Course information

Course highlights

• Develop your skills as a researcher within a specific area of study by taking special topic modules in manuscript, print, speech and the editing of Renaissance texts. 
• Become part of a welcoming and lively academic community. St Andrews is a consortium member of the Folger Shakespeare Library Institute in Washington DC and also hosts a number of research groups relevant to the English Renaissance.
• Explore the key developments in modern and contemporary literary studies in dialogue with leading scholars in the fields of Shakespeare studies, Shakespearean book history, Renaissance popular literature and seventeenth-century literary culture.

Teaching format

The MLitt in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture is an intensive one-year taught programme offering an all-round introduction to the literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with particular focus on the work of William Shakespeare.

Taught modules are comprised of weekly seminars and cover both elite and popular writing, the influence of other continental vernaculars, and the importance of print and manuscript media. Class sizes typically range from three to ten students.

Modules are assessed through coursework essays. The School of English prides itself on its support of student work through detailed feedback and commentary.

During the course of the year, but with particular focus during the last four months, students will research and write a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choosing.

Further particulars regarding curriculum development.

Modules

The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue.

Compulsory modules

• Literary Research: Skills and Resources: trains students in the understanding and use of the essential skills and resources of research in English Studies; it also provides preparation for the MLitt dissertation.

and at least three of:

• The Continental Renaissance: investigates the relationship between English and European writing of the period. 
• Renaissance Popular Culture: looks at the popular culture of the period: popular festivity, clowning, jestbooks, ballads, romances and grotesquerie.
• Shakespeare and Textual Culture: considers the material contexts of Renaissance literary production, including manuscript, print, speech and the editing of Renaissance texts.
• Learned Culture: Rhetoric, Politics and Identity: explores the influence of Renaissance humanism and the implications of its distinctive interest in rhetoric for sixteenth- and seventeenth-century culture.

Optional modules

Students will choose one optional module out of the following three choices:

• Special Topic in English Studies: a directed reading programme which allows students to explore topics in greater depth than is possible in compulsory modules.
• a compulsory module from another English MLitt (see module catalogue)
• an approved postgraduate-level module outwith the School of English (arranged independently with another school such as Classics, Modern Languages, Divinity or Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies).

The modules listed ran in the academic year 2015-2016 and are indicative of this course. There is no guarantee that these modules will run for 2016 entry.

Take a look at the most up-to-date modules in the module catalogue.

Dissertation

Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August. 

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.

Conferences and events

The School of English hosts research events through its four research groups, Medieval and Renaissance, 18th century, Romantic and Victorian, Modern and Contemporary and Creative Writing.

Events are open to all members of the School and to the public, unless explicitly restricted, and there is an active student-run Literary Society and the Postgraduate Forum, where postgraduates meet to present and discuss their on-going work. Each semester, the School invites distinguished visiting academics and creative writers to lead seminars, lectures and workshops as part of our regular research events.

• English Colloquium
• Postgraduate Forum
• Literary Society

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Admission to the University of St Andrews is governed by our Admissions policy.

Curriculum development

As a research intensive institution, the University ensures that its teaching references the research interests of its staff, which may change from time to time. As a result, programmes are regularly reviewed with the aim of enhancing students' learning experience. Our approach to course revision is described online. (PDF, 72 KB).

Tuition fees

The University will clarify compulsory fees and charges it requires any student to pay at the time of offer. The offer will also clarify conditions for any variation of fees. The University’s approach to fee setting is described online. (PDF, 84 KB).