MA/PGDip Gender, Sexuality and Culture / Course details

Year of entry: 2025

Course description

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A Conversation With... Gender, Sexuality and Culture

The MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture isn’t just a degree, it’s an invitation to rethink the world we live in.


Whether you're passionate about LGBTQ+ rights, feminist theory, queer and trans theory, or the cultural politics of identity, this bold and interdisciplinary course gives you the tools to explore gender and sexuality in powerful, transformative ways. Taught by leading voices in the field, you’ll connect theory with real-world impact — from trans studies and queer cinema to race, pop culture, and political resistance.

What makes us unique?

  • Interdisciplinary to the core – Study across English, American Studies, Art History, Politics, History, Modern Languages, Theology, Sociology, Anthropology and more
  • Research-rich environment – Home to the Centre for the Study of Sexuality and Culture (CSSC), a national and international centre of excellence for gender and sexuality studies
  • Live culture meets academic thought – Manchester’s festivals, museums, and queer arts scenes add fuel to your studies
  • Global perspectives – Tackle debates that matter across borders: intersectionality, trans rights, postcolonial identities, and the legacies of the AIDS crisis

This course is made for the curious and the critical.

Special features

Sexuality Summer School


An unforgettable week-long event bringing together international scholars, artists, and students to explore the cutting edge of feminist, queer and trans theory, culture, and activism.


Dynamic Research Culture


Join a buzzing intellectual community shaped by the CSSC , t he Morgan Centre , CIDRAL , and many scholars working across the University on diverse topics from LGBTQ+ inclusion in healthcare, to the cultural politics of chem sex.

Student Voices


“This course gave me the language, histories, and methods to understand my identity as a Black woman from the Caribbean.”
Kristina, MA student

Teaching and learning

You will learn through a variety of teaching methods, depending on the units you take, including lectures, seminars and independent study.

Academics that teach on the course include:

Prof. Jackie Stacey - Media and Cultural Studies

Dr Monica Pearl -20th Century American Literature

Dr Gareth Gavin - Creative Writing

Dr Ben Nichols - Gender and Sexuality Studies

Prof. Daniela Caselli - Modern Literature

Coursework and assessment

You will be assessed in a variety of ways depending on the units you take, including written assignments, participation in discussions, and presentations.

Course unit details

You will undertake units totalling 180 credits. Core and optional units combine to make 120 credits, with the remaining 60 credits allocated to the dissertation.
You can see the full information online for our module 'Trans Theory' ENGL71831

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Dissertation (MA) ENGL60000 60 Mandatory
Critical Thinking in Gender and Sexuality Studies ENGL60971 30 Mandatory
Race, Gender and Power in the American South: From Slavery to Segregation AMER62002 15 Optional
Historicising the Contemporary: Literature and Politics 1970-2000 ENGL60081 30 Optional
Queer Cinema and Beyond ENGL60152 30 Optional
Modernisms ENGL60451 30 Optional
Postcolonial Literatures, Genres and Theories ENGL60462 30 Optional
Before `Sexuality': Bodies, Desires and Discourses, 1660-1900 ENGL60882 15 Optional
Key Issues in Literary and Critical Theory ENGL70032 30 Optional
Twenty-first Century Literature and Literary Culture ENGL71212 30 Optional
Approaches to Literary Studies: Historicism and the Archive ENGL71821 30 Optional
Trans Theory ENGL71832 30 Optional
Gender, Sexuality & the Body HIST65182 15 Optional
Gender in Comparative Politics POLI71151 15 Optional
Critical Ecologies SALC61081 15 Optional
Sociology of Consumption SOCY60551 15 Optional
Theories of Gender and Sexuality SOCY60991 15 Optional
Urban Sociology SOCY70061 15 Optional
Displaying 10 of 18 course units

Facilities

You will have access to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries at Manchester, as well as 24/7 study facilities at the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons and cultural assets such as the John Rylands Library, the Whitworth and the Manchester Museum.

Find out more about facilities for master's students .

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk