Overview
- Degree awarded
- MA or PG Dip
- Duration
- 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time
- Entry requirements
-
We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities-based subject area.
- How to apply
- Apply online
Course options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | Y | Y | N | N |
| PGDip | Y | Y | N | N |
Course overview
- Join the UK's first dedicated research facility focusing exclusively on the relationships between sexuality, culture and history
- Discover new approaches to gender studies and sexuality studies as theoretical, social, cultural, political and historical fields of investigation
- Challenge current understandings of gender and sexuality by interrogating cultural identities, such as queer, heterosexual, homosexual, gay, straight, bisexual and transgender
- Examine cultural production and cultural theory in relation to other power systems, such as race, ethnicity and class.
- Book your place for an upcoming 1-1 session with Course Director Ben Nichols.
Open days
Find out what it's like to study at Manchester by visiting us on one of our open days .
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2025, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MA (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £13,000
International, including EU, students (per annum): £27,000 -
MA (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £6,500
International, including EU, students (per annum): £13,500 -
PGDip (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £8,667
International, including EU, students (per annum): £18,000 -
PGDip (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £4,333
International, including EU, students (per annum): £9,000
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.
Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
For information on available funding, please visit the School's funding pages or search the University's postgraduate funding database .
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
- Contact name
- PG Taught Admissions
- Facsimile
- +44 (0)161 275 3098
- MASALC@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/english/
- School/Faculty
-
See: About us
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities-based subject area.
English language
We will only consider a minimum overall grade of 7.0 in IELTS with 7.0 in writing and no skill below 6.5 or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25 and no skill below 22.
If you have obtained a different qualification, please check our English language requirements to ensure that it is accepted and equivalent to the required standard.
Please note that this course does not make conditional offers on completing a pre-sessional course. You must already meet the minimum requirements as outlined above or your application will be rejected.
English language test validity
Other international entry requirements
Application and selection
How to apply
Advice to applicants
The personal statement in the application form should demonstrates your understanding of the subject and your motivation for wanting to study the programme.
We also require an academic-standard essay (in English) no more than 4,000 words long on subject related to Gender, Sexuality and Culture.
Please upload the writing sample under the 'CV/Resume' option in the Supporting Documents section of the application form.
How your application is considered
Please note that your application is usually received by the School 24 to 48 hours after the time you submit it. If you have not provided documentation that allows the admissions tutor to make a decision, we will contact you.
Overseas (non-UK) applicants
Re-applications
Course details
Course description
Our innovative and highly interdisciplinary MA Gender, Sexuality and Culture master's course is designed specifically for students interested in investigating gender and sexuality within culture.
Our approach is unique within the UK, bringing together scholars who offer options in a range of academic disciplines, including English and American studies, art history and visual cultures, politics, history, modern languages, religions and theology, history of medicine, sociology, social anthropology, as well as others.
On top of this, the research culture of The University of Manchester is unusually rich for the study of gender and sexuality.
In close consultation with the course directors, you'll opt for a range of MA units drawn from offerings across the humanities and social sciences. You will also be able to take up training in research methods.
This approach allows you greater flexibility and the opportunity to pursue research in new areas.
Special features
Cultural Manchester
Manchester enjoys a dynamic cultural scene. Annual festivals celebrate everything from contemporary literature to gay rights.
Thriving research culture
The University's interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research Centre for the Study of Sexuality and Culture (CSSC) is the UK's first research facility to focus exclusively on the relationships between gender, sexuality, culture and history. As a graduate student, you can take advantage of its stimulating research environment.
The Morgan Centre for the Study of Relationships and Personal Life , based in the School of Social Sciences, also works to foster interdisciplinary projects in the field of relationships, family and personal life, including issues on gender and sexuality.
Other centres include the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts and Languages (CIDRAL), the Feminist Theory Network, and the Cultural Theory Institute.
Sexuality Summer School
The Sexuality Summer School is an annual event intended for postgraduates working in the area of sexuality.
The Summer School addresses current debates within queer studies, emphasising in particular its implication for the interdisciplinary study of culture.
It provides an opportunity to discuss queer debates with researchers in the CSSC, as well as with international scholars brought in for the event.
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:
Jackie Stacey - Professor of Media and Cultural Studies
Dr Monica Pearl - Lecturer in 20th Century American Lit, English and American Studies
Dr Gareth Gavin - Lecturer in Creative Writing
Dr Noelle Gallagher - Senior Lecturer in18th C British Literature, English and American Studies
Dr Ben Nichols - Lecturer in Gender and Sexuality Studies
Daniela Caselli - Professor of Modern Literature, English and American Studies
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
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.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/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 |
| Displaying 10 of 18 course units | |||
| Display all course units | |||
What our students say
My first semester at UoM has seen me negotiating between what I assumed to be the ultimate truth and the very, many theoretical knowledge that scholars over decades have developed.
The programme has given me language, histories and methods to think about my position in this world as a black woman from the Caribbean.
Kristina / MA Gender, Sexuality and Culture Student
'The MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture is unique in the UK, and Manchester offers a great variety of study resources.
Furthermore, the city's cultural offering complements my course extremely well.'
Anne Engels
Read all about student Kristina's experience on the MA Gender, Sexuality and Culture course here at Manchester in this blog post .
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
Careers
Career opportunities
Whether you're presently employed, are looking for inspiring new career opportunities by furthering your knowledge, are passionate about research, or simply wish to explore a subject you adore in much greater detail, our MA will help you to develop a wealth of transferable skills.
Our graduates have gone on to take up a diverse range of careers in both the public and private sectors.
Some have progressed to postgraduate research, and several have taken up jobs as teachers.
Read more about our graduate career destinations .
The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability .