This webpage has been published by the Department of English Literature to give information to candidates about the MSc/Diploma programme. This webpage information does not supersede the University regulations, and the formal requirements for the programme are as set out in the University's Postgraduate Study Programme.

Candidates may choose either:

1.   a one-year taught MSc called Writing and Cultural Politics;
   
   
2.   a one-year taught MSc called Nation, Writing, Culture; or
   
   
3.   a one-year taught MSc in Creative Writing.
   
   
4. Candidates may choose to enrol for the one-year interdisciplinary MSc programme in Comparative and General Literature. They may prefer instead to enrol for the one-year interdisciplinary MSc in Cultural Studies.
   
   
5.   Candidates may alternatively choose a one-year MSc by Research.

For details on upgrading MSc registration to MLitt or PhD registration see Transfer to MLitt and PhD.

Details of the MSc programmes are as follows:

1. Writing and Cultural Politics

Curriculum
Assessment
Invited Speakers
Induction Day 2003-04
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Curriculum

The course explores contemporary redefinitions of textuality, culture and interpretation, with particular emphasis on the development of language as a model for cultural systems and on the relationship of this model to problems of cultural politics. The MSc comprises two terms (Autumn and Spring) of assessed coursework, together with a Dissertation of 15,000 words which is written after the completion of coursework and submitted by mid September (13th September in 2002).

All students take a 20-week 'Critical and Cultural Theory' Core Course in the Autumn and Spring terms, together with a Research Methods Course in the Autumn term. In addition, students take one ten-week Option Course in the Autumn term and one ten-week Option Course in the Spring term.

The components of the assessed coursework are as follows:

(a)  a Critical and Cultural Theory Core Course (extending over the Autumn and Spring terms) which deals with the work of philosophers and theorists who have been most influential across disciplines in redefining the interpretive agenda; the course explores theoretical positions with regard to writing and cultural politics and with regard to contested issues and terms such as history, nation, class and gender.

(b)   One Option course in the Autumn Term and one in the Spring Term out of the range of Options on offer, dealing with the work of creative writers and artists as well as theoreticians who have explored the implications of the various issues raised in the theory course.

At least one of these option courses must be chosen from the specific MSc options available in the English Literature Department [listed under Option Course outlines no. 1].

The other option may be chosen

either from a range of courses available as part of the Comparative and General Literature MSc [listed under Option Course outlines no. 2].

or from a range of Final Year undergraduate courses based on the research interests of particular members of the English Literature Department [listed under Option Course outlines no. 3].

(c)   a Research Methods course meeting weekly during the Autumn Term, which introduces research techniques and includes familiarisation with computer and on-line resources.

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Assessment

The coursework taken in the Autumn and Spring terms is assessed by the following marked written assignments:

1. Two essays of 3,000 words written in relation to the Autumn and Spring term core theory courses. The first essay is submitted at the end of the first week, Spring term, and the second on the first day of Summer term.
   
2. Two essays of between 3,000 and 5,000 words written in relation to the Autumn and Spring term option courses and submitted at the end of term.
   
   

It is the responsibility of all students to hand in copies of their essays in duplicate to the English Literature Postgraduate Office, Floor 6, David Hume Tower. Tutors will pick up one copy of an essay for marking while the second copy will be filed in the Office.
All written assignments (including the dissertation) are assessed according to the University's Common Marking Scheme, as follows:

The four coursework essay assessments are weighted at 25% each. Students must gain an overall coursework pass of 50% or above in order to proceed to the dissertation. The MSc degree is awarded on the basis of the mark gained for the dissertation (but note the information given below on the award of Distinctions).

At the end of the second week of Summer Term, students submit an outline (approx 1000 words) of the dissertation they propose to write. The dissertation will be 15,000 words in length (excluding footnotes and bibliography).

Students consult intensively with their dissertation supervisors during the Summer Term and submit a "work in progress" piece of writing of about 3000 words by the end of week 9 of the Term, preparatory to submitting the completed dissertation by mid September (10th September in 2004). Submission of a satisfactory "work in progress" piece of writing is a necessary condition of proceeding further with the writing of the dissertation.

Candidates who fail to achieve the MSc standard in their marked coursework will not be allowed to proceed to the dissertation but may proceed to Diploma Studies (see below).

MSc candidates failing to achieve an adequate standard in the dissertation will be awarded the Diploma.

Award of Distinction

The MSc may be awarded with distinction when coursework marks average 67% and the dissertation mark is 70% or above. Distinction may also be awarded where there is a slightly lower average on the coursework, provided that there is a compensating higher mark for the dissertation:

Diploma students

Students achieving between 40% and 49% in the taught component of the course will normally be allowed to proceed to diploma studies, which will include the submission of a diploma essay of 3,000 words in the summer term, to be submitted by 30 June. The minimum period of study for a diploma is nine months full-time from first registration.

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2. Nation, Writing, Culture

Curriculum
Assessment
Invited Speakers
Induction Day 2003-04
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Curriculum

Using recent and contemporary theories of the nation and of nationalism, the course studies the role of literature in the formation of nations and national consciousness from the medieval to the modern periods. Particular attention is given to the formation of the ‘national’ literature of the British Isles (Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales) and to the development of American and postcolonial literatures.

The MSc comprises two terms (Autumn and Spring) of assessed coursework, together with a Dissertation of 15,000 words which is written after the completion of coursework and submitted by mid September (13th September in 2002).

Together with the initial Research Methods course, all students during the Autumn and Spring terms take a weekly Core Course. In addition, students take one Option Course in the Autumn term and one Option Course in the Spring term.

The coursework components are as follows:

(a)  During the Autumn and Spring terms a weekly Core Course on theoretical approaches to writing and national culture: in Autumn ‘Writing the Nation’ studies the role of literature in nation-formation in Scotland, Ireland, Britain and the United States; in Spring, ‘Culture and Politics: Postcolonial Identities’ concentrates on postcolonial theories of literature and the nation.

(b)   an Option Course during each of the Autumn and Spring terms:

One of these should be chosen from the specific MSc options available in the English Literature Department [listed under Option Course outlines no. 1].

The other option may be chosen

either from a range of courses available as part of the Comparative and General Literature MSc [listed under Option Course outlines no. 2].

or from a range of Final Year undergraduate courses based on the research interests of particular members of the English Literature Department [listed under Option Course outlines no. 3].

(c)   during the Autumn term a Research Methods course introduces all first-year postgraduate students to research techniques including familiarisation with computer and on-line resources.

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Assessment

The coursework taken in the Autumn and Spring terms is assessed by the following marked written assignments:

1. Two essays of 3,000 words written in relation to the Autumn and Spring term core theory courses. The first essay is submitted at the end of the first week of the Spring term, and the second on the first day of Summer term.
   
2. Two essays of between 3,000 and 5,000 words written in relation to the Autumn and Spring term option courses and submitted at the end of term.
   
   

It is the responsibility of all students to hand in copies of their essays in duplicate to the English Literature Postgraduate Office, Floor 6, David Hume Tower. Tutors will pick up one copy of an essay for marking while the second copy will be filed in the Office.
All written assignments (including the dissertation) are assessed according to the University's Common Marking Scheme, as follows:

The four coursework essay assessments are weighted at 25% each. Students must gain an overall coursework pass of 50% or above in order to proceed to the dissertation. The MSc degree is awarded on the basis of the mark gained for the dissertation (but note the information given below on the award of Distinctions).

At the end of the second week of Summer Term, students submit an outline (approx 1000 words) of the dissertation they propose to write. The dissertation will be 15,000 words in length (excluding footnotes and bibliography).

Students consult intensively with their dissertation supervisors during the Summer Term and submit a "work in progress" piece of writing of about 3000 words by the end of week 9 of the Term, preparatory to submitting the completed dissertation by mid September (10th September in 2004). Submission of a satisfactory "work in progress" piece of writing is a necessary condition of being allowed to proceed further with the writing of the dissertation.

Candidates who fail to achieve the MSc standard in their marked coursework will not be allowed to proceed to the dissertation but may proceed to Diploma Studies (see below).

MSc candidates failing to achieve an adequate standard in the dissertation will be awarded the Diploma.

Award of Distinction

The MSc may be awarded with distinction when coursework marks average 67% and the dissertation mark is 70% or above. Distinction may also be awarded where there is a slightly lower average on the coursework, provided that there is a compensating higher mark for the dissertation:

Diploma students

Students achieving between 40% and 49% in the taught component of the course will normally be allowed to proceed to diploma studies, which will include the submission of a diploma essay of 3,000 words in the summer term, to be submitted by 30 June. The minimum period of study for a diploma is nine months full-time from first registration.

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3. Creative Writing

Curriculum
Assessment
Invited Speakers
Induction Day 2003-04
Showcase of Creative Writing
MSc 2002-2003
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Curriculum

The course develops creative writing skills under the guidance of proven practitioners in their discipline. Students work on specific genres or forms to develop their own understanding of those forms and the ways in which they might utilise them in their own writing. The course provides students with the ability to estimate their own potential as creative writers and of writing as a potential career. It encourages a critical awareness of issues in contemporary writing and a historical perspective on those issues and develops an understanding of the creative process and of the elements (such as research) which feed into it, including an understanding of the marketplace for writing and of the routes into that marketplace.

