English Literature and Culture (MA)

About the programme

Programme structure

The master's programme in English Literature and Culture spans two semesters and consists of four courses and an MA thesis:

Courses 1 and 2: Any two courses from the English Literature and Culture programme
Course 3: Any course offered in the English Literature and Culture programme; or any other course offered in the other Literary Studies tracks (German, French, Italian, Literature & Society).
Course 4: Any course offered in the English Literature and Culture track; or any other course offered in the other Literary Studies tracks; or a course on a literary subject taught in another MA programme (for example, North American Studies); a course offered in the MA in Linguistics: English Language and Linguistics; or a course offered via Masterlanguage (do note that Masterlanguage courses are 5 or 6 EC instead of 10).

Course overview

Courses
Course	EC
Thesis Seminar Master Literary Studies English	0
MA Thesis Literary Studies (track English)	20
European Modernism	10
Beowulf and Beyond: An Early Medieval Poem and Its Modern Adaptations	10
Literature and Social Class: 1800 to the Present	10
Blithe Spirits and Demon Lovers: The Fantastic Imagination from Coleridge to the Present Day	10
Ethics in Gothic, Horror, SF and Noir Fiction	10
The Masks of Oscar Wilde: Imitation of Life in Literature, Criticism, Film	10
American Identities, 1850 to the present	10
The Epic Course: A Pre-Modern Genre and its digital disclosure	10
Internship MA Literary Studies	10
Shakespeare's Sister: Gender Troubles in the Early Modern Period	10
James Joyce’s Ulysses	10
Reading Medieval Women: Literacy and Writing Women in Medieval France and England	10
Migration Matters: (Im)migration, Memory, and Identity in American Literature	10
Core Course: Methodologies and Theories – Medieval & Early Modern	10
Imagining Reconciliation in Literature, Art and Media: Early Modernity to the Present Day	10

For a more detailed programme and an overview of all the possible electives, please check the Prospectus.

Please note that this guide applies to the current academic year, which means that the curriculum for next year may differ slightly.

Full-time and part-time

You can follow all Literary Studies tracks both full-time and part-time. Please note that the part-time study mode does not offer any evening classes.

Research and academic rigour

All of our teaching staff are internationally active scholars. We regularly update our courses to reflect contemporary academic debates and the very latest insights – many from the research conducted by lecturers on the programme. The academically rigorous design of the programme enables you to develop essential skills in academic writing, critical thinking, and independent, high-quality academic research, culminating in your master's thesis.

We also offer a combined programme of Literary Studies/English courses and Linguistics/English courses:

Two courses (20 EC): MA Literary Studies/English
Two courses (20 EC): MA Linguistics/English
MA thesis Literary Studies/English (20 EC)

This programme is particularly recommended if you plan to apply for the Educational Master offered by the ICLON afterwards.

You have the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics and seminar options, some of which are taught on a yearly basis (such as on James Joyce’s Ulysses), and some of which vary from year to year.

In the past we have offered courses on 'Chaucer’s Dream Poetry', 'Early Modern women writers', 'the fantastic', 'Climate Fiction', 'Old English literature and Tolkien' and 'Heroes and Heroines of Faith: Saints in Anglo-Saxon England'.

The courses offered for Philology can be combined with linguistics courses in earlier stages of the language, such as Old and Middle English, as offered by the English Language and Linguistics.

Peter Liebregts

Professor of Modern Literatures in English

"I'm passionate about the texts and topics I teach, and I hope that my enthusiasm conveys to students why the texts that we study in class are important to discuss."

Extensive feedback

"I help students to prepare for the job market by further sharpening their academic skills, that is, their ability to focus for an extended period of time on a specific topic and deal with its complexity, and to be able to report on this in the form of oral presentations or written essays. I provide extensive feedback on presentations and written work so students know how to improve and apply these skills."

Is English Literature and Culture the programme for you?

Check the admission requirements to find out if you are eligible for this Master's programme.

Check the admission requirements