Masters Degrees in United States Literature

Gain a rich understanding of the variety and interconnections of American writing, exploring major poetic, fictional, non-fictional and dramatic works. American literature is topical and contemporary; Author Junot Díaz’s book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was declared the best novel of the 21st century (so far!). This is just one of the novels that you will have the opportunity to study on this course.

At Essex, we challenge the study of the United States as a territorially bound space by embracing an expanded conception of ‘America’, which explores the richness of U.S. and Caribbean literatures in dialogue. This allows you to formulate sophisticated analyses of the role of space and place in the production of American writing and identities.

You explore how cultural geography may be integrated into literary history, concentrating on American literatures topics including:
-How violence and conflict have shaped writing across the American tropics
-The difference between reality and the “American Dream”
-Caribbean modernities and post-colonialism
-US nationalism and regionalism in literature
-African American literature

Our department is ranked Top 20 in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2015) and in the Top 200 worldwide (QS World University Rankings), and three-quarters of our research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2014).

This course is also available on a part-time basis.

Our expert staff

At Essex, we have an impressive literary legacy. Our history comprises staff (and students) who have shaped writing as we know it and has included Nobel Prize winners, Booker Prize winners, and Pulitzer Prize winners.

This course reflects our longstanding strengths in the literatures and cultures of the Americas, particularly the US South and Caribbean regions. You are taught by leading area specialists who have researched and published extensively on Caribbean and US literatures:
-Professor Maria Cristina Fumagalli has published widely on Caribbean literature and culture, including her recent book On the Edge: Writing the Border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic
-Dr Owen Robinson is a US literature specialist with particular interests in William Faulkner and the US South; forthcoming publications include Myriad City: Towards a Literary Geography of New Orleans
-Dr Jak Peake has broad interests across Caribbean and US writing, with particular expertise in Trinidadian literature; forthcoming publications include Between the Bocas: A Literary Geography of Western Trinidad

We are an interdisciplinary department and our academic staff have expertise in literature, film theory and practice, drama, creative writing and journalism.

Specialist facilities

-Meet fellow readers at the student-run Literature Society or at our department’s Myth Reading Group
-Write for our student magazine Albert or host a Red Radio show
-View classic films at weekly film screenings in our dedicated 120-seat film theatre
-Learn from leading writers and literature specialists at weekly research seminars
-Our on-campus Lakeside Theatre has been established as a major venue for good drama, staging both productions by professional touring companies and a wealth of new work written, produced and directed by our own staff and students
-Improve your playwriting and performance skills at our Lakeside Theatre Workshops
-Our Research Laboratory allows you to collaborate with professionals, improvising and experimenting with new work which is being tried and tested

Your future

A good literature degree opens many doors.

We offer supervision for PhD, MPhil and MA by dissertation in different literatures and various approaches to literature, covering most aspects of early modern and modern writing in English, plus a number of other languages.

Our University is one of only 11 AHRC-accredited Doctoral Training Centres in the UK. This means that we offer funded PhD studentships which also provide a range of research and training opportunities. A number of our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies graduates have gone on to undertake successful careers as writers, and others are now established as scholars, university lecturers, teachers, publishers, publishers’ editors, journalists, arts administrators, theatre artistic directors, drama advisers, and translators.

We work with our Employability and Careers Centre to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Example structure

Postgraduate study is the chance to take your education to the next level. The combination of compulsory and optional modules means our courses help you develop extensive knowledge in your chosen discipline, whilst providing plenty of freedom to pursue your own interests. Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.

MA American Literartures
-Research Methods in Literary and Cultural Analysis
-War, Violence & Conflict in the American Tropics
-US Nationalism and Regionalism
-"There is a Continent Outside My Window" : United States and Caribbean Literatures in Dialogue
-Dissertation
-The New Nature Writing (optional)
-Writing the Novel (optional)
-Memory Maps: Practices in Psychogeography (optional)
-Dramatic Structure (optional)
-Literature and Performance in the Modern City
-Early Modern to Eighteenth Century Literature
-Georgian and Romantic Literature and Drama
-Adaptation
-Documentary and the Avant-garde: Film, Video, Digital
-Film and Video Production Workshop
-Advanced Film and Industry: Production and Industry
-African American Literature (optional)
-Sea of Lentils: Modernity, Literature, and Film in the Caribbean
-Writing Magic (optional)
-Literature and the Environmental Imagination: 19th to 21st Century Poetry and Prose (optional)

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The United States remains the most powerful nation in the world, in terms of its economic, military and cultural influence. A glance around us will reveal the enduring appeal and enormous popularity of things American.

This degree will offer you an exciting as well as sophisticated programme which will encourage you to reflect critically upon the predominance of the United States over the last century or so in political, cultural, historical and literary terms and contexts. As a result, you will reflect on the unique status of American Studies as a truly inter-disciplinary subject area.

