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MA Literature in the Creative and Cultural Industries

Explore the place of literature in the creative industries through a unique combination of research and practical experience

Year of entry: 2024 (September)

Length

1 year full-time,
2 years part-time

Start date

September 2024 (semester dates)

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The MA in Literature in the Creative and Cultural Industries offers a versatile and innovative approach to the study of literary production in the context of the wider cultural and creative industries.

The course connects the disciplines of literary practice, publishing studies, and book and print history with the emerging field of creative industries studies, highlighting the wider material and cultural contexts for the making, selling, and consumption of literature. Combine scholarly approaches to literary production and literary culture with practice-based experience in writing and letterpress printing. Gain a unique set of skills and perspectives on the literary industry, and an understanding of its historical, economic, and social dimensions that will prepare them for further study or work in the sector.

You can develop your own distinctive pathway with relevant modules across departments, to reflect your individual passions, curiosities and research ambitions. In all these tasks you're taught and supervised by world-leading scholars, working in one of the UK's largest research centres in English literature.

You’ll engage with the wider research culture of the Department of English, one of the UK's largest research centres in modern English. We have a diverse schedule of seminars, conferences and reading groups. You’ll also be part of the Humanities Research Centre, a vibrant interdisciplinary hub which will enable you to form close social and intellectual bonds over the course of your study.

35th in the world

for English Language and Literature in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023

7th in the UK for English

Complete University Guide 2024

Course content

You'll 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. Modules are assessed by a research essay or practical research project, and students' developing research skills are then brought to bear on a substantial dissertation relating to the field.

In addition to the course-specific Critical Approaches to the Creative Industries, core modules will cover valuable research, writing and presentation skills. Topics may include using library and online research resources, use of archives, academic writing and how to get work published. You'll select from a wide range of option modules including relevant modules from the Management in the Creative and Cultural Industries (MACCI) course.

You'll study 180 credits in total.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study three option modules. In previous years, options have covered topics such as:

The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course. For further information please get in touch.

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.

Dissertation

Your dissertation offers you the chance to examine a topic in depth and to develop your research skills. You'll work on a 14,000-16,000-word dissertation with regular supervision from a member of staff. The dissertation on this programme can also incorporate a practical project, which might take the form of a publishing project, community-based activity, or practice-based portfolio.

You'll submit your dissertation at the end of your course.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Analyse significant cultural and creative texts and concepts closely and critically, interpreting them with reference to the social, political, economic, aesthetic and/or industry contexts in which they were produced, reproduced, and received
  • Evaluate and contribute to scholarly debates around literary modernism, and around the legacies of modernism in twentieth-century and contemporary literature and culture
  • Deploy knowledge of specialist fields within the broader remit of modern literature and culture – for example American fiction, narrative theory, political theatre, poetry and poetics, Cold War culture, world-systems theory – in order to ask and answer innovative questions regarding the origins, contexts, and underlying conditions of the modern world
  • 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
  • Communicate sophisticated written arguments in a clear, accurate and persuasive fashion, synthesising evidence from multiple sources so as to convey information creatively and convincingly
  • Engage in verbal discussion of complex material, demonstrating versatility, rigour, and confidence in the reception, appreciation, and articulation of high-level ideas and perspectives
  • Direct their own development, bringing new knowledge and skills to bear upon a range of contexts which may include (but is not limited to) doctoral study in English literature and related fields

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2024/25

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £10,590£23,900
Part-time (2 years)
This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation.
£5,295£11,950

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

For courses which are longer than one year, the tuition fees quoted are for the first year of study.

  • UK (home) fees may increase in subsequent years (up to a maximum of 2%).
  • International fees may increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Additional costs

You'll need copies of the texts set for each module. Where possible, we will provide digital access. We'll let you know which texts and editions you'll need to buy (whether new or second-hand) before the start of each term.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2024/25 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

You'll normally attend two 2-hour seminars each week. If you are a part-time student you'll attend one 2-hour seminar a week.

Seminar groups consist of fewer than 15 students in most modules, though some core modules may involve a larger number of students. You'll complete essential reading for each seminar, and we encourage you to read more widely around the topic.

You'll attend a series of training lectures and workshops, designed to address presenting your work, writing at MA level, transferable skills, and career development.

Over the course of the year, you'll give regular seminar presentations and attend research seminars and day conferences hosted by the Department. Many of these events will be organised through the Humanities Research Centre, a state-of-the-art facility unique to York.

Facilities

​​Writers at York is a lively programme of readings and workshops, and aims to celebrate and explore the work of emerging and established contemporary writers. Writers at York is supported by the University of York's External Engagement Awards and the Festival of Ideas.

Teaching location

You will be based in the Department of English and Related Literature on Campus West. Most of your contact hours will be in locations nearby on Campus West, including the Department's letterpress studio, Thin Ice Press.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

For some modules you'll submit essays, but also practical projects, which might include print or publishing projects, practice-based portfolios, or projects with external partners.

Working in the Ice Press room.
Two students in a seminar

Careers and skills

There’s a wide variety of possible career paths open to you after completing this MA, both across industry and academia. You'll develop skills that are useful in any industry.

Career opportunities

Career opportunities are likely to include a variety of roles within:

  • the arts sector
  • the creative industries
  • publishers
  • other literary organisations

Transferable skills

You'll develop a range of transferable skills including:

  • independent working
  • time management
  • efficient organisation
  • critical reasoning
  • effective argumentation
  • verbal communication

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:1 or equivalent. We will consider applications from students with lower qualifications, particularly if you have high marks in relevant modules or appropriate professional experience.
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 7.0, minimum 6.5 in each component
Cambridge CEFR C1 Advanced: 185, with 176 in each component
Oxford ELLT 8, minimum 7 in each component
Duolingo 130, minimum 120 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT C1 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic 75 with a minimum of 70 in each component
KITE 495-526, with 459-494 in all other components
Skills for English C1: Pass overall, with Pass in each component
PTE Academic 67, minimum 61 in each component
TOEFL 96, minimum 23 in each component
Trinity ISE III Distinction in all components

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

Apply for this course

Next steps

Contact us

Get in touch if you have any questions

Jane Nay, Postgraduate Administrator

Learn more

Department of English and Related Literature

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