Application deadline
Thursday 10 August 2023
Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships and for international visa purposes.
Entry requirements
- An upper 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in a Modern Language or Comparative Literature in the relevant pathway subject. Secondary pathway subjects cannot be taken at beginner's level.
- If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
- English language proficiency.
The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.
Application requirements
- CV or résumé. This should include your personal details with a history of your education and employment to date.
- personal statement
- sample of your own, single-authored academic written work (2,000 words)
- two original signed academic references
- academic transcripts and degree certificates.
For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.
English language proficiency
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.
Course details
The MLitt is a one-year full-time programme combining advanced study and supervised research. French studies may be taken as a single-subject pathway within the MLitt, or you can combine it with one of five other pathways:
- German studies
- Italian studies
- Middle Eastern literary and cultural studies (Arabic and Persian)
- Russian studies
- Spanish and Latin American studies.
Students from each of the six pathways start their studies with a module in literary and cultural theory. The module provides indispensable training for advanced learning in each pathway and helps students make new academic and social connections. You will explore a broad chronological and national range of seminal literary and cultural thinkers and theories through which texts and cultural productions of all kinds may be conceptualised, analysed and criticised.
You will apply these skills in the optional modules which make up the remainder of the taught component of the programme. The optional modules you will take will vary depending on whether you take French studies as a single-subject pathway or in combination with another pathway.
Within the French studies pathway, the optional modules allow you to acquire advanced knowledge of contexts that have shaped literature and culture in the French-speaking lands from the Renaissance to the present day. You may also undertake guided study on a specialised topic, drawing on research expertise in the Department of French.
The final part of the programme is a supervised research project in which you will explore a topic in depth. Research specialisms within the Department of French include:
- philosophy and literary theory
- painting and poetry
- women’s writing and life writing
- erotic fiction
- postcolonial literature
- French and Francophone theatre
- the interfaces of 19th-century culture and science in French and European contexts.
Highlights
- Study a single-subject pathway or combine two pathways to create a programme that reflects your academic interests and ambitions.
- Small class sizes of no more than 20 students provide a close-knit postgraduate community and friendly academic environment.
- Teaching is geared towards encouraging and directing independent research.
Students receive training in traditional and new research methodologies and have the opportunity to broaden their language portfolios.
Modules
The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your programme. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.
The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details about each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue, which is for the 2022-2023 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2023 entry.
Students from each of the six pathways complete a shared module providing a theoretical basis for the programme and an opportunity to make new academic and social contacts.
- Literary and Cultural Theory (1): provides research training by exploring a range of literary and cultural theories through which texts may be conceptualised, criticised and analysed.
The optional modules taken will vary depending on whether French studies is taken as a single-subject pathway or in combination with another pathway. On the French studies pathway, the optional modules are:
- French Literary Revolutions: advanced knowledge of contexts that have shaped literature and culture in the French-speaking lands from the Medieval period to the present day.
- Literary and Cultural Theory (2): continues on from part 1 by studying a broad range of seminal thinkers and theories.
- Problems of Culture and Identity: aims to explore major dimensions of cultural identity. Particular topics treated may include: the dialectical relationship between personal and collective identities, the self and alterity, narrative and identity formation, situatedness and corporeality, recognition, transnational identities and problems of autobiography.
- Research and Professional Skills: introduces students to a range of skills which are essential to advanced researchers and key to many other non-academic workplaces.
- Specialised Research in French Studies: offers students the opportunity to draw on expertise in the Department of French for the exploration of a relevant topic in some depth.
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 are exit awards available that allow 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, assuming you have attained appropriate grades, receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.
Teaching
The taught component of the programme is completed over two semesters – September to December and January to June.
Classes are delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars, and tutorials.
Class sizes range from individual one-to-one teaching up to 20 students.
Modules are assessed through coursework; there are no final exams for this programme.
The period from June to mid-August is used to complete a supervised research project. The project is presented as a written dissertation of no more than 15,000 words.
Events
The School of Modern Languages is the largest modern languages department in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK.
The School is distinguished by the breadth of its research which spans language, literary, and cultural studies across eight distinct language areas – Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Persian, Russian, and Spanish – but also a range of cultural-historical epochs from the middle ages to the present day.
This expertise is complemented by the School’s comparative literature scholarship.
The School hosts a year-round programme of research seminars which postgraduates are invited to attend. Opportunities to engage with the School’s wider research community are also provided through its four research centres and institutes and its highly successful Byre World series, an annual programme of events bringing modern languages and cultural studies research to the local community.
Fees
Home
£11,120
Overseas
£23,530
More information on tuition fees can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.
Funding and scholarships
The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.
After your degree
Careers
Alongside your academic learning, you will develop your broader capabilities and employability. All Masters students have access to the Professional Skills Curriculum, a flexible programme of workshops, lectures, and online materials to help you develop your personal and professional skills.
Graduates have gone on to careers in fields including:
- consulting
- energy resource management
- international development
- journalism
- UN interpreting
- public policy
- publishing
- the civil and diplomatic services
- University academics and administrators.
The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.
Further study
The MLitt provides academic learning and research skills training for students intending to continue to a doctoral or other research degree.
As well as the PhD degree, the School of Modern Languages offers supervision for two research-based Masters degrees – the Master of Studies by Research (MSt (Res)) and the Master of Philosophy (MPhil).
Postgraduate researchWhat to do next
Online information events
Join us for one of our information events where you can find out about different levels of study and specific courses we run. There are also sessions available for parents and college counsellors.
Postgraduate online visiting days
We encourage all students who are thinking of applying to the University to attend one of our online visiting days.
Contact us
- Phone
- +44 (0)1334 46 2961
- modlangs@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Address
- School of Modern Languages
Buchanan Building
Union Street
St Andrews
KY16 9PH