Course detail

This degree offers a tightly integrated programme with a selection of modules that will enrich your research methods and approaches in the American Studies subject-area. Whilst concentrating on the core aspects of American Studies you will be encouraged to pursue your research through avenues of related subjects (History, Literature and Film) forming a holistic, yet inter-disciplinary, approach. The modules offered emphasise a cross-fertilisation of subject areas, promoting an international perspective towards America, such as global concerns and transnational considerations, thus shifting from the original constructs of America, ‘American uniqueness’ and ‘exceptionalism’ (Brian Edwards, Globalising American Studies, 2010).

This programme is, therefore, well-suited to those students who prefer diversity to the narrower focus of a single-subject Master’s degree.

The suite of taught modules have been carefully constructed to take you on a series of journeys - from a discussion of American Studies itself as an approach, and then from the immediate localities, regions and borders of the United States, to the wider national and international settings. This will offer multi-perspective interpretations of the United States, internally, with its neighbours and with the rest of the world.

You will engage in an inter-connected sequence of debates which will lead you to a greater understanding of the complexity of the United States as a cultural construct as well as a geographical and political entity.

Format

American Studies has a historical, literary, cultural and evidence-based approach which requires wide, critical reading and intelligent synthesis of ideas and information. It requires you to construct arguments in writing. You will receive critical and constructive comments on your progress as an integral part of teaching and learning, through individual meetings with tutors, feedback on written work or specific coursework tutorials.

We place importance on presentations so, as a transferable skill, you will present seminar papers extensively throughout the course of your modules. These will be used as a basis for feedback and will then feed into your written work. These exercises will develop your critical abilities as well as widen your familiarity with, and confidence in handling, a range of sources, preparing you for the modules’ summative assessment stage, and the final dissertation.

This programme places a strong emphasis on the development of independent research and writing. The programme’s assessment strategies are designed to develop independent research skills; the ability to structure and write a sophisticated critical essay and longer academic monographs, and the opportunity to pursue your own intellectual interests within each module’s thematic scope.

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please see the following link:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/how-to-apply/

Other sources of funding

Information on alternative sources of funding can be found here:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/student-services/money/funding-my-course/postgraduate-/postgraduate-funding-/

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Why American Studies in Nijmegen?

The world loves American culture, but is deeply distrustful of American power and politics. At Radboud University, we offer critical insights into what America means. Our Master's program gives students the opportunity to become experts in the concept of ‘America' in a variety of fields: US history, literature, culture (including popular culture, film, theatre, political history, foreign policy, constitutional law, religion and social science. Radboud University's programme distinguishes itself from other's by emphasizing the cultural and political relations between the United States, its neighbours and Europe.

The open classroom experience is what teachers and researches of the Master`s program “North American Studies” want to create for their students. For an example of the experience, in the project “Politics & Culture of Liberation” students and teachers worked closely with the National Liberation Museum in Groesbeek, the Regional Archive in Nijmegen and the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The project resulted in an exhibition on the impact of American culture on Europe and the Transatlantic World. This is only one example of the many creative seminar projects that students realize in the Master`s program.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/americanstudies

Specializations

Specialisations in the Master's in North American Studies. The Master's programme in North American Studies offers two specialisations:

1. Literatures and Cultures of North America in International Perspective
2. Transnational America: Politics, Culture and Society

Literatures and Cultures of North America in International Perspective

America's cultural icons are the world's cultural icons. From Walt Disney to the Statue of Liberty, from Hollywood to Time magazine, and from Jack Kerouac to Philip Roth, the influence of American culture and literature around the world is huge. Our program allows students to critically explore the significance of American culture in countries around the globe. Aside from studying the variety of meanings assigned to American cultural products abroad, students will explore the diversity of the American cultural expressions themselves.

Transnational America: Politics, Culture and Society

With the so-called ‘transnational turn', American Studies increasingly looks beyond national borders. In this program you will explore the politics, culture and society of the United States within, outside and at its borders. Central themes are the exchange of cultural and political ideas between North America and Europe, and related issues in the field of Americanisation, globalisation, cultural mobility and political and cultural imperialism.

Study American issues with an interdisciplinary view

True to the tradition of American Studies, our program teaches students to approach issues from different angles and to think in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ways. We also offer excellent internships, thanks to our global network. Furthermore, we are the only university in the Netherlands to teach oral communication skills in the American language throughout our Bachelor's program, so that students who go on to study for a Master's degree have near-native language abilities.

High level of communication in American English

In Nijmegen, you will find yourself in a dynamic learning environment where the level of scholarship and communication in (American) English is extremely high. This is one of the reasons why our program is so popular. Another reason is the choice the University offers between two fascinating fields within which you can create your own custom-made program: ‘Literatures and Cultures of North America in International Perspective' and ‘Transnational America: Politics, Culture and Society.'

Program outline

Within the program in North America Studies, you can choose from the following two specialisations. Each specialisation comprises of a one-year, 60 EC program including a 20 EC Master's thesis project. For more information about program outline, structure, and courses, please click on the links below.

