Skip to main content

Programme structure: English Literature (MA) - what's running in 2022/23

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

    This section describes which Units you will take in which year of study. It indicates which units are mandatory and where you will be able to choose. The overall pass marks you will need to achieve in order to progress or achieve an award are shown. The full regulations concerning progression and completion are held in the University's Regulations and Code of Practice. Any particular aspects of your programme that are unusual will be highlighted. If any Units are must pass this will be shown below. The linked unit specifications detail any additional requirements.

    What do the Levels represent?

    What do the teaching blocks (TB) mean?

  • Year 1 (2022/23)
Unit name Unit code Credit points Status Teaching Block
Introduction to Literary Research ENGLM3029 40 Mandatory TB-1
Dissertation ENGLM0006 60 Mandatory AYEAR
Teaching block 1 Pathway units (20 credit points) from the following
Modernism, Experimentation and Form ENGLM0039 20 Optional TB-1
Renaissance Literature: Texts and Contexts ENGLM0037 20 Optional TB-1
Romantic Poetry and Poetics ENGLM3009 20 Optional TB-1
Literature and the Environment: Diverse Perspectives ENGLM0066 20 Optional TB-1
Teaching block 2 Pathway units. Choose two units (40 credit points) from the following list
Select from:
Hamlet: Text and Interpretation ENGLM3012 20 Optional TB-2
Literature 1940-1970: Writing After War, After Modernism ENGLM0035 20 Optional TB-2
Half-day Conference ENGLM3017 20 Optional TB-2
Intertextual Shakespeare ENGLM3013 20 Optional TB-2
Victorian Literature and Place ENGLM0034 20 Optional TB-2
Contemporary Literature ENGLM0038 20 Optional TB-2
The Gothic ENGLM0040 20 Optional TB-2
Writing in the Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Uranium ENGLM0067 20 Optional TB-2
Animal Planet: Humans and other animals in modernity ENGLM0056 20 Optional TB-2
Teaching block 2 additional units (20 credit points)
Literature and Medicine ENGLM3022 20 Optional TB-2
Writing for Art ENGLM3018 20 Optional TB-2
The History of the Language of English Literature ENGLM0081 20 Optional TB-2
Rewriting the Bible ENGLM0069 20 Optional TB-2
Charles Dickens ENGLM3019 20 Optional TB-2
Homing Desires/Imaginary Homelands: Representing South Asia and its Diasporas ENGLM0083 20 Optional TB-2
Personal Option Unit AFACM0007 20 Optional TB-1,TB-2
Supervised Individual Study AFACM0008 20 Optional TB-1,TB-2
Contemporary Global Chinese Literature and Visual Arts MODLM0050 20 Optional TB-2
Tradition and Experimentation in Twentieth-Century European Fiction MODLM2034 20 Optional TB-2
MA English Literature   180    

Progression/award requirements

The pass mark set by the University for any level 7(M) unit is 50 out of 100.

For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.

Exit awards

All taught masters programmes, unless exempted by Senate, must allow the opportunity for students to exit from the programme with a postgraduate diploma or certificate.

To be awarded a postgraduate diploma, students must have successfully completed 120 credit points, of which 90 must be at level M/7.

To be awarded a postgraduate certificate, students must have successfully completed 60 credit points, of which 40 must be at level M/7.

Degree classifications:

An award with Merit or Distinction is permitted for postgraduate taught masters, diplomas and certificates, where these are specifically named entry-level qualifications. An award with Merit or Distinction is not permitted for exit awards where students are required to exit the programme on academic grounds but is permitted in designated programmes (as set out in the programme specification) where students choose to withdraw from the intended programme but otherwise achieve the necessary credit points for the exit award.

The classification of the award in relation to the final programme mark is as follows:

Award with Distinction*: at least 65 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation. **Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds.

Award with Merit*: at least 60 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 60 out of 100 for the dissertation. Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds.

* The MA in Law has separate regulations for awarding distinction and merit.

** For the award of Distinction, the Faculty of Engineering requires at least 70 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation.

Diploma/certificate stages:

All taught masters programmes, unless exempted by Senate, must allow the opportunity for students to choose, or be required, to leave at the postgraduate diploma or certificate stage.

To be awarded a postgraduate diploma, students must have successfully completed 120 credit points, of which 90 must be at level M/7.

To be awarded a postgraduate certificate, students must have successfully completed 60 credit points, of which 40 must be at level M/7.

Feedback