The Creative Writing programme consists of three elements:

(a)  a course on ‘The Environment of Writing’, which examines legal issues in relation to copyright and to dealings with agents and publishers, the modern marketplaces for writing, the relation of writing to technological change, and the roles and structures of Arts organisations.

(b)   one Autumn and oneSpring term module in creative writing,

with two other Option courses from the following list of MSc-approved courses:

either a choice of courses from any of the other MSc programmes offered by the English Literature Department [listed under Option Course outlines no. 1].

or from a range of courses available as part of the Comparative and General Literature MSc [listed under Option Course outlines no. 2].

or from a range of Final Year undergraduate courses based on the research interests of particular members of the English Literature Department [listed under Option Course outlines no. 3].

The Autumn and Spring term modules in creative writing consist of weekly workshop seminars lasting for two hours together with individual meetings between student and advisor, a minimum of three times per term.

(c)   a creative writing project to be submitted by mid September (13th September in 2002), of a scale appropriate to the genre attempted: where prose or drama it will be not less than 20,000 words and no more than 30,000 words; where poetry it must be sufficient to constitute a publishable volume (i.e. a minimum of 48 pages).

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Assessment

The coursework taken in the Autumn and Spring terms is assessed by four marked written assignments:-

1. Two essays of between 3,000 and 5,000 words written in relation to the Autumn and Spring term option courses and submitted at the end of term.
   
   
2. For Autumn and Spring term modules in creative writing, students will be assessed on a portfolio of work whose intended contents will be decided in consultation with the seminar leader at the beginning of each term. Each portfolio of work will be assessed by the creative writing tutors and by a nominated member of staff. The length of submission will depend on the nature of the genre being studied:
   1. longer prose fiction: c. 10,000 words (e.g. a section of a novel);
   2. writing for radio: radio scripts amounting to c. 10,000 words;
   3. the short story: short stories amounting to c. 10,000 words;
   4. poetry: at least 24 pages (i.e. half of a publishable volume).
      
      

   A portfolio of work arising from workshops should be submitted at the end of each module.

It is the responsibility of all students to hand in copies of their essays or portfolios of work in duplicate to the English Literature Postgraduate Office, Floor 6, David Hume Tower. Tutors will pick up one copy for marking while the second copy will be filed in the Office.
All written assignments (including the creative writing project) are assessed according to the University's Common Marking Scheme, as follows:

Marks from these coursework assignments count for 25% each. Students must gain an overall mark of 50% or above in order to proceed to the preparation of their project for submission in September. The MSc degree is awarded on the basis of the mark gained for the creative writing project (but note the information given below on the award of Distinctions).

The creative writing project for submission by mid September (10th September in 2004) will be of a scale appropriate to the genre attempted: where prose or drama it will be not less than 20,000 words (and should not be more than 30,000 words); where poetry it must be sufficient to constitute a publishable volume (i.e. at least 48 pages).

Candidates who gain less than 50% in course work may be awarded the Diploma on the completion of a further creative writing project during the summer term (see below).

Candidates failing to achieve an adequate standard in the creative writing project for the MSc will be awarded the Diploma.

Award of Distinction

The MSc may be awarded with distinction when coursework marks average 67% and the creative writing project mark is 70% or above. Distinction may also be awarded where there is a slightly lower average on the coursework, provided that there is a compensating higher mark for the creative writing project:

Diploma students

Students achieving between 40% and 49% in the Autumn and Spring modules will normally be allowed to proceed to diploma studies, which will include the submission of a creative writing project of 5,000 words in the summer term, to be submitted by 30 June. The minimum period of study for a diploma is nine months full-time from first registration.

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5. MSc by Research in English Literature

Candidates for the MSc by Research are required to undertake independent study as approved at the time of admission by the Head of Department and by the Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee. Candidates will take part in the Research Methods course, and may also be required to follow relevant coursework. There are two modes for the award of MSc by Research in the Department of English Literature:

In consultation with students, supervisors decide at the outset of the academic year whether a particular student is to pursue Mode A or Mode C.

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Transfer to MLitt and PhD

Students reading for an MSc may apply to go straight into the second year of an MLitt research degree. If accepted for such an upgrade, however, they cannot at the same time graduate with MSc and they should not register for MSc graduation. Acceptance of such an upgrade is at the discretion of the Departmental Board of Examiners.

The Faculty Postgraduate Studies Committee can also award a concession to allow an MSc student to go into the second year of PhD research. In this case, a student may be permitted to graduate with MSc.

It is, of course, open for an MSc student to apply in the usual manner to read for a full two-year MLitt or a three-year PhD and to progress to research as a first year supervised postgraduate student on these programmes. In such cases the student will graduate with MSc.

For further details please contact the Postgraduate Office secretary Anne.Mason@ed.ac.uk Tel: +44 131 650 3618

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