. Nine months into your candidature, you will present a first piece of substantial writing (e.g. draft thesis chapter) and a detailed thesis plan. Thereafter, the University will assess your progress every 6 months. M.Phil students are eligible to apply for an upgrade to a Ph.D if they demonstrate the ability to perform at doctoral level.

Welsh Provision

Tuition fees, ph.d. 3 year full time.

Start Date	UK	International
October 2024	£ 4,786	£ 18,750
January 2025	£ 4,786	£ 18,750
April 2025	£ 4,786	£ 18,750
July 2025	£ 4,786	£ 18,750

Ph.D. 6 Year Part Time

Start Date	UK	International
October 2024	£ 2,393	£ 9,400
January 2025	£ 2,393	£ 9,400
April 2025	£ 2,393	£ 9,400
July 2025	£ 2,393	£ 9,400

M.Phil. 2 Year Full Time

M.phil. 4 year part time.

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page .

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page .

International students and part-time study: It may be possible for some students to study part-time under the Student Visa route. However, this is dependent on factors relating to the course and your individual situation. It may also be possible to study with us if you are already in the UK under a different visa category (e.g. Tier 1 or 2, PBS Dependant, ILR etc.). Please visit the University information on Visas and Immigration for further guidance and support.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page .

Funding and Scholarships

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.

Government funding is now available for Welsh, English and EU students starting eligible postgraduate research programmes at Swansea University. To find out more, please visit our postgraduate loans page.

To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offer a number of generous scholarships and bursaries for students who wish to study through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. For further information about the opportunities available to you, visit the Academi Hywel Teifi Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Additional Costs

Access to your own digital device/the appropriate IT kit will be essential during your time studying at Swansea University. Access to wifi in your accommodation will also be essential to allow you to fully engage with your programme. See our dedicated webpages for further guidance on suitable devices to purchase, and for a full guide on getting your device set up .

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but not limited to):

• Travel to and from campus
• Printing, photocopying, binding, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
• Purchase of books or texts
• Gowns for graduation ceremonies

How to Apply

Apply online and track your application status at  www.swansea.ac.uk/applyonline .

Suggested Application Timings

In order to allow sufficient time for consideration of your application by an academic, for potential offer conditions to be met and travel / relocation, we recommend that applications are made before the dates outlined below. Please note that applications can still be submitted outside of the suggested dates below but there is the potential that your application/potential offer may need to be moved to the next appropriate intake window.

October Enrolment

UK Applicants – 15th August

EU/International applicants – 15th July

January Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th November

EU/International applicants – 15th October

April Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th February

EU/International applicants – 15th January

July Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th May

EU/International applicants – 15th April

EU students - visa and immigration information is available and will be regularly updated on our information for EU students page.

PhD Programme Specification

Award Level (Nomenclature)	PhD in English Literature
Programme Title	English Literature
Director of Postgraduate Research	Dr Kathryn Jones
Awarding Body	Swansea University
College/School	College of Arts and Humanities
Subject Area	English
Frequency of Intake	October, January, April, July
Location	Singleton Campus
Mode of Study	Full/Part time
Duration/Candidature	3/6 years
FHEQ Level	8
External Reference Points	QAA Qualification Descriptors for FHEQ Level 8
Regulations	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body Accreditation	N/A
	N/A
	English

This Programme Specification refers to the current academic year and provides indicative content for information. The University will seek to deliver each course in accordance with the descriptions set out in the relevant course web pages at the time of application. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision , either before or after enrolment.

Programme Summary 

This PhD in English Literature at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 100,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The PhD is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva voce). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences. There may also be opportunities to develop your teaching skills through undergraduate tutorials, demonstrations and seminars.

Programme Aims  

This PhD programme will provide doctoral researchers with:

• The opportunity to conduct high quality postgraduate research in a world leading research environment.
• Key skills needed to undertake advanced academic and non-academic research including qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Advanced critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and independent judgement.

Programme Structure

The programme comprises three key elements:

• Entry and confirmation of candidature
• Main body of research
• Thesis and viva voce

The programme comprises of the undertaking of an original research project of 3 years duration full time (6 years duration part time). Doctoral researchers may pursue the programme either full time or part time by pursuing research at the University at an external place of employment or with/at a University approved partner.

Doctoral researchers for the PhD in English Literature are examined in two parts. 

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 100,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination (viva voce).

Doctoral Researcher Supervision and Support

Doctoral researchers will be supervised by a supervisory team. Where appropriate, staff from Colleges/Schools other than the ‘home’ College/School (other Colleges/Schools) within the University will contribute to cognate research areas. There may also be supervisors from an industrial partner.

The Primary/First Supervisor will normally be the main contact throughout the doctoral research journey and will have overall responsibility for academic supervision. The academic input of the Secondary Supervisor will vary from case to case. The principal role of the Secondary Supervisor is often as a first port of call if the Primary/First Supervisor becomes unavailable. The supervisory team may also include a supervisor from industry or a specific area of professional practice to support the research. External supervisors may also be drawn from other Universities.