Literature and Cultures of North America in International Perspective
All students enrolled in this Master's specialisation take compulsory foundational courses. In addition, students take a compulsory Master's Thesis Colloquium and participate in Master's Thesis Workshops to help them structure their Master's Thesis research and support their writing process. There is an elective space in the specialisation to allow students to engage in an internship or engage in further courses. Options for elective courses include courses on Native Americans, African-American literature and the American borderlands.

Transnational America: Politics, Culture and Society
If you follow this specialisation, you will take several obligatory foundation courses. In addition, students take a compulsory Master's Thesis Colloquium and participate in Master's Thesis Workshops to help them structure their Master's Thesis research and support their writing process. There is a small elective space in the specialisation to allow students to engage in an internship or engage in further courses. Options for elective courses include a special course on the Beat Generation, one of America's most influential avant-garde movements; Native Americans; African-American Literature and Culture; American Borders: Contact Conflict and Exchange; or American Constitutional Law (taught in Dutch).

Career prospects

There is a wide range of opportunities for graduates from the Master's program in North American Studies. Your broad interdisciplinary education and excellent command of English will help you find a job in an international setting. You could work in school or university education, in research, in journalism or other media, in publishing, museums, international finance, government, business, international affairs or as a diplomat.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/americanstudies

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The MA by Research in American Studies gives you an opportunity to develop your research interests in the history, politics, literature and/or culture of the United States in a supportive environment, with the guidance of a supervisor who is an expert in their field. At CCCU, we have a small team of experienced American Studies MA by Research supervisors who are committed to supporting research students to reach their potential.

Visit the website: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/courses/postgraduate/american-studies-by-research.aspx

Course detail

You will study your own research area under the guidance of an experienced supervisor in your field. We recommend that you contact potential supervisors when you are developing your research proposal so that we can advise you on the feasibility of your project and provide support and guidance through the application process.

Suitability

The programme is aimed at both recent graduates and returners to education who are passionate about a research area related to the United States. If you enjoyed researching and writing your undergraduate dissertation, have a desire to expand your knowledge of a US topic that has sparked your interest, or you want to pursue an established interest through a formal degree, then an MA by Research in American Studies may be for you.

Students who complete an MA by Research often go on to MPhil or PhD study in American Studies or a related discipline, such as History, Political Science, or English Literature.

Format

The emphasis of this programme is on independent research. That said, you will have regular meetings with your supervisor, and you will have the opportunity to attend sessions with the Graduate School’s Researcher Development Programme.

All supervisory teams will include access to an experienced supervisor. For information on our supervisors’ fields of interest, please see our staff profiles: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/arts-and-humanities/school-of-humanities/american-studies/our-team.aspx

You will also be invited to attend the regular American Studies Research Seminar—a guest speaker programme—which will allow you to network with academics in the field, and hear about some of the cutting edge research taking place in American Studies both in the UK and Internationally.

Assessment

The MA by Research is awarded by dissertation.

Supervised by a panel of experienced researchers, you'll meet regularly with your first supervisor and present your work in progress to the full panel halfway through your registration period. Following advice from this Review meeting you'll complete the writing up of your 25-30,000 word dissertation.

What can I do next?

On this programme you will gain research, written communication, time-management, and independent study skills that are invaluable to a range of careers.

You could also continue to further study, such as an MPhil or PhD.

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow this link: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/how-to-apply/how-to-apply.aspx

Funding

-Masters Loans-

From 2016/17 government loans of up to £10,000 are available for postgraduate Masters study. The loans will be paid directly to students by the Student Loans Company and will be subject to both personal and course eligibility criteria.

For more information available here: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/funding-your-degree/funding-your-postgraduate-degree.aspx

-2017/18 Entry Financial Support-

Information on alternative funding sources is available here: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/funding-your-degree/2017-18-entry-financial-support.aspx

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Overview

The MRes in Humanities offers students the opportunity to produce a substantial piece of independent research and writing, and to undertake wide-ranging, systematic training in research skills and project management. Students will write a dissertation in a specific field or prepare a portfolio of compositions, recital or a media project with a named supervisor.

Supervision is available in all disciplines where the School has expertise:
- American Studies
- English
- History
- Media, Communications and Culture
- Music and Music Technology
- Philosophy
- Russian

You will be able to develop your research topic within the context of current debates and methodologies in relevant disciplines and within the humanities generally. The course will develop practical, critical and analytical research skills that can be deployed in a variety of professional and intellectual contexts. The programme is tailored to your research and career plans, and we recommend that you contact us before making a formal application.

The MRes degree is intended for applicants who already have a clear dissertation project (or equivalent, e.g. composition portfolio, performance or software development plan). In liaison with the supervisor and discipline lead, a plan of work in semester 1 and 2 is agreed and serves as preparation for the project as well as assessed work in its own right. When you submit your online application, please use your personal statement to describe the dissertation (or equivalent) project you intend to carry out (500-700 words). Include specific research questions and aims. What does the project intend to elucidate? Is any hypothesis proposed? How will the research be carried out (i.e. methodology)?

See the website https://www.keele.ac.uk/pgtcourses/humanitiesmres/

American Studies

American Studies is a multidisciplinary department devoted to the analysis of the United States from the foundations of the republic to the present day. As a long-established centre of excellence in research and teaching, we aim to offer a supportive and lively environment for pursuing top-quality postgraduate courses.

American Studies at Keele enjoys an outstanding national and international reputation. At every level of the postgraduate programme our aim is to give both clear expectations and supportive guidance to enable you to achieve your goal.

Our tutors are all active in research, and our teaching reflects our specialist strengths. There is considerable cross-fertilization of ideas within the department, and consequently an interest in multidisciplinary work. In US History and Politics, tutors (Chris Bailey, Jon Herbert, Jon Parker, Laura Sandy and Axel Schafer) specialize in the history of the Civil War era and the American South, Cold War society, religion and politics, intellectual history, the politics of the environment, the US Congress, the American presidency, the politics of education, state and local government, and electoral politics.

In American Literature and Culture, tutors, (Ian Bell, Oliver Harris, James Peacock and Tim Lustig) have research interests in nineteenth- and twentieth-century, in contemporary fiction, relations between literature and science, African American literature, film noir, cultural theory and cultural memory, Anglo-American modernism, trauma theory, and the Beat generation.

Course Aims

To enable students to research and write an extended dissertation, whilst developing practical, critical and analytical research skills that can be deployed in a variety of professional and intellectual contexts. Students will develop an understanding of the place of a specific research topic within current debates and methodologies in relevant disciplines, and within the humanities generally. The course will promote the ‘project management skills’ of defining and planning a project, meeting deadlines, and recording and reflecting on outcomes.

Course Content

Students follow a tailor-made programme, comprising three components totalling at least 180 credits.
- A 20,000 word dissertation (or equivalent composition or artistic production) is at the heart of the programme (90 credits).

- Research Training covering research skills and reflective practice in the humanities (2 x 15 = 30 credits).

- Research methods in the field relevant to the thesis topic (30 credits)

- Individual Research Orientation: a module tailored to the needs of the student (30 credits).

Teaching & Assessment

Assessment is by coursework, culminating in the 20,000 word dissertation (or the equivalent composition or artistic production). Research Training is assessed by a portfolio consisting of an annotated bibliography, a project outline and a reflective diary. Each of the other modules will be examined through a 4,000-5,000 word essay or approved equivalent.

The pass mark is 50%. A merit will be awarded where students obtain 60% or over for the dissertation (or equivalent project or performance) and an average of 60% on their other coursework. A distinction will be awarded where students obtain 70% or over for the dissertation, (or equivalent project or performance) and an average of 70% in their other coursework.

Additional Costs

Apart from additional costs for text books, inter-library loans and potential overdue library fines we do not anticipate any additional costs for this post graduate programme.

Discretionary Award:
A sum of £6,250 has been made available to students enrolling on taught postgraduate course in History by a former member of Keele staff. The money will be distributed at the discretion of the relevant programme director(s) and is available to students entering the programme in 2015 and/or 2016. No application is required.

Find information on Scholarships here - http://www.keele.ac.uk/studentfunding/bursariesscholarships/

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The Master of Arts in American Studies at Western is an interdisciplinary program focusing on the literature, popular culture, history, and politics of the United States. The purpose of the program is to help students increase their understanding of the meaning and significance of the American identity, and to prepare them for advanced research in the study of the United States. Students will choose from two fields of study: American Cultural Studies or Canadian-American Relations. The MA in American Studies at Western is the first of its kind in Canada.

Visit the website: http://grad.uwo.ca/prospective_students/programs/program_NEW.cfm?p=4

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please see: http://grad.uwo.ca/prospective_students/applying/index.html

Financing your studies

As one of Canada's leading research institutions, we place great importance on helping you finance your education. It is crucial that you devote your full energy to the successful completion of your studies, so we want to ensure that stable funding is available to you.
For information please see: http://grad.uwo.ca/current_students/student_finances/index.html

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Take advantage of one of our 100 Master’s Scholarships to study American Studies at Swansea University, the Times Good University Guide’s Welsh University of the Year 2017. Postgraduate loans are also available to English and Welsh domiciled students. For more information on fees and funding please visit our website.

The MA by Research in American Studies helps to develop an understanding of the forces that have moulded and continue to shape America, and helps us to make sense of our contemporary world. The comparative study of the history and culture of the United States addresses themes such as immigration, democracy, slavery, imperialism, multiculturalism, religion, the economy and, more recently, terrorism. These issues do not just concern the past; they are directly relevant to the world we live in.

MA by Research in American Studies

The MA by Research in American Studies is ideal for those who want:

- an MA qualification in areas where taught programmes are not offered;
- the experience of a research degree without committing to a PhD at the outset.

Research proposals are invited on any topic in American Studies for which staff in the Department of Political and Cultural Studies can provide supervision. It is a good idea to enter into discussions about your research project in American Studies with the Department's Director of Postgraduate Research, Professor Roland Axtmann ([email protected]), before drawing up an initial proposal and starting the application process.

Department of Political and Cultural Studies

The Department of Political and Cultural Studies (PCS) boasts a dynamic research environment with a committed staff all of whom are research-active. Academic members of staff have a very considerable range of research interests on which we offer supervision for research degrees in American Studies.

An MA by Research in American Studies gives you the chance to pursue a major research project based around your own passions and interests in American Studies, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia. It will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your choosing and develop a methodology under the close supervision of two experienced academics but without attending regular classes as required in taught programmes.

Typically as a student of the MA by Research in American Studies programme you will work closely with your supervisors, meeting them regularly, in many instances fortnightly, in the first term and at regular intervals thereafter. Meetings are logged and goals agreed each time.

Students enrolled in the MA by Research American Studies are required to attend skills and training courses at College and University level. You may also be expected to give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and attend the postgraduate conference of the College of Arts and Humanities which is held in October.

Departmental Research Expertise

At any one time, the department has over forty research students who work together with their supervisors on their projects.

In the area of American Studies, staff have expertise in the American Civil War; US foreign policy; the US ‘War on Drugs’; US politics and government; surveillance and urban America; American conservatism; the Spanish Civil War; American military history; the American West; New South; 20th century American literature, film and popular culture.

Discover more about the Department of Political and Cultural Studies:
http://www.swansea.ac.uk/politics

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America's cultural icons are the world's cultural icons. From Walt Disney to the Statue of Liberty, from Hollywood to Time magazine, and from Jack Kerouac to Philip Roth; the influence of American culture and literature around the world is huge. Our program allows students to critically explore the significance of American culture to countries around the globe. Aside from studying the vast reach and influence of American cultural products abroad, students will also explore the variety of American cultural expressions themselves.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/americanstudies/cultural

Emphasis on societal and socio-political context

The Master's specialisation offers courses on the contemporary North American novel, manifestations of the American avant-garde, and/or the literary and cultural works of American ethnic groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and Latino/as. There is emphasis on the societal and sociopolitical context in which literary and cultural communications acquire meaning.

Admission requirements for international students

1. A completed Bachelor's degree in American Studies or related area
You are required to have a Dutch Bachelor's degree (or equivalent, from a research university) in American Studies or a Bachelor's degree in English Language & Culture with a specialisation in American Studies. If you specialised in English you can apply if you had at least 40EC in courses related to American Studies. If you have a different academic background, you will need to have achieved 60 EC in courses related to American Studies.

2. A proficiency in English
In order to take part in the program, you need to have a sufficient level of English. Non-native speakers of English without a Dutch Bachelor's degree or VWO diploma need one of the following:
- A TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper-based), 250 (computer-based), 100 (internet-based);
- An IELTS score of at least 7.0;
- A Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) or Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) with a mark of B or higher.

Career prospects

There is a wide range of opportunities for graduates from the Master's program in North American Studies. Your broad interdisciplinary education and excellent command of English will help you find a job in an international setting. You could work in school or university education, in research, in journalism or other media, in publishing, museums, international finance, government, business, international affairs or as a diplomat.

Our approach to this field

America's cultural icons are the world's cultural icons. From Walt Disney to the Statue of Liberty, from Hollywood to Time magazine, and from Jack Kerouac to Philip Roth, the influence of American culture and literature around the world is huge. Our program allows students to critically explore the significance of American culture to countries around the globe. Aside from studying the vast reach and influence of American cultural products abroad, students will also explore the variety of American cultural expressions

Our research in this field

- Emphasis on societal and sociopolitical context
The program offers courses on the contemporary North American novel, manifestations of the American avant-garde, and/or the literary and cultural production of American ethnic groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and Latino/as. Particular emphasis lies on the societal and sociopolitical context in which literary and cultural communications acquire meaning.

- Study American issues with an interdisciplinary view
True to the tradition of American Studies, our program teaches students to approach issues from different angles and to think in interdisciplinary ways. We also offer excellent internships, thanks to our global network. Furthermore, we are the only university in the Netherlands to teach oral communication skills in the American language throughout our Bachelor's program, so students who go on to study for a Master's degree have unique, near-native language abilities.

- High level of communication in American English
In Nijmegen, you will find yourself in a dynamic learning environment where the level of scholarship and communication in (American) English is extremely high. This is one of the reasons why our programs are so popular. Another is the choice Nijmegen offers between two fascinating fields within which you can create your own custom-made program: ‘Literatures and Cultures of North America in International Perspective' and ‘Transnational America: Politics, Culture and Society.'

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/americanstudies/cultural

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The Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric offers students the opportunity to study literature and language in their many manifestations. Although English and American literature and the practice of creative and expository writing are primary, the department conceives of neither literature nor writing in a narrow or parochial way. Literature courses deal broadly with genres and themes from the past and present, and teach students how to read and analyze texts; creative writing courses foster, in qualified students, the development of serious creativity; rhetoric courses deal with both the theory and practice of communication, as well as the history of oral and written argument.

Recent doctoral graduate employment placements include: Assistant Professor at Pfeiffer University, Assistant Professor at University of California Channel Island, Lead Editor and Writer at Kathy Layne & Associates, Assistant Professor at Virginia State University, Assistant Professor at Ithaca College.

MA English/American Literature with a creative writing concentration also available.

All applicants must submit the following:

- Online graduate degree application and application fee
- Transcripts from each college/university which you have attended
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal statement (2-3 pages) describing your reasons for pursuing graduate study, your career aspirations, your special interests within your field, and any unusual features of your background that might need explanation or be of interest to your program's admissions committee.
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages)
- Official GRE scores
- Writing sample: All applicants: critical writing sample (10-20 pages). Creative writing applicants: portfolio of creative work (not more than 40 pages of fiction or 20 pages of verse)

And, for international applicants:
- International Student Financial Statement form
- Official bank statement/proof of support
- Official TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic scores

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We offer MPhil research programmes in English (including American Studies), Comparative Literature or Linguistics for full or part-time study- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/mphil-phd-english-comparative-literature/

Find out more about our staff and their specialisms and expertise, and the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

The Department of English and Comparative Literature consists of some 40 scholars and creative writers whose work is acknowledged and cited internationally.

We offer a stimulating environment for undertaking postgraduate research in English Literature (including American Literature and literary theory), World Literature, Comparative Literature, Linguistics, and Creative Writing.

We particularly encourage cross- and interdisciplinary research in emerging fields of study and creative practice.

As well as working with scholars and writers of international standing, you will have the opportunity to play an active role in a vibrant research environment which includes the Richard Hoggart Lectures in Literature and Culture, the annual Goldsmiths Prize for bold and innovative fiction, and specialist seminars and colloqia offered by the Goldsmiths Writers' Centre, the Goldsmiths Literature Seminars (GLITS), the Goldsmiths Linguistics Seminars (GoldLingS), and the e-journal, GLITS-e.

The MPhil programme offers the opportunity for the student to continue their research to a PhD.

Assessment is by thesis and viva voce.

North American applicants especially should note that the British system does not include preparatory taught classes or examinations as part of the MPhil/PhD programme, except for an initial course in research methods.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Maria Macdonald.

Department

English at Goldsmiths is ranked:
18th in the UK for the quality of our research**
In the world’s top 150 universities for English language and literature***

Cervantes. Bukowski. Dostoevsky. Self. From classical literature and linguistics, to creative writing and contemporary fiction, we take a critical and creative approach to the discipline.

As a department we’re interested in a field of enquiry that extends from Old English to 21st-century literatures in English, French, Spanish and Italian. So you can study texts and films across a variety of periods and genres.

We’re engaged

We have a dedicated Writers’ Centre that encourages new writing and stimulates debate about all forms of literature. And we award the annual Goldsmiths Prize (for “fiction at its most novel”), which brings critically acclaimed writers like Ali Smith and Eimear McBride to campus.

We’re nurturing

We may be one of the largest departments at Goldsmiths but that doesn’t mean you won’t get personal support. Learn from our approachable team of academic staff and become part of the student-run English Society.

We’re vibrant

As one of the first departments in the UK to offer creative writing, you’ll be part of a hub of literary excellence – our graduates have gone on to win prestigious awards from the Orange Prize for Fiction to the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year.

Find out more about the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

**Research Excellence Framework 2014, Times Higher Education research intensity subject rankings
***QS World University Rankings by subject 2015

Skills

Carrying out a research degree will help you develop:

transferable skills, including enhanced communication and discussion skills in written and oral contexts
the ability to analyse and evaluate different textual materials
the ability to organise information, and to assimilate and evaluate competing arguments

Careers

Our graduates have gone on to pursue careers in:

publishing
journalism
public relations
teaching
advertising
the civil service
business
industry
the media

Research training programme

Training in research methods and skills is provided both by the department and Goldsmiths' Graduate School. This begins with an intensive week-long induction in the first week of enrolment and continues later in the first term with a series of seminars focussing on the specific challenges of literary and linguistic research projects. The department will also inform you about any research training seminars or study-days offered elsewhere in the University of London (for example, by the Institute of English Studies or the Institute of Modern Languages Research, School of Advanced Study) or beyond, such as at the British Library. The specific training requirements of your project will be assessed, and guidance provided on specialist seminars and conferences to attend, which can be supported where possible by assistance from departmental funds.

How to apply

Before you apply for a research programme, we advise you to get in touch with the programme contact, listed above. It may also be possible to arrange an advisory meeting.

