English Literature: Modernities - Literature, Culture, Theory MLitt

Detail from the painting Group VI, Evolution, No. 15 (1908) by Hilma af Klint.
Guided by a team of internationally recognised experts, you will investigate the key texts and concepts that shape our understanding of literature and culture across a period of radical change from 1880 to the present. You will relate the literary texts you study to developments in other cultural practices, such as film, theatre and the visual arts.
- Academic contact: Dr Sophie Vlacos:
sophie.vlacos@glasgow.ac.uk - Teaching start: September
- Glasgow: Gilmorehill campus
- MLitt: 12 months full-time; 24 months part‑time
Why this programme

- The programme has an international reputation for delivering outstanding research-led teaching, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary and theoretically informed approaches to this literary period.
- You will have access to world class libraries and museums, as well as the extraordinary diversity of cultural, literary and artistic events that make Glasgow such an enriching place for postgraduate study.
- The programme includes tailored workshops with the University’s archives and Special Collections, as well as a bespoke field trip to the archives of the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
Meet our students
Postgraduate English Literature: Modernities MLitt student Gunnar Lundberg takes us through GOMA and gives an insight into life as a postgraduate student in the College of Arts & Humanities at the University of Glasgow.
Meet Gunnar, an English Literature: Modernities student (YouTube)
Programme structure
Full-time students
Semester 1 - September to December
- English Literature Research Training Course
- Modernities I:1880-1945
- One option course
Semester 2 - January to March
- Modernities 2: 1945 to the present
- Two option courses
Summer - April to September
Part-time students
First year
- English Literature Research Training Course
- Modernities I:1880-1945
- Modernities 2: 1945 to the present
- One option course
Second year
- Two option courses
- Modernities Dissertation
Option courses
We have affiliated option courses, and students may also choose from courses in the subject, School, and College of Arts & Humanities (by arrangement with conveners and subject to agreement and availability of places). Not all options will be available in any given year, depending on staff availability. A number of option courses have been devised with the needs of the Modernities programme particularly in mind including, but not limited to:
- African Modernities: Colonialism and Postcolonialism in the Novel
- Decadence And The Modern
- The American Counterculture, 1945-75
- Contemporary Realisms
- Fantasies of Energy (PGT)
- Modern Everyday
- The Mind of the Contemporary American Novel
- Virginia Woolf Writes Modernity
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton and Dialogues of American Literary Modernism
- Futures: Unbundling the Now
- The Tomorrow People: Speculative Bodies and Minds in Contemporary Culture
- Psychoanalysis and Empire
- Raw Material: Literature, Empires, Commodities (PGT)
Delivery
All taught courses are 20 credits and are delivered in weekly 2 hour seminars or similar.
Students are taught in seminars and proceed through a planned sequence of reading and discussion. The working style however is exploratory rather than didactic; students are expected to engage fully with primary sources, to develop, express and take responsibility for their own opinions and to work towards independent argument and expression in their resulting coursework and dissertation.
Programme alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours
to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw
or alter a programme. For more information, please see: Student contract.
Career prospects
Modernities has been producing successful graduates for over 15 years and provides excellent preparation for PhD study and an academic career, as well as developing key skills valued by employers in journalism, the heritage and creative industries, and other related educational and vocational careers.
Fees & funding
Tuition fees for 2025-26
MLitt
UK
- Full-time fee: £11250
- Part-time fee: £1250 per 20 credits
International & EU
- Full-time fee: £25320
Deposits
International and EU applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2000 when an offer is made.
Deposits: terms & conditions
Additional fees
- Fee for re-assessment of a dissertation (PGT programme): £370
- Submission of thesis after deadline lapsed: £350
- Registration/exam only fee: £170
Funding opportunities
Alexander and Dixon Scholarship (Bryce Bequest)
College of Arts and Humanities Widening Participation Postgraduate Taught Scholarships
Beatrix Whistler and James McNeill Whistler Scholarship
GREAT Scholarships 2025
The Snowdon Trust Master’s Scholarship
Banco de Mexico
Erasmus+ Master Degree Loans
DAAD-University of Glasgow 1-year Master’s grant
Colfuturo Fundacion para el Futuro de Colombia
Commonwealth Scholarship Schemes
Chevening Scholarship
CONICyT (La Comsion Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica de Chile)
University of Glasgow African Excellence Award
CONACyT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia) / FUNED Agreement
World Changers Glasgow Scholarship
University of Glasgow Caribbean Excellence Award
Postgraduate Student Loan (Scotland and EU)
Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loans England only (PTFL)
Postgraduate Loans for Welsh Students
Alumni Discount
Postgraduate Access Scholarship
Global Leadership Scholarship
Glasgow Excellence Award (UK)
HESPAL Scholarship
Postgraduate Student Loan (NI)
World Changers Glasgow Scholarship PGT (EU)
The Clan Gregor Society Prize
The Dima Alhaj Scholarship
Sanctuary Scholarships
Travel Bursary for Forced Migrants
Glasgow Highland Society Scholarship
The scholarships above are relevant to this programme. For more funding opportunities search the scholarships database
Entry requirements
2.1 Hons (or non-UK equivalent) in English Literature or American or Irish or Scottish or History of Art or Philosophy or any Modern Language or Film and Television Studies or Theatre Studies or any other national Literature or Comparative Literature or any other relevant subject.
Please include a short statement of around 500 words outlining your interest in this programme.
We also require a sample of written work of around 3,000 words in length. This can be a previous piece of work from an undergraduate degree. The work should be written in English. The content does not have to cover a topic related to this specific programme, however the sample should show the potential to engage successfully with postgraduate-level literary studies by demonstrating analytical ability and knowledge of appropriate scholarly methods and conventions.
English language requirements
International students
We are proud of our diverse University community that includes students and staff from more than 140 different countries.
How to apply
To apply for a postgraduate taught degree you must apply online. We cannot accept applications any other way.
Please check you meet the Entry requirements for this programme before you begin your application.
Documents
As part of your online application, you also need to submit the following supporting documents:
- A copy (or copies) of your official degree certificate(s) (if you have already completed your degree)
- A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained
- Official English translations of the certificate(s) and transcript(s)
- One reference letter on headed paper
- Evidence of your English language ability (if your first language is not English)
- Any additional documents required for this programme (see Entry requirements for this programme)
- A copy of the photo page of your passport
You have 42 days to submit your application once you begin the process.
You may save and return to your application as many times as you wish to update information, complete sections or upload supporting documents such as your final transcript or your language test.
For more information about submitting documents or other topics related to applying to a postgraduate taught programme, see how to apply for a postgraduate taught degree
Guidance notes for using the online application
These notes are intended to help you complete the online application form accurately; they are also available within the help section of the online application form.
If you experience any difficulties accessing the online application, see Application System Help.
- Name and Date of birth: must appear exactly as they do on your passport. Please take time to check the spelling and lay-out.
- Contact Details: Correspondence address. All contact relevant to your application will be sent to this address including the offer letter(s). If your address changes, please contact us as soon as possible.
- Choice of course: Please select carefully the course you want to study. As your application will be sent to the admissions committee for each course you select it is important to consider at this stage why you are interested in the course and that it is reflected in your application.
- Proposed date of entry: Please state your preferred start date including the month and the year. Taught masters degrees tend to begin in September. Research degrees may start in any month.
- Education and Qualifications: Please complete this section as fully as possible indicating any relevant Higher Education qualifications starting with the most recent. Complete the name of the Institution (s) as it appears on the degree certificate or transcript.
- English Language Proficiency: Please state the date of any English language test taken (or to be taken) and the award date (or expected award date if known).
- Employment and Experience: Please complete this section as fully as possible with all employments relevant to your course. Additional details may be attached in your personal statement/proposal where appropriate.
Reference: Please provide one reference. This should typically be an academic reference but in cases where this is not possible then a reference from a current employer may be accepted instead. Certain programmes, such as the MBA programme, may also accept an employer reference. If you already have a copy of a reference on letter headed paper then please upload this to your application. If you do not already have a reference to upload then please enter your referee’s name and contact details on the online application and we will contact your referee directly.
Application deadlines
September 2025
International & EU applicants
- 25 July 2025
UK applicants
- 22 August 2025