The primary supervisor will provide pastoral support. If necessary the primary supervisor will refer the  doctoral researcher to other sources of support (e.g. Wellbeing, Disability, Money Advice, IT, Library, Students’ Union, Academic Services, Student Support Services, Careers Centre). 

Programme Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this programme, doctoral researchers should be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding

• Demonstrate the systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of research through the development of a written thesis.
• Create, interpret, analyse and develop new knowledge through original research or other advanced scholarship. 
• Disseminate new knowledge gained through original research or other advanced scholarship via high quality peer reviewed publications within the discipline.
• Apply research skills and subject theory to the practice of research.
• Apply process and standards of a range of the methodologies through which research is conducted and knowledge acquired and revised. 

Attitudes and values

• Conceptualise, design and implement a project aimed at the generation of new knowledge or applications within English Literature.
• Make informed judgements on complex issues in the field of English Literature, often in the absence of complete data and defend those judgements to an appropriate audience.
• Apply sound ethical principles to research, with due regard for the integrity of persons and in accordance with professional codes of conduct.
• Demonstrate self-awareness of individual and cultural diversity, and the reciprocal impact in social interaction between self and others when conducting research involving people.

Research Skills

• Respond appropriately to unforeseen problems in project design by making suitable amendments.
• Communicate complex research findings clearly, effectively and in an engaging manner to both specialist (including the academic community), and non-specialist audiences using a variety of appropriate media and events, including conference presentations, seminars and workshops.
• Correctly select, interpret and apply relevant techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry.
• Develop the networks and foundations for on-going research and development within the discipline.
• Implement  advanced research skills to a substantial degree of independence.
• Locate information and apply it to research practice.

Skills and Competencies

• Display the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment, including the exercise of personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable situations, in professional or equivalent environments. 

Progression Monitoring

Progress will be monitored in accordance with Swansea University regulations. During the course of the programme, the Doctoral researcher is expected to meet regularly with their supervisors, and at most meetings it is likely that the doctoral researcher’s progress will be monitored in an informal manner in addition to attendance checks. Details of the meetings should ideally be recorded on the on-line system. A minimum of four formal supervision meetings is required each year, two of which will be reported to the Postgraduate Progression and Awards Board. During these supervisory meetings the doctoral researcher’s progress is discussed and formally recorded on the on-line system. 

Learning Development

The University offers training and development for Doctoral Researchers and supervisors.

Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Training Framework is structured into sections, to enable doctoral researchers to navigate and determine appropriate courses aligned to both their interest and their candidature stage. 

There is a training framework including for example areas of Managing Information and Data, Presentation and Public Engagement, Leadership and working with others, Safety Integrity and Ethics, Impact and Commercialisation and Teaching and Demonstrating. There is also range of support in areas such as training needs, literature searching, conducting research, writing up research, teaching, applying for grants and awards, communicating research and future careers.

A range of research seminars and skills development sessions are provided within the College of Arts and Humanities and across the University. These are scheduled to keep the doctoral researcher in touch with a broader range of material than their own research topic, to stimulate ideas in discussion with others, and to give them opportunities to such as defending their own thesis orally, and to identify potential criticisms. Additionally, the College of Arts and Humanities is developing a research culture that aligns with the University vision and will link with key initiatives delivered under the auspices of the University’s Academies, for example embedding the HEA fellowship for postgraduate research students.

Research Environment

Swansea University’s research environment combines innovation and excellent facilities to provide a home for multidisciplinary research to flourish. Our research environment encompasses all aspects of the research lifecycle, with internal grants and support for external funding and enabling impact/effect that research has beyond academia. 

Swansea University is very proud of our reputation for excellent research, and for the calibre, dedication, professionalism, collaboration and engagement of our research community. We understand that integrity must be an essential characteristic of all aspects of research, and that as a University entrusted with undertaking research we must clearly and consistently demonstrate that the confidence placed in our research community is rightly deserved. The University therefore ensures that everyone engaged in research is trained to the very highest standards of research integrity and conducts themselves and their research in a way that respects the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants, and minimises risks to participants, researchers, third parties, and the University itself.

College of Arts and Humanities

The College of Arts and Humanities was a major contributor to Swansea University’s top 30 position in the 2014 research assessment exercise, with 98% of its research impact earning a world leading 4* or internationally excellent 3* rating. 

The College conducts world leading research in English, Creative Writing and Applied Linguistics; History and Classics; Politics and International Relations; Media and Communication; Education and Lifelong Learning; and Modern Languages and Welsh. 

The College provides a vibrant research environment through conferences, seminars, workshops and training events organised by sixteen research centres and groups. As well as major disciplinary strengths, inter-disciplinary research is at the heart of what we do. We host an annual research conference open to all colleges, Research across Boundaries, and have particular inter-disciplinary strengths in Heritage and Development, Digital humanities and platforms, Medical humanities and wellbeing, and Global challenges.

The College is deeply committed to highly quality research which is intellectually innovative as well as having real world impacts. Research students and staff work closely together. As a result a strong culture has developed which provides a supportive and friendly environment for our thriving community of doctoral students from all over the world to develop as well-networked young researchers.

