MA English Literary Studies

York had already enchanted me, and the University of York immediately welcomed me. It had done so as from the very first email I sent enquiring about the application process –back when I was miles away at home in Argentina, back when I was not even a student– and it welcomed me as I first set foot on campus last year.

My first week as an MA student in the Department of English and Related Literature was charged with expectation, anticipation, and –why deny it?– some sort of inhibition. I had not got there following undergraduate studies in English per se, but rather in English Language Teaching and Translation, and this lurked as a source of insecurity. That until I looked around and found myself sharing a seminar room with students all –not just me– coming from different countries, from various universities, and/or from diverse academic backgrounds. It is this meeting of worlds and of stories that has made this whole MA-year experience profoundly enriching and worthwhile.

As for the choice of ELS, I had considered the options in the light of my own academic history, and felt that I wanted to aim for breadth rather than thematic or period specificity. Not once did I regret my decision. Indeed, this MA programme allowed me to explore texts and writers across a variety of literary periods and movements, as well as to interact with students, tutors and researchers from multiple fields and MA paths.

All along we could count on the support of our tutors and supervisors, who were readily available to discuss our work, to encourage us and to share their passion. In this environment, this past year has been one of overcoming insecurities, of rising up to new challenges; in short, one of invaluable learning –at both academic and personal levels. As my time as an MA student in York draws to a close, I look back on this amazing and life-changing experience only to realise that it could not have been in any other way, with any other people, or in any other place. Only here, in York.