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Modern Literature & Culture MA

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Overview

Encounter a broad range of nineteenth and twentieth-century literature and culture from Britain, North America and the English-speaking world. This course gives you an opportunity to study an eclectic array of texts and topics – including Victorian Studies, Modernism and American Studies – and to think across the period boundaries that restrict other courses.

Our optional modules cover almost every aspect of modern literature and culture: from the Victorian novel and Modernist poetics to early science fiction and postcolonial life writing. King’s has one of the oldest English departments in the country, and our unrivalled central London location allows you to explore the city's rich literary history first hand. 


Key benefits

  • Unrivalled location in the centre of London, with easy access to the British Library and the major libraries and archives of the capital.
  • Flexible course with a wide range of options allows students the opportunity to specialise in areas of their choice.
  • A dynamic, research-led department with an international reputation for excellence.
  • King’s English Department is a research environment which values independent thought. While reading widely, students also receive training in research and writing skills in preparation for the completion of a large-scale dissertation project.

Key information

Application status Open

Duration One year FT, two years PT, September to September

Study mode Full-time, Part-time

Credit value UK 180/ECTS 90

Course intake Approximately 40 FT.

Course leaders

Dr Brian Murray (brian.murray@kcl.ac.uk)

Further details

Course contact for further information Postgraduate Admissions Team, Admissions Office tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 7000 fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200

Course contact form Postgraduate admissions

Awarding institution King's College London

Faculty Faculty of Arts & Humanities

Department Department of English

Locations

 

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Modern Literature & Culture MA

Discover More

Find out more about studying 19th and 20th century English literature from Victorian poetry to the modernist novel in our short video about this course.

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Course detail

Description

Our MA course is an opportunity to explore a wide and eclectic range of topics and texts from the early-19th to mid-20th century, and to think across the period boundaries that restrict other courses. The course provides high-level teaching and research training in a wide range of aspects of modern literature and culture.

You will develop the research and writing skills, including manuscript work, bibliographies and internet resources, necessary to complete an extended research project on which you will base your dissertation, which represents half of the credit score for the course. We will enable you to develop critical understanding, to concentrate on specific areas of literary and cultural studies, to acquire advanced skills in research methods and to prepare for doctoral study.

Further literature

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/enquiry-form.aspx

Course format and assessment

Teaching

If you are a full-time student, we will provide you with four to seven hours of teaching each week through seminars. We will expect you to undertake 26 hours of independent study.

If you are a part-time student, we will provide you with two to four hours of teaching each week through seminars. We will expect you to undertake 13 hours of independent study.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment
Your performance will be assessed mainly through written coursework or seminar presentations. Forms of written assessment typically include essays, field reports, and critical commentaries.  Coursework contributes approximately 100% and examinations approximately 0% to your final mark.

Location
This course is primarily taught at the King’s College London Strand Campus. Our location in the heart of London gives you easy access to one of the world’s most vibrant and dynamic cities, and its huge number of social and cultural opportunities. You will also benefit from our extensive resources and facilities, and the many museums and galleries in the city.

Regulating body
King's College London is regulated by the Office for Students.

Structure

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 180 credits.
Required Modules

You are required to take:

  • Text, Culture, Theory: London & Urban Modernity (30 credits)
  • Dissertation (90 credits)
Optional Modules

In addition, you are required to take 60 credits from a range of optional modules, which may typically include:

  • Modernist Soundscapes (20 credits)
  • London: Great Fire to Great Exhibition (20 credits)
  • Pagans & Christians in Nineteenth-Century Britain (20 credits)
  • Victorian Sensation (20 credits)
  • Contemporary South Asian Women Writing (20 credits)
  • African American Literature & the Problem of Music: Criticism, Aesthetics & Culture (20 credits)
  • Modernist Mindscapes (20 credits)
  • Man, Woman & Machine: Victorian Fictions (20 credits)
  • Space and Place in American Literature:1600–1900 (20 credits)
  • The Utopian Imagination, 1850-2472 (20 credits)
  • Queer American Poetry (20 credits)
  • Writing the Modern American Self (20 credits)
  • Unnatural Worlds: Literature and Ecology (20 credits)
  • Conflict, Memory and Resistance in African Literature (20 credits)
  • Women and the Poetics of Liberty in the Romantic Period (20 credits)
  • On Speed: Accelerating Culture since the 19th Century (20 credits)
  • Realism and its Others in the Long 20th Century (20 credits)
  • The 19th-Century Archive Workshop (20 credits)

