English Literature: Literature and Society: Enlightenment, Romantic and Victorian MSc

The programme will be taught in seminars over two semesters, after which you will write an independently researched dissertation.

You will complete:

• 2 compulsory (core) courses, each worth 20 credits
• 2 option courses, each worth 20 credits
• 40 credits of mandatory training in research methods

The core courses will cover the periods 1688 to 1815 and 1815 to 1900 respectively. You can find out more about these courses, and browse indicative reading lists for them, on our Course Catalogue. Please note that the catalogue is for the current academic year, and may be subject to change.

• Semester 1: Enlightenment and Romanticism, 1688–1815
• Semester 2: Romanticism and Victorian Society, 1815–1900

Option courses

You will take two option courses. The choices we will offer you may include:

• The Reign of Terror: Fear and Loathing in Romantic Literature
• Modern Love: Victorian Poetry and Prose
• Fairy Tales
• Digital Humanities for Literary Studies
• Green Thoughts: Landscape, Environment and Literature
• The Long Summer: Edwardian Texts and Contexts 1900–1910
• The Novel in the Romantic Period: Gender, Gothic, and the Nation
• Great Victorian Novel
• Illness Narratives through History

Your MSc dissertation will be worth 60 credits.

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.

Students who successfully follow this programme will gain:

• knowledge and understanding of 18th and 19th century literary writing in Britain and Ireland in relation to its social, political and intellectual contexts
• practice in reading literary texts in relation to a range of theoretical and philosophical ideas
• a grounding in the research methods of literary studies

This programme will help you to identify possible topics for advanced research in English literature, potentially leading to an academic career.

The transferable skills you gain, such as communication, project management and analysis, will give you an edge in a competitive employment market.

Meet our graduates

• Céleste Callen

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 English literature or a relevant discipline.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

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:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

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).

• Approved universities in 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:

• English language requirements

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:

• Search for funding