Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture (MLitt) 2025 entry

The MLitt in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture offers a course of study that takes in one of the most exciting and formative periods in European history, and centres on the key writer in the English literary tradition: William Shakespeare.

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 which includes your personal details with a history of your education and employment to date
  • sample of your own, single-authored academic writing on a Renaissance topic (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 Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture is an intensive one-year taught programme run by the School of English. The course offers an all-round introduction to the literature of the 16th and 17th centuries, with particular focus on the work of William Shakespeare. 

Highlights 

  • Covers both elite and popular writing, the influence of other continental vernaculars, and the importance of print and manuscript media.  
  • Expert paleography classes are offered within the School, and students have access to unique manuscript materials provided by the University’s Special Collections.  
  • Become part of a welcoming and lively academic community. St Andrews is a consortium member of the Folger Shakespeare Library Institute in Washington DC and also hosts a number of research groups relevant to the English Renaissance. 
  • Explore the key developments in modern and contemporary literary studies in dialogue with leading scholars in the fields of Shakespeare studies, Shakespearean book history, Renaissance popular literature and 17th-century literary culture.

Find out about more about 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.

  • The Worlds of Renaissance Literature: investigates the relationship between Renaissance English literature and the wider world, both in terms of the influence of continental vernaculars on English writing and the transformations produced by global travel and nascent imperial expansion. 
  • Learned Culture: Rhetoric, Politics and Identity: explores the influence of Renaissance humanism and the implications of its distinctive interest in rhetoric for 16th and 17th-century culture. 
  • Renaissance Popular Culture: looks at the popular culture of the period: popular festivity, clowning, jestbooks, ballads, romances and grotesquerie. 
  • Shakespeare and Textual Culture: considers the material contexts of Renaissance literary production, including manuscript, print, speech and the editing of Renaissance 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. 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

Taught modules consist of weekly seminars and cover both elite and popular writing, the influence of other continental vernaculars, and the importance of print and manuscript media. Class sizes typically range from three to ten 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 writing 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: 

  • Reading Scotland before 1707
  • 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 Shakespeare and Renaissance Literary Culture.

Postgraduate research

What to do next

Information sessions

Meet our staff, learn more, and ask questions about how our courses can work for you.

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