Career Opportunities

Having a PhD demonstrates that graduates can work effectively in a team, formulate, explore and communicate complex ideas and manage advanced tasks. Jobs in academia (eg postdoctoral research, lecturing), education, government, management, the public or private sector are possible. Examples include administrators, counsellors, marketing specialists, and researchers.

The Postgraduate Research Office Skills Development Team offer support and a training framework for example in creating a researcher profile based upon publications and setting up your own business. The Swansea Employability Academy assists students in future career opportunities, improving CVs, job applications and interview skills.

MPhil Programme Specification

Award Level (Nomenclature)	MPhil in English Literature
Programme Title	English Literature
Director of Postgraduate Research	Dr Kathryn Jones
Awarding Body	Swansea University
College/School	College of Arts and Humanities
Subject Area	English
Frequency of Intake	October, January, April, July
Location	Singleton Campus
Mode of Study	Full/Part time
Duration/Candidature	2/4 years
FHEQ Level	7
External Reference Points	QAA Qualification Descriptors for FHEQ Level 7
Regulations	Master of Philosophy
Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body Accreditation	N/A
	MA/MSc by Research
	English

Programme Summary

This MPhil in English Literature at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 60,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The Masters is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences. 

Programme Aims

This Masters programme will provide students with: 

• Key skills needed to undertake advanced academic and non-academic research including qualitative and quantitative data analysis
• Thesis and viva voce 

The programme comprises of the undertaking of an original research project of 2 years duration full time (4 years duration part time). Students may pursue the programme either full time or part time by pursuing research at the University at an external place of employment or with/at a University approved partner.

Students for the Masters in English Literature are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 60,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination ( viva voce ).

Supervision and Support 

Students will be supervised by a supervisory team. Where appropriate, staff from Colleges/Schools other than the ‘home’ College/School (other Colleges/Schools) within the University will contribute to cognate research areas. There may also be supervisors from an industrial partner.

The Primary/First Supervisor will normally be the main contact throughout the student journey and will have overall responsibility for academic supervision. The academic input of the Secondary Supervisor will vary from case to case. The principal role of the Secondary Supervisor is often as a first port of call if the Primary/First Supervisor becomes unavailable. The supervisory team may also include a supervisor from industry or a specific area of professional practice to support the research. External supervisors may also be drawn from other Universities.

The primary supervisor will provide pastoral support. If necessary the primary supervisor will refer the student to other sources of support (e.g. Wellbeing, Disability, Money Advice, IT, Library, Students’ Union, Academic Services, Student Support Services, Careers Centre).

• Demonstrate the systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge through the development of a written thesis.
• Create, interpret, analyse and develop new knowledge through original research or other advanced scholarship.  
• Apply process and standards of a range of the methodologies through which research is conducted and knowledge acquired and revised.
• Make informed judgements on complex issues in the field of English Literature often in the absence of complete data and defend those judgements to an appropriate audience. 
• Communicate complex research findings clearly, effectively and in an engaging manner to both specialist (including the academic community), and non-specialist audiences using a variety of appropriate media.
• Correctly select, interpret and apply relevant techniques for research and academic enquiry.
• Develop the foundations for on-going research and development within the discipline.
• Implement independent research skills.
• Display the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment, including the exercise of personal responsibility and initiative in complex situations.

Progress will be monitored in accordance with Swansea University regulations. During the course of the programme, the student is expected to meet regularly with their supervisors, and at most meetings it is likely that the student’s progress will be monitored in an informal manner in addition to attendance checks. Details of the meetings should ideally be recorded on the on-line system. A minimum of four formal supervision meetings is required each year, two of which will be reported to the Postgraduate Progression and Awards Board. During these supervisory meetings the student’s progress is discussed and formally recorded on the on-line system. 

Learning Development  

Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Training Framework is structured into sections, to enable students to navigate and determine appropriate courses aligned to both their interest and their candidature stage. 

A range of research seminars and skills development sessions are provided within the College of Arts and Humanities and across the University. These are scheduled to keep the student in touch with a broader range of material than their own research topic, to stimulate ideas in discussion with others, and to give them opportunities to such as defending their own thesis orally, and to identify potential criticisms. Additionally, the College of Arts and Humanities is developing a research culture that will align with the University vision and will link with key initiatives delivered under the auspices of the University’s Academies, for example embedding the HEA fellowship for postgraduate research students.

Research Environment  

Swansea University’s Research Environment combines innovation and excellent facilities to provide a home for multidisciplinary research to flourish. Our research environment encompasses all aspects of the research lifecycle, with internal grants and support for external funding and enabling impact/effect that research has beyond academia. 

The College provides a vibrant research environment through conferences, seminars, workshops and training events organised by sixteen research centres and groups. As well as major disciplinary strengths, inter-disciplinary research is at the heart of what we do. We host an annual research conference open to all colleges, Research across Boundaries, and have particular inter-disciplinary strengths in Heritage and Development, Digital humanities and platforms, Medical humanities and wellbeing, and Global challenges. 

Having a Master of Philosophy degree shows that you can communicate your ideas and manage tasks. Jobs in academia, education, government, management, the public or private sector are possible. 

