Introduction
Delve into the world of English Language and Literature and uncover a variety of historical and contemporary texts. Taught by internationally-renowned specialists, the programme will enhance your understanding of the relationship between language and literature, broaden your knowledge of English literary periods and issues, and trace the development and varieties of the English language.
Study Information
Study Options
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MLitt
- Duration
- 12 months or 24 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time or Part Time
- Start Month
- January or September
- Location of Study
- Aberdeen
The MLitt English Language and Literature programme provides graduate-level skills and training in a variety of areas of English literature and linguistics. The programme introduces students to specialist knowledge and scholarly approaches in the historical and critical analysis of English language and literature and is ideally suited for students who wish to solidify their skills and expertise in the subject, either in preparation for more intensive and specialist research or in preparation for other careers, including teaching.
You can take this degree as a stand-alone one-year or two-year part-time Master's degree or as a first step towards a PhD (subject to admission to a further degree programme either at Aberdeen or elsewhere). The programme provides an excellent pathway for students eager to study the subject in the context of the British university system, and students who wish to look more closely at the relationship between language and literature.
Available Programmes of Study
- MLitt
-
English Language & Literature
Qualification Duration Learning Mode Study Mode Start Month LocationMLitt 12 months or 24 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time September Aberdeen MoreMLitt 12 months or 24 months On Campus Learning Full Time or Part Time January Aberdeen MoreProgramme Fees
Fee information Fee category Cost EU / International students £23,800 Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year UK £11,100 Tuition Fees for 2024/25 Academic Year Semester 1
Compulsory Courses
- Approaching English Language and Literature (EL55D1)
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30 Credit Points
This core module takes a chronological approach to the development of English literary language (placing this within the context of language as a whole). Four canonical authors in English are used to facilitate the introduction of key concepts and terminology from across stylistics, sociolinguistics and literary studies. It is intended to equip students from the MLitt in English Language and Literature with the knowledge of these disciplines needed to produce a summer research project on their chosen topic.
- Critical Skills: Research and Dissemination (PD55C1)
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This course will equip you with core research and dissemination skills. Centred on an interdisciplinary approach to research, the course will allow you to engage with peers from various research backgrounds to contribute, discuss and share in an interactive academic community. The course will detail key research techniques and communicative modes for successful dissemination. Communication skills specific to engaging with industry stakeholders will also be covered as part of this course in order to boost employability.
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD5506)
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This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.
Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
- Critical Skills: Reading and Engagement (PD50C2)
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This course will equip you with the essential skills required to engage with your postgraduate studies. Through a series of lectures, interactive seminars and authentic materials, you will build on your critical thinking skills with fellow PGT students from across the school. Critical Reading, essay writing and presentation skills will be offered as part of this course, providing students with skills fundamental to PGT and workplace contexts.
Optional Courses
Choose ONE of the following:
- Infinite Scotlands: Scotland and the Literary Imagination (EL55C7)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores the ways in which place is negotiated in a range of Scottish texts. Looking at a selection of texts about rural, urban, and diasporic experience across the centuries, and including both canonical and lesser-known works, this course will acquaint students with key debates in the study of regional and national fiction. Place in these texts is something to be praised and scorned, embraced and abandoned, but always remains central in any discussion of individual and communal identities. Major themes and issues to be discussed include: the idea of ‘home’; the role of nostalgia and longing in Scottish fiction; the nature of community; the significance of emigration and displacement.
- Writing the Self (EL55C2)
-
30 Credit Points
What is at stake in writing autobiographical texts? What are the forms writers have used to write themselves? Is autobiography simply, as Oscar Wilde states, the lowest form of criticism? Looking at a range of texts from the Medieval period to the present, with a special focus on women’s writing, this course examines the formal, ethical, political, and aesthetic choices writers make when writing themselves.
Semester 2
Compulsory Courses
- English Literature and Language Dissertation (EL5919)
-
60 Credit Points
The Dissertation project is a key part of the MLitt programme. Students complete a significant piece of independent research under the supervision of a specialist in English Language or Literature.
Semester 3
Compulsory Courses
- Fundamentals of English Language (EL50D2)
-
30 Credit Points
This core course introduces students to advanced study of the English language. Three key aspects of the structure of English are introduced: the sound patterns of English (phonology); the structure of English words (morphology) and the structure of sentences (syntax). We then consider the relationship between the semantic meaning of linguistic constructions and their pragmatic implications. The course will enable students to refer confidently to the structure and use of the English language in their own research projects, whether the focus is literary or linguistic.
- Critical Skills: Reading and Engagement (PD50C2)
-
This course will equip you with the essential skills required to engage with your postgraduate studies. Through a series of lectures, interactive seminars and authentic materials, you will build on your critical thinking skills with fellow PGT students from across the school. Critical Reading, essay writing and presentation skills will be offered as part of this course, providing students with skills fundamental to PGT and workplace contexts.
