English Literary Studies with Creative Writing

Entry requirements

2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in English Literature or related subject, for example literature in other languages

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

Additional Requirements

As part of your application you also need to provide

• A sample of your academic writing about literature
• A portfolio of original writing (no more than 12 poems or 20 pages of prose/scriptwriting) showing potential for publication

Months of entry

October

Course content

Why Lancaster?

• Develop your own scholarly, theoretical, critical, or even critical-creative writing with support from widely published scholars, critics, and authors
• Be inspired by our rich programme of literary events on campus, online, and in the city’s historic Castle Quarter
• Study on campus in the University Library’s bespoke Postgraduate Study Space, or in the Castle Quarter within the University’s Postgraduate Study Hub at The Storey, the city’s Victorian-build arts venue
• Present your work at the Department’s Masters Literary Studies Conference, usually held in the impressive surrounds of the Castle.
• Enjoy the benefits of our partnership with the archive-rich Wordsworth Grasmere, including internship opportunities
• Get involved with our four student-run literary journals: Cake, Lux, Flash, and Errant

This degree provides a rare opportunity to develop both your critical and creative writing at Master's level, and indeed to explore, if you wish, radical fusions of these two modes.

You will take two in-common modules in Research Methods, developing your understanding of the many ways that literature works both within the academy and beyond. In addition, you will select two modules in English Literary Studies, and two modules in Creative Writing. You will also complete an English Literary Studies dissertation which could, if you wish, fuse critical and creative writing.

Acts of reading

Literary Studies at Lancaster means not only a deep and close engagement with literature itself but the opportunity, if you wish, to explore how literature opens onto many other worlds – politics, ecology, philosophy, psychology, theology, film, and fashion, etc. To support this, you can if you wish take one a module from outside of the Department -- in, say, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Politics, Sociology or Film Studies (subject to availability).

Supportive community

You will be taught in weekly small-group seminars, and have regular one-to-one tutorials with a supervisor when working on your Dissertation, a long-form project exploring a topic of your own choosing – this could be a traditional scholarly work, or creative-critical, or indeed a study of how literature works in the world(s) outside the university.

We also encourage you to meet in person with all your tutors to discuss your work. And you will have an academic advisor who you meet to review your progress.

Literary Community

Many of our special literary events, such as talks from visiting scholars and authors, take place in the Castle Quarter, with the Department’s October Lecture and May Gathering being usually held at Lancaster’s ancient Priory. In addition, we have a unique partnership with the archive-rich Wordsworth Museum at Grasmere, which includes internships, an annual study retreat day, and free entry at any time of the year.

Department Bursaries and Prizes

Thanks to a generous endowment, the Department is able to offer:

• The Bailrigg Awards – these are awards of up to £150 and are open to any student in the Department who is suffering financial hardship endowment.
• A number of end-of-programme prizes for our MA students.

Libraries

You will have access to a rich array of libraries, archives and special collections, enabling you not only to develop as a critic or author but also, if you wish, to develop skills relating to work as an archivist, librarian, or curator. For more, see here

Careers

This programme will enable you to develop a host of high-level professional skills from within literary studies such as researching, persuading, and presenting. Your skills will be valued by a range of sectors -- from marketing to law, social work to professional services, and business to the media.

Our extensive events programme will provide many opportunities to network and create the connections needed to progress beyond Masters.

Some of our graduates continue their studies at PhD level, and then progress to an academic career. Many others go on to careers outside the academy in fields such as:

• Publishing
• Journalism
• Copywriting
• Television and the media
• Teaching
• Archives
• Museums
• Librarianship

Information for international students

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 7.0, and a minimum of 6.5 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.

If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

Fees and funding

Find out more at our fees and funding page.