The Department of English Studies offers postgraduate programmes at the master level, leading to an MA. All MA programmes are watched over by a three-member committee, which is appointed every two years. The Committee is chaired by a Postgraduate Coordinator. The different MA programmes do not necessarily run every year. Please, check on the relevant announcements of the Graduate School for updated information.

The relevant announcements of the Graduate School also contain full information on the application period, the number of students to be admitted to each programme, the admission requirements and the application procedure. Generally, all applicants for entrance in the MA programmes must hold a first class or upper second class degree (or equivalent) in a subject related to their proposed field of study. All candidates must be competent and fluent in English and, depending on the nature of the programme, in other relevant languages. Although candidates need not have completed their degree at the time of application, they must have received it before they are allowed to commence the postgraduate programmes.

Below you can see the MA programmes currently running at the Department of English Studies. Click on the titles to see more details.

 

MA in TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (TESOL)

The programme is primarily designed for those interested in TESOL as an academic field and has the following main objectives:

  • To offer students a solid foundation and deepen their knowledge in the main areas of TESOL, from both a theoretical and a practical point of view.
  • To acquaint students with new areas in the field (such as computer-assisted language learning, alternative assessment, English as a lingua franca).
  • To engage students in research in the field of TESOL and consequently encourage them to further their studies.

The programme is divided into two components: The taught component covers the main areas of TESOL and familiarises students with research methodology; the thesis component gives students the opportunity to undertake research in a specialised area of interest.

Structure

First Semester ECTS
ENG 740 Language Teaching and Learning 10
ENG 741 Trends in Applied Linguistics 10
ENG 742 Research Methodology 10
Second Semester
ENG 753 Language Testing and Assessment 10
ENG 754 Materials Development and Course Design 10
ENG 75X Elective Course 10
Third Semester
ENG 765 Master Thesis in TESOL 20
ENG 762 Teaching Portfolio Development 10
Total ECTS 90

Assessment

Each taught course is usually evaluated through continuous assessment which may include a midterm exam, a final exam, a research paper and various others assignments. Students are also required to write a 15,000-word thesis on some aspect of TESOL.

 

MA in THEORETICAL AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS (TAAL)

The programme is primarily designed for those interested in the scientific investigation of language and has the following main objectives:

  • To offer students a solid foundation and deepen their knowledge in the main areas of English grammar and the structure of language.
  • To acquaint students with different areas in the field (such as syntax, semantics, phonology, applied linguistics, etc.).
  • To provide guidelines for students conducting research in the field of Linguistics, and consequently encourage them to further their studies.

The programme is divided into two components: The taught component covers the main areas of Linguistics and familiarises students with research methodology; the thesis component gives students the opportunity to undertake research in a specialised area of interest.

Structure

First Semester ECTS
ENG 741 Trends in Applied Linguistics 10
ENG 743 Principles of Linguistic Analysis I 10
ENG 766 Portfolio Development I 10
Second Semester
ENG 748 Principles of Linguistic Analysis II 10
ENG 742 Research Methodology 10
ENG 767 Portfolio Development II 10
Third Semester
ENG 749 First and Second Language Acquisition 10
ENG 750 Topics in Linguistics 10
ENG 768 Portfolio Development III 10
Fourth Semester
ENG 769 Master Thesis in TAAL 30
Total ECTS 120

Assessment

Each taught course is usually evaluated through continuous assessment which may include a mid-term exam, a final exam, a research paper and various others assignments. Students are also required to write a 15,000-word thesis on some aspect of linguistics.

 

MA in ENGLISH STUDIES

The MA in English Studies is designed for students who wish to pursue advanced study and research in English Studies. Drawing from the fields of literary and cultural studies, translation studies, and the study of the English language, the program balances theoretical and practical concerns, providing graduate students with a holistic understanding of hermeneutic and pedagogical issues of interpretation and transmission. It offers:

  • an extensive focus on theoretically and historically informed perspectives on literature;
  • a particular focus on the role of the interlingual and intercultural transfer of literary texts through translation and adaptation; and
  • a vital background in the philosophy and practice of language.

The wide range of courses on offer highlights the interdisciplinary, inter-generic and cross-cultural dimensions of contemporary literary, linguistic, and cultural studies within the Anglophone context. The progamme guide can be found here.

Structure

The MA in English Studies covers four semesters of study. Students are required to register for three courses (of 10 ECTS each) in each of the first three semesters of study. Two of these courses in each of the first three semesters are restricted electives that will be drawn from a list of broader rubrics that represent the philosophy and objectives of the programme. These course offerings may vary from one cycle of the MA to another, but by the end of the third semester, students will have taken a minimum of one course from each of the four rubrics. The fourth semester of study involves the writing of an MA thesis under the guidance of an assigned supervisor.

First Semester ECTS
ENG 736 Advanced Research Skills I 10
ENG 7XX Restricted elective 10
ENG 7XX Restricted elective 10
Second Semester
ENG 737 Advanced Research Skills II 10
ENG 7XX Restricted elective 10
ENG 7XX Restricted elective 10
Third Semester
ENG 7XX Restricted elective 10
ENG 7XX Restricted elective 10
ENG 738 Research Portfolio 10
Fourth Semester
ENG 739 Master Thesis in English Studies 30
Total ECTS 120

List of rubrics with restricted elective courses:

I) Topics in Literary and Cultural History

ENG 700 Aesthetics and Literature: From Romanticism to Postmodernism
ENG 709 World Literature: History, Theory, Practices
ENG 713 Gender, Sexuality, and Subjectivity in Early Modern Literature and Culture
ENG 721 Nation and Narrative
ENG 723 Early Modern Literature and Political Theory
ENG 725 Writing the Anthropocene

II) Questions in Comparative Cultural Studies

ENG 705 The Animal in Literature and Philosophy
ENG 708 Writing Coercive Confinement in English
ENG 716 The Sublime
ENG 719 Space and Cultural Production
ENG 720 Seminar in Contemporary Feminist Theory: Debates on Aesthetics, Ethics and Politics
ENG 726 Advanced Seminar in Literary and Cultural Theory

III) Reception, Translation, Adaptation

ENG 714 Texts in Performance
ENG 727 Reading, Re-reading, Failing to Read: Methodological Questions in Literary and Cultural Criticism
ENG 771 Shakespeare’s Afterlives
ENG 772 Translation Criticism
ENG 773 Theater Translation and Intercultural Transfer

IV) Language, Literature, Pedagogy

ENG 704 Critical Pedagogy and Shakespeare
ENG 740 Language Teaching and Learning
ENG 743 Principles of Linguistic Analysis I
ENG 748 Principles of Linguistic Analysis II
ENG 749 First and Second Language Acquisition
ENG 760 Philosophy of Language
ENG 761 Pragmatics: Utterance, Context, Communication

Assessment

Each taught course is evaluated through continuous assessment which may include a midterm exam, a final exam, a research paper and various others assignments. Students are also required to write an MA thesis on some aspect of English Studies. The expected word length of the Master Thesis in English Studies, which takes 30 ECTS, is between 12,000-15,000 words.