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Literature & Culture

MA (NFQ Level 9)
Scholarships Available

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

Duration:
1 Year
Attendance:
Full Time
Delivery:
On Campus
NFQ Level:
9 (90 credits)
Level:
Graduate Taught
Award:
Master of Arts
Next Intake:
September
Country Specific Entry Requirements:
Visit the UCD Global Undergraduate Entry Requirements webpage.
Other School Leaving Requirements:
See www.ucd.ie/admissions
Curricular information is subject to change.

Duration:
2 Years
Attendance:
Part-Time
Delivery:
On Campus
NFQ Level:
9 (90 credits)
Level:
Graduate Taught
Award:
Master of Arts
Next Intake:
September
Country Specific Entry Requirements:
Visit the UCD Global Undergraduate Entry Requirements webpage.
Other School Leaving Requirements:
See www.ucd.ie/admissions
Curricular information is subject to change.

Apply Now

The MA in Literature & Culture is our flagship MA programme in the School of English, Drama, Film and Creative Writing at UCD. The programme is also home to our Irish Literature pathway. Led by world-class researchers, our MA combines a foundation in critical methods and literary and cultural studies with wide-ranging options for specialist study. Students are enabled to develop a unique pathway of study tailored directly to their areas of interest.

Our teaching and research expertise covers a wide range of Transatlantic and World literatures,  each module designed to ground its students in transhistorical contexts. The programme also enables specialization in Irish, British and American Literary Studies in tandem with interdisciplinary studies of Modern and Contemporary Culture. At the centre of the MA are two core modules: Public Humanities and Ireland and a dissertation module. The dissertation module provides the opportunity to work intensely on a topic of your choosing, working one-to-one with published experts in your field of specialization.

Option modules change from year to year. Recent options have included:

  • World Systems - World Literature
  • Digital Methods
  • Joyce's Ulysses
  • Expressions of Modernity
  • Reading Contemporary Poetry
  • Queer Frictions
  • Contemporary US Genre Fiction
  • US Experimental Poetry: Docupoetics and Lyric
  • The Traditional and the Contemporary
  • Stardom, Celebrity and Media Culture
  • Paranoid and Conspiracy Media
  • Creative Approaches
  • Material Girls: Crafty Women in Literary History
  • Theory of Gender and Sexuality

 

Further information on the MA in Literature & Culture is available on the UCD School of English, Drama & Film website:

https://www.ucd.ie/englishdramafilm/studywithus/postgraduate/mainliteratureandculture/

 

About This Course

  • 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

Recent graduates are working in the following areas:

Arts, culture, heritage & museums

• Media/publishing/broadcasting/journalism

• Charities / NGOs / International Aid

• Business /HR/ training

• Public sector – government/EU  

Some students have also progressed to and successfully completed PhD study. 

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.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ENG42090 Public Humanities and Ireland Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ENG42120 Dissertation: Lit & Culture Summer  30
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:
Autumn Trimester

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1
 ENG40940 Gender and Sexuality in Theory and Representation Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:
Autumn Trimester

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1
 ENG41570 World-Systems,World-Literature Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:
Autumn Trimester

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1
 ENG41650 Expressions of Modernity Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:
Autumn Trimester

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1
 ENG41840 US Experimental Poetry: Docupoetics and Lyric Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:
Autumn Trimester

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1
 ENG42160 Material Girls Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 2 of:
Autumn Trimester

We recommend that you take 2 option modules in Autumn along with your core module in Trimester 1
 ENG42190 Archipelagic Ireland: Modern Irish Literature and Marine Environments Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 EDF40060 Digital Methods Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 ENG41640 Joyce, Ulysses Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 ENG41860 Queer Frictions: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Literature & Culture Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 ENG42150 Energy, Modernity, Culture Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 ENG42180 The Irish Home Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 FS40270 Stardom, Celebrity & Media Culture Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 FS40360 Paranoid and Conspiracy Media Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 3 of:
Spring Trimester

We recommend that you take 3 option modules in Trimester 2
 HUM40040 Creative Approaches Spring  10

 

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.

MA Literature & Culture (Z251) Full Time
EU          fee per year - € 9515
nonEU    fee per year - € 22600

MA Literature & Culture (Z252) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 4755
nonEU    fee per year - € 11300

***Fees are subject to change

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.

 

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 ​

 

You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EU) applicants: Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants: 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.


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

ROWCLASS Apply to
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
Z251
Literature & Culture
Master of Arts

Full-Time
Commencing September 2026
Graduate Taught
Closed
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
Z252
Literature & Culture
Master of Arts

Part-Time
Commencing September 2026
Graduate Taught
Not available to International applicantsClosed
* you can change options at the top of the page
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