English Literature: Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present MSc
Awards: MSc
Study modes: Full-time, Part-time
Funding opportunities
Programme website: English Literature: Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present
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!
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.
| Award | Title | Duration | Study mode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSc | Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present | 1 Year | Full-time | Programme structure 2024/25 |
| MSc | Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present | 2 Years | Part-time | Programme 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:
| Award | Title | Duration | Study mode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSc | Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present | 1 Year | Full-time | Tuition fees |
| MSc | Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present | 2 Years | Part-time | Tuition 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:
- Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
- Contact: College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Admissions Office
- School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures
- 50 George Square
- Central Campus
- Edinburgh
- EH8 9LH
Applying
Select your programme and preferred start date to begin your application.
MSc Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present - 1 Year (Full-time)
MSc Literature and Modernity: 1900 to the Present - 2 Years (Part-time)
Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.
Deadlines for applicants applying to study in 2025/6 will be published shortly.
Please be aware that applications must be submitted and complete, i.e. all required documents uploaded, by the relevant application deadline in order to be considered in that round. Your application will still be considered if you have not yet met the English language requirement for the programme.
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
- Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
- Contact: College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Admissions Office
- School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures
- 50 George Square
- Central Campus
- Edinburgh
- EH8 9LH