Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

English Literature: Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present MSc

Awards: MSc

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

The exceptionally knowledgeable and supportive faculty of the MSc in Literature and Modernity programme enabled me to explore modern and contemporary English and Anglophone literature from a full spectrum of perspectives ranging from the canonical to the cutting-edge. The vibrant community of literary students and enthusiasts in this historic cradle of the Enlightenment always welcomes new contributions and ideas. Choose Edinburgh and an unforgettable year about literature and life!

Yibin (Jerry) Yang MSc in Literature and Modernity, 2023

This programme examines a range of literary and theoretical contexts, introducing ways that writing and imagination shape and share in cultural and political processes.

You will explore the ways literature since 1900 has sought to change and modernise itself, in the context of wider developments of modernity characterising the age.

Your studies will take you through a broad and fascinating field, from the originators of literary modernism – including figures such as T. S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf – to late 20th century postmodernists and contemporary writers who continue to explore innovative ways of writing about our changing world.

Studying in the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, you will analyse the most challenging and exciting literature written in English since 1900, and explore the range of historical, intellectual, cultural, political and philosophical factors informing the period’s writing – particularly in its highly innovative modernist and postmodernist phases.

The programme will be taught through a combination of seminars and tutorials.

You will take one compulsory and one option course in each of two semesters, along with a course in research methods. You will then complete an independently researched dissertation.

Compulsory courses:

  • Literature and Modernity I: Modernist Aesthetics
  • Literature and Modernity II: Late Modernism and Beyond

Option courses

Option courses may include:

  • Decadence, Dazzle, Dissent: Aestheticism and Cultural Politics in the Long Twentieth Century
  • Global Modernisms: Inter/National Responses to Modernity
  • Global LGBT Fiction
  • Postcolonial Writing
  • Desire and Writing: Psychoanalysis, Literature, Criticism
  • The American Novel 1970-2010
  • Poor Things: Capitalism, Reification and 20th Century Literature
  • Illness Narratives through History
  • 21st Century Black American Fiction
  • The Graphic Novel: Narrative in Sequential Art
  • Modern and Contemporary Life-Writing

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MScLiterature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present1 YearFull-timeProgramme structure 2024/25
MScLiterature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present2 YearsPart-timeProgramme structure 2024/25

On successful completion of this programme, you will have gained

  • practical knowledge of the range of theoretical and philosophical ideas informing modern and postmodern literary criticism
  • enhanced knowledge and understanding of the role of literary writing in the formation of contemporary culture
  • an advanced grounding in the research methods of literary studies

Graduates of this programme will acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of literary history and culture post-1900, and a range of transferable skills in research and enquiry, critical thinking and evaluation, and varieties of written and oral communication. This programme will also provide you with research and analytical skills that can be extended into future advanced study in the subject area.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
  • PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 65 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
  • Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 7 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MScLiterature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present1 YearFull-timeTuition fees
MScLiterature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present2 YearsPart-timeTuition fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

  • borrowing money

    • taking out a loan

    • family support

  • personal savings

  • income from work

  • employer sponsorship

  • scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures
  • 50 George Square
  • Central Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH8 9LH

Due to high demand, this programme operates a gathered field approach to admissions, with two application deadlines as noted below.

Each application round has a decision deadline, also listed below, but note that we may make offers to the strongest candidates on an ongoing basis, in advance of the published decision deadline.

We strongly recommend that you apply as early as possible, especially if you intend to apply for funding. Applications may close earlier than published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand. If you are considering applying for our pre-sessional English Language programme, please make sure you apply in Round 1.

Please note that for an application to be reviewed, it must be a complete application by the deadline with all supporting documentation uploaded, including references and transcripts. English language documentation can be submitted later but if you have already met the English language entry requirements for your programme at the time of application, your application may be considered more competitive in selection than applications where an English language test still needs to be taken.

Selection deadlines

Round Application deadline Places awarded by
1 13 January 2025 17 April 2025
2 29 May 2025 30 June 2025

Deadlines for UK/Scotland fee status

After Round 2, if there are still places available, applications will remain open only to applicants who are eligible for the UK/Scotland fee rate, including the EU/EEA Pre-settled Scotland fee status. Applications will remain open no later than 30 June 2025 and may close earlier than this if the programme becomes full, so we strongly recommend you apply as soon as possible.

If you apply with another fee status after 29 May 2025, your application will be rejected.

(Revised 17 October 2024 to add application deadlines and selection process information)

You must submit one reference with your application.

The online application process involves the completion of a web form and the submission of supporting documents.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures
  • 50 George Square
  • Central Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH8 9LH