Before you start at Goldsmiths, the actual topic of your research has to be agreed with your proposed supervisor, who will be a member of staff active in your general field of research. The choice of topic may be influenced by the current research in the department or the requirements of an external funding body.

If you wish to study on a part-time basis, you should also indicate how many hours a week you intend to devote to research, whether this will be at evenings or weekends, and for how many hours each day.

Research proposals

Along with your application and academic reference, you should also upload a research proposal at the point of application.

This should be in the form of a statement of the proposed area of research and should include:

delineation of the research topic
why it has been chosen
an initial hypothesis (if applicable)
a brief list of major secondary sources

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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Royal Holloway’s Holocaust Research Centre is the leading academic centre of its kind in Europe and we are internationally recognised for our research, teaching, public advocacy and creative work.

The Research Centre’s mission is to promote research into the Holocaust, its origins and aftermath, and to examine the extent to which genocide, war and dictatorship can be understood as defining elements in the history of the twentieth century. It is an international forum bringing together researchers working on different aspects of the Holocaust in a range of disciplines, including history, literary and language studies, film and media studies, philosophy and sociology.

The MA Holocaust Studies is taught by staff from several different Royal Holloway Departments, including English, Modern Languages and History. Courses are taught both at the Wiener Library in central London and the Royal Holloway Egham campus.

See the website https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/history/coursefinder/maholocauststudies.aspx

Why choose this course?

- The Holocaust Research Centre has a very active research culture which features lectures from the leading figures in the field. Recent speakers have included Robert Jan van Pelt, Ulrich Herbert, Reinhard Rürup, Dina Porat, Saul Friedländer, Geoffrey Hartman and Jeffrey Herff.

- We host several workshops each year on cutting edge research and regular international conferences.

- Our core staff, which includes internationally recognised scholars Peter Longerich, Dan Stone, Colin Davis, Zoe Waxman and Robert Eaglestone, have published over 30 books in the last five years with major presses and three books have won international prizes.

Department research and industry highlights

In responding to the Holocaust we research in a range of disciplines, including history, literary studies, theory film and media studies and philosophy, and welcome graduates in any of these areas. We especially welcome students with interdisciplinary projects.

The research of the members of the Centre has been supported by grants from Leverhulme, the AHRC, the British Academy, DAAD, Humboldt, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and elsewhere.

Course content and structure

You will study one core course unit, three elective units and undertake a dissertation.

Core course units:
- History and Historiography of the Holocaust
This unit will introduce you to the history of the Holocaust and will focus on major historical debates.

- Dissertation
The dissertation must be between 14,000 - 16,000 words and is mainly written in the third term and the summer (deadline 1st September). Students are expected to develop a topic together with their supervisor(s) during the Spring Term. Topics can be taken from various areas, like history and presentation of the Holocaust or its impact on literature, culture, media and philosophy.

Elective course units:
- Holocaust Literature
You will consider various cultural representations of the Holocaust in British and American literature and in particular the relationship between history, testimony and literature.

- Post-Holocaust Philosophy
This unit looks at the response in European philosophy to the murder of the Jews. To what extent does the Holocaust render previous philosophy redundant?

- Documents of the Holocaust
You will study in depth crucial documents regarding the Nazi persecution of the Jews and the “Final Solution”. All documents will be presented in English translations.

- Faith, Politics, and the Jews of Europe, 1848-1918
This unit explores the emergence of conservative Jewish movements opposed to assimilation and the response to anti-Jewish movements and ideologies from the late 1870s onwards.

On completion of the course graduates will have advanced knowledge and understanding of:
- the most important aspects of the history and historiography of the Holocaust
- significant questions of schools of culture, philosophy and representation arising from the Holocaust
- methods and concepts of various disciplines (historical, literary, philosophical and others).

Assessment

Assessment is carried out by coursework and a dissertation.

Employability & career opportunities

Our graduates are highly employable and, in recent years, have entered many different areas, including careers in academia, charities (such as the Holocaust Educational Trust) and the media. This course also equips you with a solid foundation for continued PhD studies.

How to apply

Applications for entry to all our full-time postgraduate degrees can be made online https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/postgraduate/applying/howtoapply.aspx .

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The MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature prepares students to undertake research the post-1900 literature and its contexts, and is also popular with those wish to broaden and deepen their critical engagement with the period. It draws on a critical mass of members of academic staff and institutional resources at The University of Manchester in twentieth and twenty-first century literature, culture and theory. The modules have been designed to introduce you to cutting-edge approaches to modern and contemporary writing. You will study four units, including at least one of a small group of possible core courses. (You can also take two or all three of these courses if you wish.)

There are also further optional courses to choose from including the modules Contemporary Fiction, and Postcolonial Literatures, Genres, and Theories. After your modules are complete you will undertake a dissertation, supervised by a member of academic staff.

