Course information

The MLitt in Women, Writing and Gender is an intensive one-year taught programme which aims to introduce students to key issues surrounding the contemporary discussion of gender. 

Highlights

• Gain an excellent foundation for further research on women writers and the relationship between gender and literature.
• Consider broader historical and contemporary debates in feminism and gender studies, and examine the diversity of women’s literary practices across a range of centuries and genres.
• Develop your skills as a researcher within a specific area of study by taking special topic modules.
• Participate in the School of English's wider research culture through the School's period-based research groups, annual colloquia and postgraduate forum.

Teaching format

Taught modules consist of weekly or fortnightly classes and seminars, of one to two hours each, with class sizes typically ranging from three to ten students. Assessment comprises written essays and a short oral presentation.

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 which is for the 2016-2017 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2017 entry.

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.
• Theories and Contexts: supports students' work by providing a theoretical and critical background to key debates in contemporary feminist and gender theory.
• Women, Writing and Gender 1: Renaissance to Romanticism: seeks to introduce students to a range of debates concerning women, writing and gender through history. 
• Women, Writing and Gender 2: Victorian to Contemporary: continues the chronological survey of debates surrounding women, writing and gender begun in the previous module by examining continuity and change in constructions of gender across the period 1800 to the present.

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 2016–2017 and are indicative of this course. There is no guarantee that these modules will run for 2017 entry. Take a look at the most up-to-date modules in the module catalogue.

Dissertation

The dissertation module allows students to engage in a substantial piece of independent research.

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.

The School of English also hosts an annual Colloquium (recent colloquia have taken as their themes: The English Legal Imaginary, 1500-1700; Bannockburn, 1914: Anniversary culture, war and national identity in Scotland; Opera and Fiction; World Literature and Dissent).

The Postgraduate Forum offers postgraduates the opportunity to present research in progress to a group of their peers.

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).