Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture (MLitt) 2025 entry

The MLitt in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture explores the key texts, contexts and theories that have shaped literature and culture from 1900 to the present.

Start date
September 2025
End date
September 2026
Duration
One year full time
School
School of English

Application deadline

Thursday 7 August 2025

Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships.

Entry requirements

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

  • Supplementary application to School of English (Word)
  • CV that includes your personal details with a history of your education and employment to date
  • sample of your own, single-authored academic writing on a modern or contemporary topic (approximately 2,000 words) 
  • two original signed academic references (on university headed paper) from your most recent degree awarding institution
  • 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 in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture is an intensive one-year taught programme run by the School of English. The course aims to enhance students' textual knowledge and promote thinking about the interconnections between modern and contemporary literature and its historical, cultural and theoretical contexts. 

Students will read and discuss some of the major texts and debates which have contributed to the shaping of the 'modernist', 'postmodern' and 'contemporary' cultural moments. 

The MLitt is aimed at those interested in modern and contemporary literature, in the acquisition of a taught postgraduate qualification, and in the possibility of moving towards a PhD.

Highlights 

  • Study the interdisciplinary dimensions of modern and contemporary culture through topics which explore cultural production across the arts, music, film and literature. 
  • Learn about the key developments in modern and contemporary literary studies in dialogue with leading scholars. 
  • Typical seminar topics might include women’s writing and gender studies, crime fiction, contemporary critical theory, modern and contemporary poetry, postcolonialism, Scottish literature, war writing, literature of the 1940s, and British cinema and music. 

Find out about studying this course.

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 course. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.

  • Contemporary Literature and Culture: exposes students to a range of contemporary authors, poets and playwrights, moving between a detailed focus on highlighted key works and a wider perspective on individual writer’s oeuvres.
  • Contextualising the Modern: an exploration of the radical literary experiments following the First World War in the context of the wider movements in culture and society that informed literary modernism in the first decades of the 20th century.
  • Reading the Modern: an exploration of influential British, American and French modernists' pursuit to develop modes of representation compatible with a newly urban, industrialised and mass-oriented age.
  • Theorising the Contemporary: an introduction to key literary and cultural theories within the contemporary period via the close study of selected theoretical texts.

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 (PGDip). 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.

Teaching

In each semester students take one module that concentrates on the literature of the period and one module that engages with the period’s theoretical, cultural and historical developments.

Taught modules consist of weekly seminars, normally with a maximum class size of 15 students. 

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.

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

Events

The School of English hosts research events through its four research groups: 

The School of English normally also hosts an annual colloquium. Recent themes have been: 

  • Reimagining Andrew Marvell: The Poet at 400  
  • The English Legal Imaginary, 1500-1700 
  • Bannockburn, 1914: Anniversary culture, war and national identity in Scotland 
  • Opera and Fiction 
  • World Literature and Dissent 
  • (Un)Civil War? 
  • John Keats and Romantic Scotland 
  • Libraries in Literature 
  • Devouring Men: Food, Masculinity and Power

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

Fees

Home
£12,030

Overseas
£25,900

Application fee

Before we can begin processing your application, a payment of an application fee of £50 is required. In some instances, you may be eligible for an application fee waiver. Details of this, along with information on our 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.

All School of English study applicants will be given access to the My Application portal. The Scholarships and Funding area of the portal includes an online catalogue through which you can apply for available relevant awards. 

15% Recent Graduate Discount

If you have graduated from the University within the last three academic years, you may be eligible for a 15% discount on postgraduate taught tuition fees. Terms and conditions apply.

Taught postgraduate scholarships    Postgraduate loans

After your degree

Careers

Graduates of the course go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, marketing, publishing and teaching. 

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

Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews.  

In addition to the MLitt, the School offers a two-year Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree option in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture.

Postgraduate research

Contact us

Phone
+44 (0)1334 46 2668
Email
pgeng@st-andrews.ac.uk
Address
School of English
Castle House
The Scores
St Andrews
KY16 9AL

School of English website