Teaching and learning

Modern and Contemporary Literature students take 4 modules, including at least 1 of the 3 possible core courses:
-Key Issues in Twentieth-Century Cultural Theory and Literary Criticism
-Modernism and its Margins
-Reading the Contemporary

Finally, students will write a 15,000-word dissertation, worth 60 credits, supervised by an academic member of staff.

Coursework and assessment

Students are required to take 180 credits of units as listed below.

The list of units on offer will be updated annually. Students may also choose up to 30 credits worth of units from another MA programme in place of one of their optional units, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.

Students will also attend seminars on such topics as how to study at MA level, how to research and write a Master's thesis, and career options.

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The MA in English and American Studies prepares students for undertaking further research in the discipline, but it is also aimed at those who wish to broaden and deepen their critical engagement with English and American literature and culture. The structure of the MA is flexible, which means that you can choose to combine your interests in English and American culture, or you can choose to focus more exclusively on one or the other . The division of English, American Studies and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester provides a thriving environment, with its vibrant research culture, its close links to the Centre of New Writing, its involvement in the Manchester Literature Festival and its access to the world-class John Rylands research library.

While this MA offers you a range of exciting modules that are chronologically or geographically specific, all modules are informed by recent theoretical and historical developments that allow you to think about categories like `literature', `culture' and `history' in nuanced and fresh ways.

You can also choose 30 credits from our MA Modern and Contemporary Literature (subject to availability) to further extend the scope of your study.

Teaching and learning

In your first semester, you will choose 2 of 3 core modules (30 credits each), which will lay the groundwork for your coursework as well as preparing you to think about your dissertation. The core modules address questions that are at the heart of literary and cultural studies, and will give you conceptual tools relevant to all of the modules offered in the second semester. The core modules are entitled:
-The Times of Literature
-Space, Place and Text
-American Studies: Theories, Methods, Practice.

In the second semester, you will choose 4 out of 6 modules, each of which is weighted at 15 credits, allowing you the choice of a greater number of courses. You diversify your engagement with the field with these courses, each of which tackles a range of periods and literary/cultural productions. Some of the courses offer you the chance to engage with the holdings of the John Rylands Library. Each focuses on a body of work, or on a topic or critical question, situated in a particular context. The courses are:
-Treacherous Love: Translating the Medieval Past
-Shakespeare: Theory and Archive
-Before Sexuality: Bodies, Desires and Discourses, 1660-1900
-Revolutionary Poetics: 1789-1840
-Radical Subcultures
-Doing History in Public: Struggling over the American Past.

Students with an interest in American Studies take 6 modules in total, including, in semester one, the core course 'American Studies: Theories, Methods, Practice' plus the choice of one of the other core courses (as listed above).

Finally, students will write a 15,000-word dissertation, worth 60 credits, supervised by an academic member of staff.

Coursework and assessment

Students are required to take 180 credits of units as listed above.

The list of units on offer will be updated annually. Students may also choose up to 30 credits worth of units from another MA programme in place of one of their optional units, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.
Students will also attend seminars on such topics as how to study at MA level, how to research and write a Master's thesis, and career options.

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This Master's degree in modern and contemporary literature begins with an investigation of literary and theoretical conceptions of modernity in early twentieth-century literature, focusing on topics such as urbanisation, technology, mass culture, individualism and subjectivity.

You will also have the chance to analyse the historical transformations of literature and cultural thought from 1945, using the contexts of post-war reconstruction, decolonisation, the fate of avant-garde art, and theories of postmodernity and globalisation. The emergence of international literary paradigms during the twentieth century is reflected in the choice of texts from British, American and post-colonial contexts.

Why study this course at Birkbeck?

Arts and humanities courses at Birkbeck are ranked third best in London and 11th in the UK in the Times Higher Education 2015-16 World University Subject Rankings.
Enables you to gain a thorough grounding in the key concepts of modernism, modernity and the contemporary.
You will be introduced to key texts and paradigms that shape our conception of literature from the early twentieth century to the present.
Opportunities to join a number of graduate seminars and reading groups, and occasional discussions with practising novelists and poets.
Birkbeck is at the geographical centre of London’s research library complex, a short distance from the British Library, Senate House Library and the Institute of Historical Research.
Senate House Library has an outstanding collection of literary periodicals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, while the nearby University College London Library also has an important James Joyce archive. The Poetry Library at London’s South Bank Centre is rich in twentieth-century poetry.
Birkbeck's School of Arts hosts the internationally acclaimed Contemporary Poetics Research Centre, which regularly features visiting poetic practitioners.

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The MA in American Studies offers you the opportunity to develop an expertise in American literature and social and cultural history. Your studies will equip you with the methodological training you need to pursue your interest in America from different disciplinary perspectives.

The world-leading department has particular strengths in race, gender and identity, civil liberties, American cities, American landscape and the environment, popular culture, and comparative American Studies.

The MA in American Studies develops the critical powers you acquired as an undergraduate and provides the rigorous preparation needed for future employment or as preparation for doctoral research.

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