GCSE results 2024: English and maths pass rate down

GCSE results have been released today across England, revealing that the percentage of students achieving pass grades in English and maths has fallen compared with last year - and that the gap between top grades achieved in private and state schools has increased.

The results are broadly similar to those of 2023 overall, with similar proportions of both top grades and students achieving a grade 4 or better.

However, there was a marked drop in the pass rate for English language GCSEs, which has mostly been driven by results for candidates aged 17 or over who were resitting the qualification.

Around four in five students aged 17 who took English language failed to achieve a grade 4 or better this year. (You can find our in-depth subject-by-subject breakdown here .)

Speaking in a Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) briefing this morning, Claire Thomson, AQA’s director of regulation and compliance, said the drop in pass rates was “largely around the 17-year-olds and over who are skewing the distributions. If you look at just the 16-year-olds, they are very stable with minimal movement over the years.

“The 17-and-over cohort has grown and come back over pre-pandemic levels, which is altering the results.”

Ofqual told examiners to proceed with “back to normal” grading standards this year after the two-step process to return to pre-pandemic grading was completed last year.

For 2024, examiners were asked to ensure the standard of work was comparable to 2023.

The 2023 GCSE results had seen a fall in the proportion of top grades awarded from 2022, bringing grade distribution more in line with 2019 levels. The proportion of top grades remained slightly above 2019 levels.

This year, examiners were asked by Ofqual to “bear in mind any residual impact of disruption on performance”.

Below are the key takeaways from this year’s GCSE results:

• GCSE grade spread similar to 2023
• English language resit passes down
• Private and state top grades gap increases
• Regions gap remains stable
• Gender gap narrows slightly
• Results in Wales and Northern Ireland

1. Grade spread similar to last year

Overall this year, 67.4 per cent of entries were awarded a grade 4/C or above. This is only slightly lower than last year, when 67.8 per cent of entries received a grade 4 or above.

In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, 67 per cent received a grade 4 or above.

For the higher grades, the overall proportion of entries achieving a grade 7/A or higher was 21.7 per cent. This is very similar to 2023, when it was 21.6 per cent.

And finally, in 2024, a very slightly higher proportion of entries managed to achieve grade 9 (5 per cent). In 2023 and 2019, 4.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent of overall entries got a grade 9 respectively.

2. English language resit passes down

Pass rates for English and maths GCSEs were down on last year. However, this was in part because of a marked drop in the number of students aged 17 or over who did achieve a grade 4 in English language.

Overall in English language, 61.6 per cent achieved a grade 4/C or higher, compared with 64.2 per cent in 2023 and 61.8 per cent in 2019.

The pass rate in English language for candidates who were 17 or older was 20.9 per cent this year in England - down from 25.9 per cent last year.

The results only for 16-year-old candidates saw 71.2 per cent of entries awarded grade 4 or above - very slightly down from 71.6 per cent last year.

The percentage of students achieving the grade they need to pass in maths (4) has fallen this year to 59.6 per cent. Last year, 61 per cent of students achieved grade 4 in maths.

The results for 16-year-old entries show that 72 per cent of students achieved grade 4 in maths this year, slightly down from 72.3 per cent last year.

For entries among students who are aged 17 or over, 17.4 per cent of entries achieved grade 4 or above - up from 16.4 per cent last year.

Overall, 40.4 per cent of entries failed to achieve grade 4 in maths, and 38.4 per cent in English language.

In English literature, 73.7 per cent of entries received a grade 4 or above, very slightly down from 73.9 per cent last year. However, this was still slightly above the last set of pre-pandemic results, as 73.4 per cent passed in 2019.

Last summer’s GCSE results saw an increase in the number of students failing to achieve a pass mark for English and maths, and therefore an increase in those having to resit in November.

However, less than a quarter of the students who took GCSE maths in November 2023 passed - meaning the majority failed their resits .

Leaders across the sector have called for reform to the GCSE resit system, as many students currently never pass. Earlier this week, Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said that the current system is “soul-destroying” , and called on the government to make a change.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that the current GCSE resit policy for English and maths “must be scrapped”.   “Those students who haven’t achieved the required grade are forced into repeated resits that are demotivating and can lead to disengagement with their learning,” he said.

Instead, Mr Whiteman said alternative qualifications in maths and English would be a more positive way for some students to demonstrate their achievements.

3. Private and state top grades gap increases

This year has also seen the gap between entries from academies and independent schools grow for achieving the top grades. Nearly half of entries from private schools achieved a grade 7/A or above (48.4 per cent), compared with 21.2 per cent of academies - a 27.2 percentage point gap.

Last year, there was a 26.5 percentage point gap between the proportion of entries from academies (21 per cent) and entries from independent schools (47.5 per cent) being awarded a grade 7 or above.

At secondary comprehensives, 19.4 per cent of entries achieved the top grades.

Statistics for independent schools also include city training colleges.

There was a slightly larger gap in 2023 between secondary comprehensive entries hitting the top grades (19.3 per cent) and independent schools of 28.2 percentage points.

However, the gap between school types was slightly lower in 2024 than in 2019, when there was a 27.5 percentage point between academies and independent schools and a 29.3 percentage point gap between comprehensive and private schools.

Schools minister Catherine McKinnell congratulated students and teachers on their achievements today but added: “While this is a moment to celebrate, I am deeply concerned about the inequalities in our education system with where you live and what type of school you attend still being too big an influence on your opportunities.”

4. Regions gap remains stable

The attainment gap between the North and South of England has also remained very similar to last year in terms of top grades.

The proportion of entries achieving a grade 7/A or above was lowest in the North East at 17.8 per cent. This is compared with London, where 28.5 per cent of entries made the grade 7/A.

Last year, the North East also saw the lowest proportion of top grades, with 17.6 per cent achieving a grade 7 or above. London remained the highest, with 28.4 per cent of entries being awarded those top grades.

That 10.8 percentage point gap was up from 9.3 percentage points in 2019. It has remained constant this year at 10.7 percentage points.

Senior leaders said earlier this year they were concerned about Year 11 exam readiness as absence remained high this spring term.

Absence has been particularly high among the most disadvantaged students. There is a higher proportion of disadvantaged students in the North.

Last week, education secretary Bridget Phillipson pledged to turn around “baked-in” educational inequalities and accused the previous government of leaving a legacy of regional “disparities” in exam outcomes and an attainment gap between private school students and their peers in state schools.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that the results show “significant differences” in regional outcomes for GCSEs in England.

“This suggests that relative levels of prosperity and socioeconomic disadvantage continue to play a huge part in educational outcomes,” he said. “Addressing these gaps must be a key priority for the new government working alongside the education sector.”

He added that “funding and teacher shortages, combined with post-pandemic issues around mental health, behaviour and attendance, have made circumstances particularly challenging”.

5. Gender gap narrows slightly

For 2024, the gender gap very slightly narrowed with 70.8 per cent of entries from girls achieving a grade 4/C or above compared with 64.1 per cent of boys - a 6.7 percentage point gap.

Last year, 71.3 per cent of all entries from girls achieved a grade 4 or above, compared with 64.4 per cent of entries from boys - a gap of 6.9 percentage points.

This 6.9 percentage point gap was narrower than in 2019, when 71.4 per cent of girls achieved a grade 4 or above compared with 62.7 per cent of boys.

Entries from girls were also more likely to receive top grades, with 24.4 per cent being awarded a grade 7/A, compared with 18.9 per cent of boys this year.

This was a slight narrowing of the gap from last year, when there was a 5.8 percentage point gap between girls and boys getting the top GCSE grades.

Girls continue to get more grade 9s than boys at 5.8 per cent of entries compared with 4.2 per cent.

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) highlighted recently that the gender gap that has seen girls generally attain higher for many years has been narrowing since the pandemic.

Up to 2023, this narrowing has not only been driven by some increases in attainment for boys at key stage 4, but also some falls in attainment for girls.

6. Wales and Northern Ireland: slight rise in top grades

In Northern Ireland, 31 per cent of GCSE students achieved a grade A/7 or above in 2024, compared with 30.5 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, 82.7 per cent of exam entries received a grade C/4 or above, similar to the 82.2 per cent of entries in 2019.

In Wales, 19.2 per cent of students achieved an A/7 or above, compared with 18.4 per cent in 2019. This year, 62.2 per cent of exam entries received a C/4 or above - only slightly lower than the 62.8 per cent of entries that achieved this in 2019.  

• GCSE results 2024: how did each subject perform?
• GCSE resits: everything you need to know
• How much does attendance really affect GCSE results?
• Government ‘should rethink soul-destroying resits’
• Concern over exams’ impact on student mental health  

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Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

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You are here Postgraduate > M.Phil. in Irish Writing

M.Phil. in Irish Writing

1 Year Full-Time or 2 Year Part-Time

This taught master’s programme allows you to engage with a wide range of Irish writing in English, from canonical figures such as Maria Edgeworth and W.B. Yeats to contemporary critical debates around gender, sexuality, class and race. Core modules give a thorough grounding in the field. Special author option modules allow you to focus on a particular writer’s work in real depth. Completing a dissertation, under expert supervision, allows you to pursue you own research interests.  

Trinity boasts an extraordinary literary heritage, ranging from Jonathan Swift and Oscar Wilde to Eavan Boland and Anne Enright. It is situated at the heart of Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature full of writers past and present, and containing a wealth of theatres, literary events and festivals, and cutting-edge magazines and publishers. Trinity has also long led the way in the teaching of Irish writing. Its current faculty includes many of the foremost scholars in the field, as well as several distinguished contemporary Irish writers. Trinity’s historic library also offers a peerless collection of books and archival materials relating to Irish writing for you to explore.

The teaching staff are leaders in their field and present an exemplary programme of learning, with great scope to develop one’s own areas of interest.

The staff are all very generous with their time and I am greatly appreciative of the independent support they provided during the coronavirus pandemic this year.

