English Literature and American Studies MA

Year of entry: 2026

Course length: 12 months full-time | 24 months part-time

About the course

Our MA English and American Studies prepares you for further research in the discipline while also broadening and deepening your critical engagement with British and American literature and culture.

This MA consists of two core course units, two or three optional course units and a dissertation. Core Units (choose two or more):

Introduction to Literary Studies: Historicism and the Archive
American Studies: Theory, Methods, Practice
Space, Place and Text (Ecocriticism)

Option Units include:

Shakespeare: Theory and the Archive
Race, Gender and Power in the American South: From Slavery to Segregation
Postcolonial Literatures, Genres and Theories
Modernisms
Wondrous Transformations: Translating the Medieval Past
Twenty-first Century Literature and Literary Culture

These are example course units based on 2025/26 options and are subject to change each year.

Learn more >

Ranked sixth in the UK for English language and literature.

(QS World University Rankings 2026)

Explore a wide range of cultural assets in Manchester, a UNESCO City of Literature.

Our graduates are among the most targeted by top UK employers.

(High Fliers 2025)

Where will your degree take you?

This Master's degree is designed to further your critical analysis skills, enhance your ability to articulate knowledge of concepts and theories, as well as work and think independently, critically, and creatively, providing you with a set of versatile skills that are highly desired by a wide range of employers.

Our award-winning careers service provides a wealth of tools, advice, development opportunities, and industry links. You'll have access to dedicated, subject-specific support throughout your studies and for up to two years after the end of your course.

Upon successful completion of their course, many of our postgraduates go on to, or return and subsequently progress in, jobs in a variety of fields. These include those in the world of publishing, the law sector, teaching, academia or government policy.

Sarah Bolger

English Literature and American Studies MA

"In every seminar I'm challenged to think in ways that I've not thought for several years. The theoretical and critical aspects of the course have not only rejuvenated my passion for critical and cultural theory, but also for reading in general."

Libby Turner

MA English Literature and American Studies |Peer Advisor and Placements Coordinator at St Giles Trust

"In my current job I work to several strict deadlines at one time, which I think I gained a lot of practice at during my degrees. I also use my research skills on a daily basis, and I attribute these to researching sources and information for essays. I write monthly reports for my programme, analyse qualitative data and create informed summaries – all of which are skills that I honed during my degrees! Additionally, I think I use my critical thinking skills in work and out of work."