MA English Literary Studies Programme Specification 2024-25

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1	ACADEMIC QUALITY TEAM
2	Programme Specifications 2024-25
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5	Programme Title			MA in English Literary Studies
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7	This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:			2024		Award type			MA
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9	What level is this qualification?			Level 7		Length of programme			1 year (or 2 years part-time)
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11	Mode of study (Full / Part Time)			Full-time (or part-time)
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13	Will the programme use standard University semester dates?			Yes		For York Online programmes, will standard dates for such programmes be used?			Semester 1 - 18/09/2023 to 02/02/2024 Semester 2 - 05/02/2024 to 17/09/2024
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15	Awarding institution			University of York		Board of Studies for the programme			MA English
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17	Lead department			English and Related Literature		Other contributing departments			Students can choose modules from: Archeology Centre of Women's Studies Centre of Medieval Studies History History of Art Sociology Politics, as well as the School of Arts and Creative Technologies
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19	Language of study and assessment			English		Language(s) of assessment			English
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21	Is this a campus-based or online programme?			Campus-based
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23	Partner organisations
24	If there are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme, please outline the nature of their involvement. You may wish to refer to the Policy on Collaborative Provision
25	N/A
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27	Reference points
28	Please state relevant reference points consulted in the design of this programme (for example, relevant documentation setting out PSRB requirements; the University's Frameworks for Programme Design (UG or PGT); QAA Subject Benchmark Statements; QAA Qualifications and Credit Frameworks).
29	Subject Benchmark English; UoY Framework for Programme Design (PGT)
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31	Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning
32	Will this programme involve any exemptions from the University Policy and Procedures on Credit Transfer and the Recognition of Prior Learning? If so, please specify and give a rationale
33	No
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35	Exceptions to Regulations
36	Please detail any exceptions to University Award Regulations and Frameworks that need to be approved (or are already approved) for this programme. This should include any that have been approved for related programmes and should be extended to this programme.
37	N/A
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39	Internal Transfers
40	Please use the boxes below to specify if transfers into / out of the programme from / to other programmes within the University are possible by indicating yes or no and listing any restrictions. These boxes can also be used to highlight any common transfer routes which it would be useful for students to know.
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42		Transfers in:	Students can apply to transfer from other MA programmes, on the condition that they meet the application criteria required to gain entry to the programme, and that they have completed or have time to complete the necessary modules .			Transfers out:	Yes, students may transfer in to or out of the programme in accordance with University Regulations. Transfers will be dependent upon student numbers and available places.
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45	Statement of Purpose
46	Please briefly outline the overall aims of the programme. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
47	The MA in English Literary Studies offers a versatile and wide-ranging approach to the study of Anglophone texts in a variety of genres, media and periods. You will be encouraged to devise a distinctive path through the full range of our Masters provision, and relevant modules in other departments, to reflect your individual passions, curiosities and research ambitions. Your modules are each assessed by a research essay, and your developing skills as a researcher are then brought to bear on a substantial dissertation in the field. In all these tasks you are taught and supervised by world-leading scholars, working in one of the largest research centres in English literature in the UK. The MA in English Literary Studies can be pursued as a testing ground for students who wish to pursue doctoral research in literature or film, or as a refresher course for candidates keen to update or develop existing literary-critical skills and knowledge. It is particularly useful for candidates who do not yet have a firmly established specialism or wish to broaden out from a well-established one, who like to work across periods and/or genres (for instance, in pursuit of a particular theme or idea), or who are interested in working between literary studies and other disciplines (e.g. Philosophy, Women’s Studies, History, History of Art, etc.). The programme’s graduate training module, Postgraduate Life in Practice, is designed with the needs of all these kinds of student in mind, and aims to foster both subject-specific and transferable skills. Throughout the year the MA programme is supported by a rich schedule of seminars, conferences, and reading groups in modern literature and culture, and as a postgraduate student you will play an important role in the wider research culture of the English Department and the many interedisciplinary research schools and Centres. Postgraduate life is channelled through the Humanities Research Centre, a vibrant interdisciplinary hub that enables close social and intellectual bonds to form over the course of your time at York.
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58	If there are additional awards associated with the programme upon which students can register, please specify the Statement of Purpose for that programme. This will be most relevant for PGT programmes with exit awards that are also available as entry points. Use additional rows to include more than one additional award. Do not include years in industry / abroad (for which there are separate boxes).
59	Exit Award Title			Is the exit award also available as an entry point?	Outcomes: what will the student be able to do on exit with this award?			Specify the module diet that the student will need to complete to obtain this exit award
60	MA in English Literary Studies			Yes - an entry award	N/A			180 credits
61	Postgraduate Diplome in English Literary Studies			No - not an entry award	"The PG Diploma in English Literary Studies offers a postgraduate qualification that can be completed in less time than the MA and involves the writing of a 6-7,000-word long essay rather than a 14-16,000-word dissertation. Students must obtain 120 credits in order to receive the diploma. 100 credits are gained for the five taught modules (this includes 20 credits for PLP), and the diploma long essay carries 20 credits. Successfully completing these requirements will mean that students gaining a Diploma will have engaged in learning towards all seven PLOs, and will have been assessed on six of those PLOs (excluding PLO6)."			120 credits - 100 credits are gained for the five taught modules (this includes 20 credits for PLP), and the diploma long essay carries 20 credits.
62	Postgraduate Certificate in English Literary Studies			No - not an entry award	The PG Certificate in English Literary Studies offers recognition for their work and achievements to students who have completed taught elements of the degree, without them having to complete a dissertation project or a long essay. Students must obtain 60 credits in order to receive a certificate. Students will thus have completed at least three modules: the core module plus 2 option modules and assessment requirements for each of those modules. They will have passed at least 40 credits outright and received at least a compensatory pass in another 20 credits. Students achieving a certificate will have engaged with Postgraduate Life in Practice but will not have completed the module, so no credits will be awarded to this provision. In this manner, students will have studied in accordance with the PLOs that are mapped via the core module and option module entries on the Masters Programme Map. They will have engaged in learning towards all seven PLOs, and will have been assessed on the first five PLOs.			60 credits - students will have passed at least 40 credits outright and received at least a compensatory pass in another 20 credits.
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64	Programme Learning Outcomes
65	What are the programme learning outcomes (PLOs) for the programme? (Normally a minimum of 6, maximum of 8). Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme and represent the outcomes that students progressively develop in the programme and achieve at graduation. PLOs should be worded to follow the stem 'Graduates will be able to...'
66	1	Analyse significant literary and cultural texts closely and critically, interpreting them with reference to the social, political, economic and/or aesthetic contexts in which they were produced, reproduced, and received.
67	2	Synthesise information from a range of critical sources in a sophisticated and mature fashion, carefully evaluating and selecting material to make for controlled, informed, convincing and creative argumentation.
68	3	Evaluate and contribute to scholarly debates around literature, including its history, inheritances, legacies, relation to socio-economic conditions, conceptions of authorship and textuality.
69	4	Initiate, conduct, and take responsibility for independent research, drawing on skills honed by graduate-level research training, research-led teaching, and the completion of a substantial dissertation project.
70	5	Communicate sophisticated written arguments in a clear, accurate and persuasive fashion, synthesising evidence from multiple sources so as to convey information creatively and convincingly.
71	6	Engage in verbal discussion of complex textual material, demonstrating versatility, rigour, and confidence in the reception, appreciation, and articulation of high-level ideas and perspectives.
72	7	Direct their own development, bringing new knowledge and skills to bear upon a range of contexts including (but not limited to) doctoral study in English literature and related fields.
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74	Diverse entry routes
75	Detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme. For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity.
76	While the expectation is that the large majority of students taking this MA programme will have completed a BA in English (or a BA with English as one of its elements), the programme is designed to help students from other entry routes to transition successfully into postgraduate life as an English student. The flexibility of the degree makes it particularly attractive to mature and part-time students, and candidates wishing to refresh, update or supplement existing expertise (e.g. as teachers) in literary study. The opportunity to take a module (or in some circumstances two) from another department enables candidates to dip their toes into interdisciplinary thinking: to explore, for instance, the relevance of philosophy, art history or women’s studies to their literary analyses. The training elements of the MA provide a portfolio of skills in design, research-question setting and scoping that will enable students to apply core literary and writing techniques in unfamiliar disciplinary settings. The training module is especially useful to mature returners, candidates from other disciplines, and candidates unfamiliar with the protocols of British academic study. Postgraduate Life in Practice (PLP) begins in its opening weeks with a series of lectures devoted to research skills and to graduate-level writing, making sure students new to the discipline gain a grounding in its key elements. These elements include library orientation, research through digital platforms, bibliographical skills, academic integrity, and writing and argumentation. The opening weeks lead up to a “draft swap” workshop on the student’s writing, allowing questions to be raised and addressed at an early stage, followed by an essay the following week. Submission of this essay is a summative task for the module, but the essay is not given a mark so that students can use it as a lower-stakes stepping stone to research and writing for the assessed essays in their core and option modules. Students receive written feedback on the essay from their supervisor, and can discuss it further with the supervisor in advance of submitting their first essays. This core focus on writing and research skills at the beginning of their graduate training is intended to help all students to transition to M-level work.
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85	Inclusion
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87	Please confirm by ticking the box on the right that the design, content and delivery of the programme will support students from all backgrounds to succeed. This refers to the University's duties under the Equality Act 2010. You may wish to refer to the optional Inclusive Learning self-assessment tools to support reflection on this issue.									TRUE
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89	Employability
90	Please give a brief overview - no more than 5 sentences - of how the programmes helps develop students' employability. Your Faculty Employability Manager can help reflection on this issue. This statement will be used by Marketing as the basis for external content with respect to employability.
91	Students gain advanced academic and scholarly skills via the MA and will develop strong and versatile modes of thinking, researching, writing and presenting information, including through Postgraduate Life in Practice. They will be able to communicate in ways that are discipline and audience specific, and manage data, evidence and argument. Students gain opportunities to study in areas in which they feel they require additional and/or more advanced training, thereby gaining new intellectual impetus in new areas of thinking and also being able to build on their existing skills and training in new and more advanced ways. Students will select their modules, and thereby their own sense of intellectual focus and/or breadth, in accordance with their own intellectual and potentially professional (or future-oriented) needs. They will practice self-directed study across the programme and particularly in the dissertation, making them well equipped for future independent work. In addition to these provisions, students may choose to develop dissertation projects that are more explicitly directed towards a particular career path or one that explores a non-university institution, place, or employment practice. Finally, students are able to engage with the wide training programme offered by English, which includes employability-linked sessions and opportunities for skills acquisition.
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100	[For Undergraduate and Integrated Masters Programmes Only]