Masters applications for 2025 entry are now closed.
Applications for September 2026 will open on Wednesday 24 September. Applications are now open for programmes with a January 2026 start. View our programmes »
| UCAS code |
1234 |
| Duration |
1 year full time
2 years part time |
| Entry year |
September 2026 |
| Campus |
Streatham Campus
|
| Discipline |
English
|
| Contact |
|
Overview
- Specialise in Modern and Contemporary Literature while exploring global perspectives and deepening your knowledge across a broad range of optional modules, including literature, film, television, drama, and critical theory
- Develop a nuanced understanding of literature and media within their historical, cultural, and global contexts, while enhancing your communication, research, and analytical skills
- Join a dynamic postgraduate and research community, learning from world-renowned academics whose expertise spans Modernist Studies, Postcolonial Literatures, Critical Theory, and Film and Television Studies
- Study in Exeter, a UNESCO City of Literature, with access to the University’s outstanding Special Collections, including the richest collection of 20th Century literary papers by writers associated with the South West of England such as Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, John Betjeman, and William Golding
Our English research environment is 100% world leading
Top 50 in the world for English Language and Literature
A thriving and supportive writing community - our team of prize-winning and best-selling authors will help you develop your creative writing skills
Top 10 in the UK for English
Our English research environment is 100% world leading
Top 50 in the world for English Language and Literature
A thriving and supportive writing community - our team of prize-winning and best-selling authors will help you develop your creative writing skills
Top 10 in the UK for English
Entry requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above in their first degree in English Literature, American Studies, Creative Writing, Film Studies, Television and Media, Drama, History, Classics and Ancient History, Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Literatures. While we normally only consider applicants who meet this criteria, if you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.
Applicants coming from a non-related background will be asked to provide a sample of written work (2,000 words) to enable their suitability for the programme to be assessed. This is not mandatory for your initial application, but you are welcome to include a writing sample if you wish. Please also include in your personal statement why you want to study the MA and why you believe you’re a good fit for the course.
Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
Entry requirements for international students
Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.
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Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
Entry requirements for international students
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B1. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.
Course content
This MA will explore the relationship between Modern and Contemporary culture and the wider world. You will be guided through some key debates in current theory and a wealth of important critical material from around the world. By doing this, you will be asked to consider how thinking globally can expand, reorient and enrich the way in which we read and practise literary criticism and cultural theory. You will also be given the opportunity to consider the relationship between queerness and normativity, and the material world and literary texts, while being trained to make connections between literature, film, and the historical and cultural contexts of the 20th and 21st centuries.
You will select 60 credits of core content from a list of four modules that span literary periods, geographical regions, intellectual history and cultural forms (literature; film; television). All of these modules are team-taught and draw on colleagues’ expertise in Modernist Studies, World and Postcolonial Literatures, Critical Theory and Film and Television Studies. The elective core modules balance the expertise and resources we have locally at the University of Exeter (including in our Special Collections) with an expansive global outlook. To learn more about Modern and Contemporary expertise in our Department, consult the staff profiles and research group websites in the Teaching and Research section below.
The programme is specifically designed for those seeking high level training prior to embarking on doctoral research, recent graduates wishing to extend and enhance their studies by a year before taking up a career, individuals already in employment who are interested in career development, and those who simply wish to broaden their intellectual horizons.
Please note that this course requires you to read and analyse complex English literary texts, but we do not teach English language skills on these modules. You will need a near-native level of English to participate fully in classes and complete assessments successfully.
The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
120 credits of compulsory modules and 60 credits of optional modules
Compulsory modules
All students must take EASM023 Dissertation and two of the modules listed below
a - All students must take two of the following EASM151, EASM152, EASM167, EASM171
| Code | Module |
Credits |
|---|
| EASM023 |
Dissertation | 60 |
| EASM151 |
Modernism and Material Culture see note a above | 30 |
| EASM152 |
Criticism and Theory: Critical and Literary Theory in a Global Context see note a above | 30 |
| EASM167 |
World Cinema / World Literature see note a above | 30 |
| EASM171 |
Expanding Queerness: Critical Debates in Theory, Literature, Film and Television see note a above | 30 |
Optional modules
Students must choose 60 credits of option modules
| Code | Module |
Credits |
|---|
|
MA Modern and Contemporary Literature options 2025-6 |
| EASM184 |
World Literature and Postcolonial Studies |
30 |
| EASM192 |
Global Voices: Shakespeare and the Early Modern World |
30 |
| EASM109 |
Bodies Politic: Cultural and Sexual Politics in England, 1603-1679 |
30 |
| EASM174 |
Writing Women in the English Middle Ages |
30 |
| EASM024 |
Disunited States: Contemporary American Literature, 1970s-Present |
30 |
| EASM197 |
Global Romanticisms |
30 |
| EASM206 |
Global Victorians: Making the Modern World, 1837-1914 |
30 |
| EASM200 |
Writing Interactively |
30 |
| HASM031 |
Global Classrooms: Health Humanities and Geographies |
30 |
Fees
2026/27 entry
UK fees per year:
£12,650 full-time; £6,325 part-time
International fees per year:
£25,550 full-time; £12,775 part-time
Scholarships
The University of Exeter offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with £7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships *. We also provide awards for sport, music and other achievements, as well as regional and partner scholarships with organisations such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship
We are pleased to offer University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship towards the cost of your tuition fees. Full details can be found here.
