Find out more about our MA by Research in English and Comparative Literary Studies.

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MA by Research

1 year full-time,

2 years part-time

30 September 2024

English and Comparative Literary Studies

University of Warwick

With 91% of our research outputs ranked as “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and in the top 10 departments in the UK for research environment, Warwick's English and Comparative Literary Studies Department hosts an innovative MA by Research course. We offer with a wide range of research areas to choose from. Harness your intellectual ambitions, and study amongst a globally renowned network of experts on the MA by Research in English and Comparative Literary Studies.

The MA by Research course is a pure research course based in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies. You'll complete a 40,000 word research thesis, closely supervised by an academic.

This programme is especially suited to applicants who want to develop their independent research skills and explore a particular writer, topic, theory, or critical debate. Our warm and vibrant research community is one of the largest in the UK, with around 110 postgraduates every year. We offer a full calendar of seminars, symposiums and conferences, with a busy diary of speakers from around the world. We also offer career development support during your time here.

You will study alongside ambitious, international scholars and world-leading researchers. Our researchers and writers work at the intellectual cutting edge of their discipline. We want you to harness your intellectual ambitions and interests, and bring your own distinct personal experiences and circumstances to bear on your work.

By the end of the course, you'll be well-positioned for further study or employment with the transferable skills you will develop.

Teaching and learning

As a research student, your closest contact will be with your supervisor, or co-supervisors, who will meet with you regularly to discuss your work. The supervisory relationship is at the heart of your research. Your supervisor(s) are experts in their field, who will guide you throughout your degree and will agree upon a programme of reading, research and writing with you.

You will also be able to seek advice from our Director of Graduate Studies, who oversees our research students; and participate in sessions organised by our PG Professionalisation Officer, who organises seminars on employment in both the academic and non-academic sectors. With your peers, you will have the chance to participate in seminars, conferences, reading groups, and the annual student-organised postgraduate symposium. You will be encouraged to apply for internal funding to support research trips and participation in academic events outside of the University.

Our research is interdisciplinary and comparative. We have particular strengths in American studies, eighteenth and nineteenth-century studies, environmentalism and ecocriticism, gender studies, the literary and cultural history of the medieval and early-modern period, performance studies, poetics, and World Literature.

Our major research groups include the Critical Theory Network, Feminist Dissent, the Centre for Ecopoetics, Poetry at Warwick, and the Warwick Research Collective (WReC).

We also work closely with the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance; the Centre for Research into Philosophy, Literature, and the Arts; the Early Modern and Eighteenth-Century Centre; and the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies.

We particularly welcome research applications in the following research areasLink opens in a new window.

You can also read our general University research proposal guidance.

You can ask any academic from our department to be your supervisor. See our staff pages for more details and to see whose research interests align with yours.

You can also see our general University guidance about finding a supervisor.

65% (or equivalent) in an undergraduate degree in English literature or a related degree. Applicants may be required to provide a writing sample to demonstrate suitability for the course.

• Band C
• IELTS overall score of 7.5, minimum component scores of two at 6.5/7.0 and the rest at 7.5 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course. Applicants are encouraged to consult prospective supervisor(s) before applying.