Optional Courses
Choose ONE of the following:
- Locations and Dislocations: the Role of Place in Literature (EL50C1)
-
30 Credit Points
This course examines the social, political and cultural construction of place in literary texts. The imaginative co-ordinates of places such as ‘Scotland’, or ‘England’ exist in a constant state of flux, refusing to yield an essential, authentic image. Using core texts from the early modern period paired with more recent literary responses we explore the idea of place in its various forms. Key themes and issues to be discussed will include the rural and urban divide; literature and nationhood; the nature of community; the significance of emigration, and displacement; walking texts, metropolitan literature, and ideas of the “new world”
- The Novel: Environments and Encounters (EL50C5)
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30 Credit Points
This module explores how the evolution of the novel form has allowed, and required, authors to find new ways of depicting spaces, places and interactions (between characters in particular environments, but also between characters and their environment). This chronologically wide-ranging course moves from the early days of the novel form through to contemporary fiction, allowing for an opportunity to study the many literary tactics that authors have employed to create the settings for their works – from vast historical backdrops, to natural spaces, to urban environments, to smaller domestic and private places. It also us to consider how different cultural moments have prompted authors to rethink how they represent characters’ encounters with the world around them, and with the other cultures, races, species and genders that inhabit that world. As well as narrative theories, students will have the chance to study canonical and less well-known texts from angles informed by current critical approaches such as ecocriticism, animal studies, postcolonial and queer theory.
- Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Renaissance (EL50D4)
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30 Credit Points
This core course is aimed at providing an introduction for students who have chosen the MLitt in Medieval and Early Modern Studies and want to study the Renaissance and early modern period from around 1450 to 1750 through a variety of interdisciplinary approaches.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Fee Information
Additional Fee Information
- Fees for individual programmes can be viewed in the Programmes section above.
- In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips. Any additional fees for a course can be found in our Catalogue of Courses.
- For more information about tuition fees for this programme, including payment plans and our refund policy, please visit our Tuition Fees page.
Funding Opportunities
The SFC Postgraduate tuition fee scholarship may be available for those classified as Home/EU fee status students for this programme. Visit the scholarship page for more information.
The James Carnegie maintenance scholarship for postgraduate students is available with this degree.
Scholarships
Self-funded international students enrolling on postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes will receive one of our Aberdeen Global Scholarships, ranging from £3,000 to £8,000, depending on your domicile country. Learn more about the Aberdeen Global Scholarships here.
To see our full range of scholarships, visit our Funding Database.
How You'll Study
Learning Methods
- E-learning
- Group Projects
- Individual Projects
- Peer Learning
- Seminars
Assessment Methods
Assessment methods vary by individual course and include essays, reports, presentations, written exercises and written and oral examinations. The MLitt also requires a 15,000 word dissertation, while the diploma consists of coursework alone.
Courses are assessed through essays, presentations, group and project work. The variety of assessment in the programme ensures that students apply theory to practice and become expert communicators and team players.
Why Study English Language and Literature?
- Taught by a range of published experts and researchers in the field.
- Explore the theory and criticism of a range of literary periods and styles.
- Learn about the history, development, varieties of English language.
- Excellent opportunity to acquire broad and in-depth knowledge of a variety of English Literary and Linguistic topics.
- Develop a set of marketable skills to enhance your employability and have opportunities to work in a variety of roles across different sectors including education, marketing and journalism.
- Gain specialist knowledge, skills and research training in English language and literature.
- This flexible programme offers a choice of modules meaning you can focus on specific literary periods to pursue your own interests.
Entry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.
A 2.1 Honours degree or the equivalent in English Literature or a relevant cognate discipline in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Please enter your country to view country-specific entry requirements.
English Language Requirements
To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:
IELTS Academic:
OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 6.0; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0
TOEFL iBT:
OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 21; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21
PTE Academic:
OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59
Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:
OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 169; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169
Read more about specific English Language requirements here.
Document Requirements
You will be required to supply the following documentation with your application as proof you meet the entry requirements of this degree programme. If you have not yet completed your current programme of study, then you can still apply and you can provide your Degree Certificate at a later date.
- Degree Transcript
- a full transcript showing all the subjects you studied and the marks you have achieved in your degree(s) (original & official English translation)
- Personal Statement
- a detailed personal statement explaining your motivation for this particular programme
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
Eligible self-funded postgraduate taught (PGT) students will receive the Aberdeen Global Scholarship. Explore our Global Scholarships, including eligibility details, on our dedicated page.
Aberdeen Global ScholarshipsCareers
The programme offers to develop your knowledge and build a set of marketable skills to enhance your employability. English graduates find excellent opportunities across various sectors including education, research, marketing and journalism.
Our Experts
Information About Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
University of Aberdeen
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX