Master of Arts
MA Modern and Contemporary Literature
Gain specialist skills in the diverse area of literatures and cultural theories since 1900.
Book an open day
Explore our campus, meet lecturers and current students, and learn more about what it's like to study at Manchester.
Meet us
Discover if Manchester is right for you with an online or in-person meeting.
Discover more about this subject area
Learn about your subject of interest and what you'll experience as a student in that community.
Discover more about this subject area
Download our course brochure
Get to know us better with our guide to studying your subject of choice.
Download our course brochure
Overview
Course overview
- Ranked a Top 10 UK University for English Language and Literature by the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025.
- Study post-1900 literature in all its geographical, formal and thematic complexity and diversity.
- Explore a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to modern and contemporary writing.
- Become part of a community of active researchers working in the fields of contemporary writing, creative writing, modernism studies and postcolonial studies.
- Discover the literary heritage and cultural assets of Manchester, a UNESCO City of Literature.
-
The University of Manchester is a world-leading institution, ranked in the top-50 globally across all of Arts and Humanities by Times Higher Education 2025
.
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
- Contact name
- PG Taught Admissions
- Telephone
- 0161 275 0322
- MASALC@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/english/
- School/Faculty overview
-
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
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
We accept a range of qualifications from different countries that equate to a UK 2.1. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .
If English is not your first language, please provide us with evidence of:
- an overall grade 7.0 (with a minimum writing score of 7) in IELTS; or
- 100+ in the IBT Internet-based TOEFL).
The other language tests we accept can be found here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/new-approved-english-tests.pdf
Exceptions to needing a language test (if English is NOT your first language) are:
-
if you have successfully completed an academic qualification deemed by UK NARIC as equivalent to at least a UK Bachelors Degree or higher from one of the following countries:
Antigua & Barbuda; Australia; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica; New Zealand; St Kitts and Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago; UK; USA.
Other entry requirements
For those applicants whose academic background is not directly related to studies in English and American literature, and/or for whom English is not their mother tongue, we require an academic-standard essay (in English) relevant to the subject no more than 4,000 words long.
Fees and funding
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2026, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MA (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £13,700
International, including EU, students (per annum): £29,900 -
MA (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £6,850
International, including EU, students (per annum): £14,950
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
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
- Information on university funding, loans, and scholarships available on the Masters student funding page
- The Faculty of Humanities offered a range of scholarship opportunities for eligible applicants starting in September 2025. Please check back to confirm availability for September 2026 start.
- Please visit the school funding page for more information on subject funding available
- Other funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
Application and selection
How to apply
Advice to applicants
Writing Sample Requirements: we require an academic-standard essay (in English) no more than 4,000 words long and relevant to subject matter taught on the MA here at Manchester. The sample should follow the standard conventions for academic writing and focus on a topic relating to either the study of literatures in English or cultural studies.
Please upload the writing sample under the 'CV/Resume' option in the Supporting Documents section of the application form.
If English is not your first language, please apply after you have obtained proof of English language that meets our requirements.
How your application is considered
Applications are mainly considered on the basis of an assessment of past and predicted academic achievements and the required supplementary evidence that supports the application. Once we have an application that is ready for a decision, the admissions tutor (often the Programme Director) will relay the decision to the admissions team, who will send you this decision.
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
Course details
Course description
Our MA Modern and Contemporary Literature master's course offers an opportunity to become part of a dynamic group of researchers working in 20th and 21st century literature, culture and theory.
You will undertake an intensive and challenging investigation of the broad field of modern and contemporary writing. Units provide opportunities to study modernisms, postcolonial writing, cultural theory, radical subcultures, American culture, contemporary fiction and much more.
We focus on the relationships between texts and the various political and historical contexts in which they are produced and in which they circulate. Via detailed engagements with aesthetic form, we consider the connections between cultural and political practice, with particular focus on representations and constructions of sexuality, class, gender and race.
Special features
Literature events
Manchester Literature Festival holds literary events across Manchester throughout the year, many in partnership with the University.
The Centre for New Writing also hosts a regular public event series, Literature Live, which brings contemporary novelists and poets to the University to read and engage in conversation. This series attracts an impressive line-up of speakers, such as Jeanette Winterson, Colm Toibin, Hanif Kureishi, Hilary Mantel and Audrey Niffenegger.
Unique collections
John Rylands Library on Deansgate is part of the University and offers the opportunity to see and work with a range of rare resources and archival treasures.
Centre for New Writing
Manchester is home to the Centre for New Writing, a major hub for new writing excellence and home to award-winning teaching staff including Women's Prize for Fiction winner Kamila Shamsie and the much-garlanded Jeanette Winterson.
Teaching and learning
You will learn through a variety of teaching methods, depending on the units you take, including lectures, seminars and independent study.
You will also attend seminars on topics such as how to study at MA level, how to research and write a master's thesis, and career options.
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed through a variety of methods depending on the units you take, including written assignments.
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 will take four units, including at least one of the three possible core units:
- Key Issues in Literary and Critical Theory
- Modernisms
- Historicising the Contemporary: Literature and Politics 1970-2000
You may also choose up to 30 credits worth of units from another MA course in place of one of your optional units, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.
You will write a 12,000-word dissertation supervised by an academic member of staff.
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 |
---|---|---|---|
ENGL60000 | 60 | Mandatory | |
ENGL60081 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL60152 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL60451 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL60462 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL60882 | 15 | Optional | |
ENGL60971 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL70032 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL70041 | 30 | Optional | |
ENGL71212 | 30 | Optional | |
Displaying 10 of 14 course units | |||
Display all course units |
What our students say
Find out more about the student experience by reading MA Modern and Contemporary Literature student Nadia's blog post about her time on this course at Manchester.
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 our facilities .
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
On completion of this course, many of our postgraduates continue their research to develop careers in academia.
However, career paths overall are extremely varied and skills are transferable.
The high standard of arts research training, both formal and practical, opens doors to many kinds of public and private sector graduate careers requiring research skills and the formulation of projects and policy documents.
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 .
Regulated by the Office for Students
The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.
You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.