*Terms and conditions, including deadlines, apply. See our website for details..
Teaching and research
Learning and teaching
We believe in collaborative, small group learning and teaching for your modules will be delivered in seminar groups. Each module has one two-hour seminar per week, with independent work set that involves intensive, self-motivated research and writing.
You will be encouraged to discuss your ideas and interact with your fellow students and academic staff through our Visiting Speaker seminar series, postgraduate conferences and Research Centre activities. You will be expected to play an active role in debating and presenting your work. Throughout your programme you will develop and enhance your communication, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
Modules
On your modules, you will be assessed via a range of activities including archival projects, individual or group presentations, essays, close reading exercises and more. The final assessment piece will be your dissertation, the culmination of your programme of study. You will conceive, plan, research and write an independent 15,000-word piece that will display your subject knowledge and methodological skills. The dissertation is your opportunity to explore a topic that interests you in greater detail, something which may form the basis of further research such as a Ph.D. project.
Research areas
When you study on the MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature, you will join a world-leading English and Creative Writing Department that regularly hosts talks, workshops, and conferences spotlighting prestigious visiting speakers and the Department’s own experts. As members of our learning community, postgraduate students are warmly included in such events. These activities are coordinated by the Department’s many research groups and centres. You will benefit from staff at the forefront of their fields, stretching from medieval literature all the way up to contemporary culture.
Research Centres
Dedicated research centres and groupings within our department include:
Research Groups
Community
You will join a vibrant postgraduate and research community. All our staff belong to one or more research group which plan and develop research initiatives across the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences also houses the Digital Humanities Lab, a state-of-the-art facility offering unique spaces, equipment and training for staff and students. A specialist team conducts and supports innovative Digital Humanities research, offers training and teaching, and undertakes the digital preservation and display of historic material and artefacts using advanced technologies. For more information view our Digital Humanities Lab page.
At Exeter, research is at the heart of what we do, and we hope you will become an active member of our research community.
To find out more about our staff research interests have a look at our staff profile pages.
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Dr Felicity Gee
Professor Jana Funke
Dr Chris Campbell
Dr Felicity Gee
Felicity’s research spans modernism, surrealism, critical women's writing, and philosophy. She is currently editing a collection of critical essays on surrealist poet Valentine Penrose, and researching her second monograph, which features the work of Anais Nin, Violette Leduc, Valentine Penrose, Kati Horna, Tina Modotti, and Yayoi Kusama. Felicity has taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate level in Japan and the U.K. She is currently the President of the International Society for the Study of Surrealism (ISSS).
Profile page
Professor Jana Funke
Jana’s interdisciplinary research explores how understandings of gender and sexuality are produced at the intersections of literature, medicine and science. She also works on the history of sexuality and is a co-founder of the Sexual Knowledge Unit and a member of the Centre for Medical History at Exeter. She has recently co-edited (with Dr Elizabeth English and Dr Sarah Parker) a collection entitled Interrogating Lesbian Modernisms: Histories, Forms, Genres (Edinburgh University Press, 2023). She has taught widely in modernist studies, queer literatures and histories and critical theory.
Profile page
Dr Chris Campbell
Chris’s research focuses on the intersections of world literature, postcolonial theory and environmental criticism. He is particularly interested in Caribbean literature and culture, world-ecology and postcolonial ecocriticism, and histories of broadcast culture and decolonization. From a broader perspective his research interests include: world literature as literature of the modern world-system; literary and cultural theory; the environmental humanities; colonial/postcolonial Cyprus; and west country writing. He teaches modules concerned with postcolonial and world literary studies, contemporary literature and the environmental humanities.
Profile page
Careers
A postgraduate degree in English equips you with a range of skills that will put you in a great position to succeed in a variety of careers. Alongside in-depth subject knowledge, you will develop advanced and highly transferable skills in researching; analysing and assessing primary and secondary sources; written and verbal communication; managing and interpreting information; developing ideas and arguments; teamwork; problem solving and the ability to make informed decisions. For some of our students the MA is a step on the path to doctoral study, for others it opens a range of career paths in areas such as teaching, publishing, media, journalism, advertising and communications.
In recent years the positions some of our graduates have gone on to include:
- Copywriter
- Marketing Assistant
- Assistant Editor
- Publishing Assistant
- Editorial Assistant
- Freelance Journalist
- Writer
Careers and employment support
While studying at Exeter you can also access a range of activities, advice and practical help to give you the best chance of following your chosen career path. For more information visit our Careers pages.
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