If you are a part-time student, you will take Text, Culture, Theory in your first year, along with 20credits of optional modules. In your second year you will take your dissertation and 40 credits of optional modules.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Entry requirements & how to apply

Modern Lit and Culture Entry Requirements
Minimum UK requirements 2:1

Bachelor's degree with 2:1 honours in English, or a subject in which English plays a significant part; other disciplines may be considered.

In order to meet the academic entry requirements for this programme you should have a minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree with a final mark of at least 60% or above in the UK marking scheme. If you are still studying you should be achieving an average of at least 60% or above in the UK marking scheme.
International requirements   Visit our admissions webpages to view our International entry requirements.
English Language requirements  Band C Visit our admissions webpages to view our English language entry requirements.

 

Application procedure

Applications must be made online using King’s online application portal apply.kcl.ac.uk and a non-refundable application fee of £70 applies.

 

Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

Modern Lit checklist
Personal Statement  Yes

A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages). Please state modules you wish to take, if known, as part of your personal statement.
Previous Academic Study Yes A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
References Yes Two references are required with at least one academic. Professional references will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago.
Writing Sample Yes You are also required to submit an essay of not more than 4,000 words, preferably on a topic related to the programme. If you completed their BA more than ten years ago, you would normally be asked to submit a new piece of work. Please contact the MA Convenor if you wish to discuss your situation.
Other Optional Applicants may wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of their application

 

Application closing date

We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible. Our first application deadline is the 31 March 2020. After this date, applications will remain open if places are available, but programmes will be closed as soon as they are full. For programmes with spaces remaining, no further applications will be accepted from non-EU (Overseas) nationals after 31July 2020 or from UK/EU nationals after 28 August 2020.

Please note you will not be eligible for an application fee refund if you apply after the first application deadline and places are filled before the final deadlines above and we are unable to process more offers.

Help and support

If you don't have a suitable qualification for direct entry to a UK university, or if English isn't your first language, our academic preparation courses can help you get ready for study in the UK.

Preparation courses

Fees and funding

  • Full time Home/EU fees: £9,990 per year (2020/21)
  • Full time overseas fees: £22,350 per year (2020/21)
  • Part time Home/EU fees: £4,995 per year (2020/21)
  • Part time overseas fees: £11,175 per year (2020/21)

Students starting their programme in 2020/21 who are eligible to pay EU fees will pay the same rate of tuition fees as UK students. This will apply for the duration of their programme, but may be subject to change by the UK Government for subsequent cohorts from 2021/22.

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

When you receive an offer for this course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. The deposit will be credited towards your total fee payment.

The UK/EU deposit is £500.

The INTERNATIONAL deposit is £2,000. 

  • If you receive an offer before 1 June 2020, payment is due by 30 June 2020.

  • If you receive an offer between 1 June 2020 and 30 June 2020, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.

  • If you receive an offer between 1 July 2020 and 31 July 2020, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.

  • If you receive an offer on or after 1 August 2020, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.

  • If you receive an offer in late August, payment is due within 2 days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

 Additional costs/expenses

In addition to the costs above, you can also expect to pay for: Books if you choose to buy your own copies 

  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions 
  • Library fees and fines 
  • Personal photocopies 
  • Printing course handouts 
  • Society membership fees 
  • Stationery 
  • Graduation costs
  • Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses 

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

Financial help and support

Visit the fees and funding webpages to find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans and other financial help available at King's.

Career prospects

Many of our graduates go on to pursue further research. Others transfer the skills and knowledge they develop with us to careers in teaching, journalism, cultural arts and management, or the legal and financial sectors.

Testimonials

Sarah Chambre

Sarah Chambre

I chose this course as a mature student because it suited my multidisciplinary background in literature, music and economics.   The teaching and academic content is superb. It is possible to tailor the course to your interests and to study in other faculties.  The English department is vibrant and welcoming with committed and supportive academic staff.

Current MA Student

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