Course Structure

The centrepiece of the course is the core ‘Perspectives in Irish Writing’ module. Running across two semesters, it introduces students to the multiple contexts in which Irish writing in English has developed from the late sixteenth century through to the present. It also considers the literary history and reception of Irish writing, covering the main critical narratives and debates, as well as revisions of the Irish literary field as regards questions of gender, sexuality, class and race. A notable strength of Trinity’s faculty is the historical range of its research interests. This is reflected in the coverage given to eighteenth and nineteenth-century Irish writing. The final portion of the course also decisively turns to the eclectic state of contemporary Irish literature.

Further exploration of the field of Irish Writing is offered through the core ‘Conditions of Irish Writing’ module. This focuses on the publishers, periodicals and institutions through which Irish writing has been produced and mediated, covering a wide range of historical periods, genres and writers. Further foundational grounding in issues of importance to studying and researching literature at postgraduate level is provided through the ‘Research Skills for Postgraduate English’ module.

Students also take two specialist option modules, reflecting our commitment to cutting-edge research-led teaching. Within the Irish Writing programme, these modules focus on examining the work of significant Irish writers in detail. In 2021/22, these will include Maria Edgeworth, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Eavan Boland. A wealth of option modules from our other M.Phil. programmes, including the chance to take a creative writing option, are also available to you. In the final phase of the course, you will complete a dissertation. This will allow you to pursue in-depth research on a subject of your choice under expert supervision and drawing on our fantastic library and archival holdings.

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching for the course is primarily delivered through small-group seminar teaching. Much of this takes place in the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing, which offers a lively working and social environment for the School of English’s M.Phil. students and creative writers. Current staff teaching on the programme include the directors of the programme, Dr Sam Slote and Dr Julie Bates, as well as Professor Christopher Morash, Professor Aileen Douglas, Professor Andrew Murphy, Professor Eve Patten, Dr Jarlath Killeen, Dr Paul Delaney, Dr Amy Prendergast, Dr Rosie Lavan, and Dr Tom Walker – all of whom are recognised internationally for their publications and expertise in Irish writing. Modules are assessed by essay or other written coursework. The final phase of the course sees student’s undertake independent research and write a 15,000-18,000 word dissertation. Students taking the course part-time complete the three core modules in their first year of study. In their second year, they complete two option modules and their dissertation.

Admissions Information

Students of many different nationalities and from diverse backgrounds have successfully completed the programme. Applicants should have an Honours Bachelor degree (at least of upper-second class standard or GPA of 3.3) or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject (such as English, History, Art History, Irish Studies, Modern Languages).

Applications for admission in 2024/25 opens on the 1 November 2023. Candidates are encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible, as applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as they arrive. The closing date for admission is 31 March 2024. The 2024/25 academic year will start in September 2024.

The Peter Irons Taught Postgraduate Studentships The studentships will contribute towards M.Phil. tuition fees (EU or Non-EU) for any School of English taught postgraduate programme. They are generously funded in memory of Peter Irons. Two studentships will be awarded for the academic year: one for an EU student, and one for a non-EU student.  For further information, please open this PDF link . 

European Excellence Awards   The €1,000 awards are open to applicants with EU fee-status who hold an offer letter for a Postgraduate Taught Masters programme in Trinity College Dublin. Further information can be found here . 

Details of further funding opportunities can be found  here . 

Brontë Prize This prize was founded in 1921 by a bequest from Miss A.G. Woolson of Portland, U.S.A. It is awarded triennially by the Board on the recommendation of a committee for the best essay on either (a) an English author of Irish descent, or (b) the seats of learning in Ireland prior to 900 A.D. or (b) the seats of learning in Ireland prior to 900 a.d. The committee consists of the Regius Professor of Greek and the Professors of Latin and English Literature. A candidate must be of Irish birth or have been domiciled in Ireland for at least ten years. The candidate must also be an undergraduate of the University or a graduate of not more than five years’ standing. The next award will be made in 2022 and essays must reach the Registrar before 1 October 2022. Value, €1,905.

Dublin Cost of Living

Whether you're moving to Dublin from Ireland or abroad, the biggest problem you're likely to face is just getting set-up in the city. Below, you'll find web links providing advice on getting accommodation, placing deposits, household utilities, looking after your finances, and general tenancy agreements. https://www.tcd.ie/students/living-dublin/ https://www.tudublin.ie/for-students/student-life/cost-of-living-guide/ https://www.internationalstudents.ie/info-and-advice/practical-information/cost-of-living

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Meet the 2024-25 Howard Center for Investigative Journalism Fellows

Here are the bios for the terrific group of 12 Howard Center for Investigative Journalism fellows at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Our returning fellows — Aidan Hughes, Mennatala Ibrahim, Cait Kelley, Adriana Navarro, April Quevedo and Caley Fox Shannon — are joined by Liam Bowman, Cat Murphy, Taylor Nichols, Ijeoma Opara, Haley Parsley and Tiasia Saunders.

Liam Bowman

Liam Bowman is a journalist and graduate student from Alexandria, Virginia. After earning a B.A. in English Literature, with a minor in German Language, from the University of Oregon in 2020, he began his journalism career as a reporting intern for the Fauquier Times, covering public safety and local politics. In 2022, Bowman received an investigative reporting award from the Virginia Press Association for an article uncovering a lawsuit brought against a local megachurch by a woman who, as a teen, had been sexually abused by one of the church’s pastors. Bowman has also covered Virginia state politics and transportation issues as a freelancer for the Loudoun Times-Mirror.

In addition to his work as a journalist, Bowman spent a year working as an English teacher in Berlin.

Drawn by the power of storytelling to expose injustice and make positive change, Bowman plans to pursue a career in investigative journalism, and looks forward to developing his writing and reporting skills at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Aidan Hughes

Aidan Hughes is a graduate student with a background in data, politics, and peace and conflict studies. He earned a B.A. in International Studies and Creative Writing from Virginia Tech in 2017, followed by an M.A. in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice from Queen’s University Belfast. Hughes’ time in post-conflict Northern Ireland, coupled with his professional experience as a data scientist, fueled his interest in harnessing the strengths of both storytelling and data analysis to examine social issues.

He is excited to study data journalism to identify meaningful patterns across complex data sets while preserving the human context and nuance behind them. Hughes ultimately hopes to use a hybrid of quantitative and qualitative methods to report on political violence, disinformation and elections. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, finding the best gluten-free food in Washington, D.C., and the emotional turmoil of cheering for the Hokies.

Mennatala Ibrahim

Mennatala (Menna) Ibrahim is an Egyptian American, Muslim woman that spent the majority of her formative years moving from one place to another across a post-9/11 America. Despite the diversity between each region, she was quickly introduced to what it meant to live in a world that misrepresented, marginalized and antagonized her intersecting identities. Ibrahim is a graduate student in the University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. She ultimately hopes to refine her reporting and storytelling skills to amplify the voices of marginalized people in the media. She also hopes to expand the reach of this field into communities like hers with limited participation.

In 2022, Ibrahim earned bachelor’s degrees in Communication and Community Health from the University of Maryland. The intersection between her undergraduate degrees, as well as her personal experiences and a 2021 science journalism internship at Science Magazine, spurred an interest in covering science and health through storytelling.

Cait Kelley

Cait Kelley grew up on a hobby farm with goats and horses outside of Northfield, Minnesota. But her studies and love of travel have taken her across the world to live, study and work in Chile, Tunisia and Spain. She studied political science and Hispanic studies as an undergrad at Oberlin College. After graduating in 2020, she spent two years teaching English in Basque Country in Spain, and then working as a special education paraprofessional and teacher in her hometown.

Even before turning to journalism, Kelley began to develop her interviewing skills. She completed an independent interview project during her time at Oberlin that highlighted the voices and experiences of 50 campus dining and custodial staff, and she presented her findings to the college president and administrators.

Then, in 2022, an internship with her local radio station, KYMN Radio, cemented her decision to pivot to journalism and apply to graduate programs. Kelley loves investigative and documentary podcasts, such as "This Land" from Crooked Media and "The Trojan Horse Affair" from The New York Times and Serial Productions. She is motivated by highlighting underrepresented voices and figuring out the truth, whatever that may be. She’s excited to develop her investigative skills at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism as a Howard fellow and dreams of one day being on an investigative podcasting team.

Cat Murphy is a graduate student, data nerd and longtime political news junkie from Naugatuck, Connecticut. She is a 2024 graduate of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, earning her bachelor’s degree in Journalism at age 20. At Quinnipiac, Murphy devoted herself to the college’s student-run newspaper, The Quinnipiac Chronicle. Serving as the paper’s news editor her senior year, she broke stories about everything from the college’s multimillion-dollar hedge fund accounts in the Cayman Islands to the questionable firing of the university’s head women’s lacrosse coach. 

In summer 2024, Murphy interned at NBC Connecticut’s digital desk, helping to find local news stories, write breaking news briefs, publish televised news segments and curate the station’s digital content.

Murphy’s passion for journalism emerged at age 11 amid the 2016 election cycle, and she is excited to continue her journalism education in the Washington, D.C., area beginning in an election year. At the Howard Center, Murphy strives to further develop her data analysis, research and investigative capabilities. In the future, Murphy hopes to become an investigative reporter in Washington, as her ultimate goal as a journalist is to shine light on the issues public officials would rather remain in the shadows.

Outside of journalism, Murphy enjoys rifling through nonprofit tax returns, doomscrolling on X and starting but never finishing every project she thinks she’ll finally put her mind to this time.

Adriana Navarro

Adriana Navarro is a digital journalist from Charlotte, North Carolina. At the start of her career, she worked in the weather industry and reported on everything from live coverage of severe weather outbreaks to large data projects following disaster recovery efforts at AccuWeather. Some of her past articles focused on Hurricane Dorian survivors as they rebuilt from the deadly Category 5 hurricane while also dealing with the recent onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; mapping out the timeline of the forecasts for Hurricane Ian and Lee County’s late response to it; and exploring the role LGBTQ+ centers play in preparing a population for potentially life-threatening weather. In the future, she hopes to focus on investigative and data journalism to examine and publicize the inequities of disaster recovery and intersectional climate solutions.

Navarro graduated with a degree in journalism from Ohio University in 2018 with a specialization and certificate in women, gender and sexuality studies. She was a Dow Jones News Fund intern in the data track the following summer at AccuWeather, where she later joined the team as a digital journalist and helped to write the company’s inclusive style guide. In her spare time, she loves to read, embroider and convince anyone she can to add cheese to their hot chocolate.

Taylor Nichols

Taylor Nichols is a journalist from Bellingham, Washington, with a background in higher education reporting. She spent six years covering her community college and university campuses while earning her bachelor’s in Journalism at Western Washington University. She went on to work for an organization that uses data to help students make informed decisions about college. She wrote resources to help students choose where to go to college, breaking down publicly available data sets from the U.S. Department of Education to highlight colleges where students tend to have low debt and higher salaries.

Her work covering student outcomes and career pathways made her realize the powerful role data can play in journalism and the impact it can have on people’s lives. She joined the University of Maryland’s master’s program in 2023 to study data journalism.

In the first year of her graduate program, Nichols started freelancing for Street Sense, a publication covering homelessness in Washington, D.C. She won the 2024 SPJ Dateline Award for business reporting at a weekly newspaper for her coverage of a local business owner who was formerly homeless in Washington.

At the Howard Center, Nichols is excited to put her data skills into practice and learn how to use data analysis for investigative reporting. She’s particularly interested in covering housing, addiction, education and immigration, and hopes to use her reporting to expose the ways in which different communities are disproportionately impacted by these issues.

Ijeoma Opara

Ijeoma Opara is a journalist and graduate student from Nigeria. She studied at Nnamdi Azikiwe University and received a bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts in 2017.

She has worked as a journalist at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting for the past three years, and covered several beats including gender and metro. She has a keen interest in reporting issues from the human angle, amplifying voices of marginalized groups in society and recently completed a short course in Public Interest Journalism at the Radio Netherlands Training Centre.

With a background in the arts, she understands the role of storytelling in driving change. Her experience in journalism has also helped her recognize the importance of telling compelling stories using data.

As a Howard fellow, Opara looks forward to learning to gather and make sense of big data, and interpret it to readers in ways that can be quickly understood to make impact.

Haley Parsley

Haley Parsley is a graduate student from Baltimore City. Her interest in journalism stems from her childhood in Baltimore, where she was inspired by watchdog reporters’ efforts to expose government and police corruption.

Parsley’s passion for investigative research developed while working as an investigator at a fair housing law firm in Northern California. Her investigations led to the filing of CSA v. Neri, a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment of low-income mothers by a San Diego landlord. She also gathered key evidence for HRC v. K3 Holdings, which alleged national origin discrimination by a housing developer against Latino families living in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhoods. 

While living in Northern California, Parsley freelanced for Mission Local, a nonprofit newspaper covering the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. Her writing focused on queer life and culture in the city.

At the Howard Center, Parsley hopes to work on stories about affordable housing and discriminatory housing policies. She is excited to write about Baltimore, her beloved hometown.

April Quevedo

April Quevedo is a graduate student and Howard fellow. She graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois Chicago. She began her career in the supply chain and transportation industry, working for one of the world’s largest third-party logistics providers, C.H. Robinson. During her time at Robinson, she learned the importance of interpreting and using data to tell a story and influence stakeholders. Over the last seven years, she has supported a handful of midsize and enterprise-level accounts, which has given her many opportunities to build consultative partnerships, analyze data and gain market share.

Quevedo hopes to use investigative journalism to hold elected officials and those in other positions of power accountable to effect change in underrepresented communities similar to the one she grew up in on the northwest side of Chicago. She looks forward to developing her reporting skills at the University of Maryland.

Tiasia Saunders

Tiasia Saunders is a recent honors graduate who was a Media, Journalism, and Film major/ English minor at Howard University. She worked for several publications such as The Hilltop student publication as a news and politics staff reporter, Truth be Told as editor-in-chief and Washington Parent as a staff intern. Her research interests include examining racial disparity through socioeconomic issues in America and its impact on minority, Black and POC communities.

Additionally, she was a member of the first cohort of Dow Jones HBCU Media Collective, a selected member of Bloomberg’s HBCU Academy of Excellence event and invited to the Investigative Reporter and Editors Conference (IRE). She is passionate about becoming a data journalist to be able to highlight racial disparity through data visualizations.

Caley Fox Shannon

Caley Fox Shannon joined the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism after nearly five years working as a documentary film producer. After obtaining her degree in French from Carleton College, she began her career in film at Breakwater Studios in Los Angeles. There, she contributed to “Almost Famous” and “Cause of Life,” two short documentary series that premiered on The New York Times Op-Docs platform. She also co-produced “A Concerto Is A Conversation,” which was nominated for Best Documentary, Short Subject at the 2021 Academy Awards.

Shannon produced her first feature documentary, "Fire Department, Inc.," which focuses on a small firefighting union’s battle against privatization on her home turf in suburban Chicago. She also co-produces "Rough Cut," a podcast about nonfiction filmmaking presented by The Video Consortium. Shannon is passionate about food security, worker’s rights and social justice. At Merrill College, she looks forward to reporting on domestic politics, economic indicators and the legal system.

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