Literature, Culture & Society

Entry requirements

First or second-class Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a humanities and/or social sciences subject.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MSc Literature, Culture & Society at Strathclyde is an innovative programme that explores how literature and culture can shape responses to urgent social issues.

The programme focuses on the transformative role of narrative and human storytelling at the nexus of multiple contemporary crises, from democracy and climate crisis to movements for racial, gender and queer social justice. Grounded in a rigorous approach to literary and cultural studies, with contributions from an interdisciplinary group of academics, this course equips students for careers in a range of sectors, including policy, charities, culture, education, publishing and communications, as well as further research.

You'll benefit from Strathclyde's status as a hub of expertise in oral histories of literature and culture, health humanities, environmental humanities, narrative theory, and socially engaged literary criticism. Your tutors, leading researchers in these fields, will help you develop intersectional approaches to literature grounded in a commitment to epistemic justice.

Employers across a range of sectors increasingly value competencies in storytelling and cultural production, as well as critical thinking, adaptability, and curiosity. Our programme embeds these capabilities and gives you the chance to develop them in a professional setting through our optional Research Placement module. You will benefit from a curriculum that blends rigorous literary study with practical, interdisciplinary applications, maximising transferable skills for you to take into the next stage of your career.

The programme is available on a full-time (12 months) or part-time (24 months) basis, both with a September start. The curriculum combines core and optional modules, allowing you to tailor your studies to your interests and goals.

Students come together for three core modules and choose a further three modules from a list of options. A key feature of the programme is its flexibility. All students take two core modules, 'Narrating Social Change' and 'Storytelling, Memory & Heritage', and also select at least one of two alternate cores: either 'Communicating Research' or 'Advanced Topics in Literature & Culture'.

The last summer of the degree is devoted to the Final Research Project, where you will work with a supervisor to develop a piece of original research. This can take a range of forms: you might produce a critical dissertation, a piece of creative-critical writing, or an audio visual project.

At Strathclyde, you'll join a lively and engaged network of students and researchers, and benefit from events and opportunities run by Strathclyde's Oral History Centre, the Strathclyde Feminist Research Network, the Centre for the Social History of Health & Healthcare, and our thriving community of creative writers.

Research Placement

The optional English & Creative Writing Research Placement module enables you to apply your learning in a professional setting, collaborating with an external partner to address social issues through literature, culture and storytelling.

Placements are designed to maximise transferable skills and employment pathways. Host organisations might include publishers, museums, galleries, government bodies, charities, media, entertainment companies, and universities.

Students in the Department of Humanities have undertaken recent placements with organisations including:

• Glasgow Women's Library
• UN Women UK
• The Thomas Graham Community Library
• The Elphinstone Institute
• Gracefields Art Centre
• University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research
• Rape Crisis Scotland, Engender
• The Cooperation Band
• Stirling District Tourism
• The Alasdair Gray Archive

Final Research Project

The Final Research Project enables you to exercise and develop the skills gathered on the programme in an extended project, which may take the form of:

• a critical dissertation
• a work of creative-critical writing
• a policy paper
• an audio/audio-visual/multimedia project

You will be assigned a supervisor with whom you will meet roughly six times over the course of the semester to receive feedback on draft work and discuss your progress and ideas.

Part-time route

The part-time route follows the same curriculum as the full-time MSc, but you'll complete the degree over 24 months.

There is some flexibility over which semester part-time students take their optional modules, allowing you to plan your studies around other commitments.

Information for international students

You're required to have a suitable minimum level of competency in the English language if your first language is not English or if you have not been educated wholly or mainly in the medium of English.

For postgraduate studies, the University of Strathclyde requires a minimum overall score of IELTS 6.5 (with no score below 6.0) or equivalent. Tests are valid for two years.

Pre-sessional courses in English are available.

If you're a national of an English speaking country recognised by UK Visas and Immigration or you have successfully completed an academic qualification (at least equivalent to a UK Bachelors Degree) in any of these countries, then you do not need to present any additional evidence.

If you're from a country not recognised as an English speaking country by the United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI), please check our English requirements before making your application.

Fees and funding

Visit our website for information on Scholarships and funding opportunities.

Assessment