Our wide-ranging postgraduate courses provide a friendly, supportive and intellectually stimulating environment for all UK and international postgraduate students. (Image: Castle Quarter)
The Department has three Master’s programmes, one in English Literature, with modules ranging from the Medieval to the Contemporary, and two within Creative Writing, one of which is by Distance Learning.
All teaching on our in-person programmes takes place on our beautifully landscaped campus, at the heart of which is the award-winning University Library with its bespoke Postgraduate Study Space.
We warmly invite all potential applicants to email us with any queries they may have, and we are always happy to have a conversation.
Students on our in-person MAs also enjoy our rich programme of free literary events, many of which take place in Lancaster’s historic Castle Quarter. Our venues here include not only the spectacular Castle but also the beautiful medieval Priory and, indeed, The Storey, a wonderful Victorian-build arts centre, where students can drop-anchor at the Postgraduate Study Hub.
Finally, Lancaster-based students benefit from being close to the Lake District, home of the Romantic poets and indeed the archive-rich Wordsworth Trust, with whom we have a formal partnership, offering our students an annual study-day, all-year-round free entrance, and (on a competitive basis) four residential internships each year.
Libraries, Archives and Special Collections
Our students have access to a rich array of libraries, archives, and special collections, enabling them not only to develop as scholars, critics, and writers but also to learn skills relating to work as future archivists, librarians, and curators.
Scholarships, Bursaries and Prizes
Both the University and the Department are always looking to support, encourage, and celebrate our students.
Literary studies here means not only a deep engagement with literature but the opportunity to explore, if you wish, how literature opens onto other worlds – politics, ecology, philosophy, psychology, theology, film, and fashion, etc. To support this, you can, if you wish, take one module from outside of the Department (subject to availability).
In addition to our many literary events, we have an annual English Literary Studies Master’s Conference. This is usually held in the impressive surrounds of the Castle, with all students being invited to present their work.
This is a campus based course where you can work on a research project of your own choosing either full or part-time.
This is a campus based modular course which can be studied either full or part-time.
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This is a campus based modular course which can be studied either full or part-time.
Lancaster was one of the very first universities to teach Creative Writing, and we continue to lead in the discipline with our many celebrated author-tutors. Currently, our Creative Writing MAs publish an annual anthology, read their work at the launch night, and compete for a place within our annual student showcase at Lancaster’s city-run LitFest.
This innovative course offers you the opportunity to pursue a range of literary forms, choosing flexible study options within our long-established Creative Writing programme. As a member of a literary community undertaking a range of writing forms and styles, you will hone your creative skills whilst engaging with visiting writers and publishing professionals.
The Lancaster Distance Learning MA has rapidly evolved into an international programme, linking students working in diverse literary forms through virtual learning. You will be allocated a specialist tutor, be taught by participatory online methods, and attend a residential Summer School.
This course provides a rare opportunity to combine creative and critical writing at Master's level. It is your chance to learn from tutors who are leading experts in English Literary Studies and from experienced, published authors who teach on our Creative Writing programme.
To apply for an MA or PhD programme please use the Lancaster University online application portal. For advice on what to include in an application, please see the programme entry requirements found on the course listings.
Guidance on How to ApplyLancaster has a wide range of funding opportunities and offers scholarships and bursaries such as the Alumni Loyalty Scholarship and Postgraduate Loan Scheme. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences also offers a scholarship scheme, whilst external funding is available for PhD students from the AHRC.
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a Postgraduate scholarship scheme, whilst external funding is available for PhD students from the AHRC. Forms and further information on these funding schemes can be found on the Faculty funding website. The Department contact for scholarship enquiries is: elcwteaching@lancaster.ac.uk.
Faculty FundingFurther support is available via the 'How to Apply' link. If you have any questions about the programmes please email elcwteaching@lancaster.ac.uk. Please contact the University Postgraduate Admissions Team if you have any questions regarding the application process or entry requirements.
Fees for postgraduate students can be found under the central 'Fees & Funding' web pages. This includes postgraduate taught fees (MA) and postgraduate research fees (PhD).
Entry requirements can be found under the programme information located on the programme 'course search'. Links to the programme information pages can also be found above.
For our MA programmes, we normally require you to have a strong result in your BA degree (a 2.1 or higher) which may or may not be in English Literature / Creative Writing. For applicants to our Creative Writing programmes, we are normally able to take into account any relevant professional experience you have (for example, work as an editor) and publication or performance credits. For all our MAs we ask you to submit a sample of your writing.
English Language Requirements- We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously. If you need further advice on this we ask you contact the admissions team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk.
Our MA programmes officially start on 1st October each year and finish the following year on 30th September. However, teaching is undertaken during the standard University term dates.
PhD students may commence their studies on either 1st October, 1st January or 1st April each year and are expected to undertake research and supervisions all year round, taking annual leave when required.
The MA programmes are 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time – they cannot be completed in a shorter time period.
The PhD programmes are 4 years full-time or 6 years part-time. There is a degree of flexibility in the amount of time an individual may take to complete the programme; this should be discussed with your supervisor.
MA students take four 20-credit modules (two in each of the first two terms) plus a 10-credit Research Methods module appropriate to their course. In the third term, you will work on a Creative Writing portfolio or English Literature dissertation (depending on your degree programme) with regular meetings with a supervisor.
Part-time students will take the same number of modules, but spread over two years. You can view a list of the available modules on the programme information located on the programme 'course search', we cannot guarantee that all modules are available each year.
This greatly depends on your programme of study!
Writing samples/portfolio requirements are listed as part of the entry requirements under ‘additional requirements’.
Creative Writing
To apply for the MA Creative Writing programmes, you should include a portfolio of original writing (no more than 12 poems or 20 pages of prose/scriptwriting) showing potential for publication. If you are applying for the Independent Project MA, your writing sample should be closely linked to the project you propose to work on during your programme.
In addition, if you are applying for the Distance Learning or Independent Project MA you must submit a short (300-400 words) project proposal. This should outline clearly what you want to work on during the programme. This could be a collection of short stories, poems, a script, extracts from a longer fiction, creative non-fiction, or life writing project.
Applications to the PhD programme require a viable research proposal as well as a portfolio of original writing (no more than 15 poems or 30 pages of prose) showing potential for publication. For more information please visit our Guidance for English Literature and Creative Writing PhD candidates.
English Literature
To apply for the MA English Literature programmes you should include a 2000-3000-word literary essay as your sample of work.
In addition to this for the MA Literary Research programme, you are required to submit an outline of your potential research (up to 500-words).
Applications to the PhD programme require a viable research proposal as well as a sample of written work, e.g. an essay or dissertation chapter of approximately 3000-5000 words. Guidance on how to write an English Literature research proposal can be found at Guidance for English Literature and Creative Writing PhD candidates.
There is an MA in Creative Writing you can take entirely by distance learning. It is also possible to take the MA in English Literary Research via distance learning. No other MA programmes are available via distance learning.
PhD students may also study by distance learning, communicating with their supervisors through video conferencing, telephone, email and via our Moodle.
We have published some detailed guidelines for prospective PhD applicants in English and Creative Writing. You should follow these as closely as you can. You can send a draft proposal to a member of the department to gauge their interest and availability for supervision prior to making an official application to the university, but we can’t give extended feedback on multiple proposal drafts.
We warmly welcome applications from those who feel they meet our entry requirements. If you are unsure we advise you seek guidance from our Postgraduate Admissions Team, +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk.
Yes, as part of the application process, we require two references. At least one of these must normally be an academic reference, however, professional references that are linked directly to your writing or research interests will also be considered. We do not accept personal and/or character references.
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