Contemporary Literature and Culture MA

	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time distance learning	Part-time distance learning
MA	Y	Y	N	N

The MA Contemporary Literature and Culture is an exciting new postgraduate programme, based at the prestigious Centre for New Writing.

Students on the MA will be able to take full advantage of the Centre's resources, expertise and impressive events programme. They will have access to prominent writers both on the staff and appearing at the Centre's Literature Live and Martis Amis public events, with recent visitors including John Banville, Will Self, Rose Tremain, Galway Kinnell and Michele Roberts. They will also be encouraged to mix with the Centre's MA Creative Writing cohort, allowing a unique and productive dialogue between the creative and the critical.

Students on the MA will be taught by experts in contemporary literature and culture across the English and American Studies subject area, including M.J. Hyland, Geoff Ryman, Vona Groarke and Kaye Mitchell, and will also be eligible to attend Professor of Creative Writing Martin Amis's exclusive master classes. 

Example modules include: Contemporary Fiction, The American Body and Queer Cinema.

The programme will have a truly contemporary perspective, considering literature produced from 1970 to the present day but with particular focus on the period since 1990.

The core course, Reading the Contemporary, will introduce key ideas and concepts in the study of contemporary literature and culture. It will consider a range of critical perspectives but also the material contexts in which contemporary literature is produced and received, along with topical themes such as identity, nationalism, history, trauma culture and literature and terrorism. A diverse range of options will be on offer, allowing students to work on contemporary British, American, Irish and Postcolonial literature and culture, specific topics such as gender and sexuality, or specific forms such as film, poetry or the novel. A dissertation of 12,000 - 15,000 words will give students the opportunity to produce, under supervision, an extensive piece of work on a topic of their choosing, from within the field of contemporary literature and culture. 

Please see the school website.

For details of the next University Postgraduate open day, visit open days and visits

Academic entry qualification overview: A First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent, in English or a closely related area.

English language: An overall grade 7.0 (with a minimum writing score of 7) in IELTS is required or 100+ in the iTOEFL.

If you would like further information on the course, please visit here; download an e-brochure, or for more information on the university and city please download a  prospectus. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT TEACH EVENING CLASSES OR OFFER LONG-DISTANCE LEARNING.

Applicants may defer entry for 12 months provided they contact the course administrator (Andy Rigg or Claire Bharath) before September 1st. Please note that applicants are subject to the fees for the entry year they will start the course.

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry.  In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved.  We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.If you are applying for a place for the same year of entry through UCAS Extra, you should provide additional evidence of your suitability for the course. If you are applying through clearing you are required to meet the clearing requirements. In both UCAS Extra and clearing the places will be subject to availability.

The following courses require a portfolio of works in order for a decision to be made:

Composition/Electro-acoustic Music Composition

Creative Writing

The specific details can be found here.

Students take 60 credits worth of courses in semester one and 60 credits worth of courses in semester two. To complete the MA, students are required to take 180 credits in total

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Support Office. Email: disability@manchester.ac.uk