Overview
The Cambridge English Faculty’s integrated MPhil in English Studies is a nine-month taught course which offers a uniquely wide-ranging and innovative approach to the study of literature, criticism and culture in the Anglophone world.
Our versatile modular structure offers many Specialist Seminars, including both a Medieval and a Renaissance Textual Studies course. Together, these cater for a high degree of individual self-definition across an unrivalled range of research fields. At the same time, our Research Frameworks seminars cut across these specialist emphases. They bring together students with diverse research interests, encouraging them to work collaboratively on cross-period methodological and inter-disciplinary topics.
In the MPhil as a whole, depth, diversity, the historical, and the conceptual are each available in equal measure, and all this is underpinned by a sense of involvement in common intellectual endeavours shared between everyone taking the course. This blend of variety and unity will offer you a truly distinctive context in which to develop as a thinker, writer, and researcher.
Course in brief
Entry requirements
Undergraduate degree: (min) high II.i
Course Structure
There are four taught elements to the MPhil in English Studies. In addition, our students work on their dissertations for the full length of the course and also participate in some of the Faculty’s wide array of research seminars.
Research Frameworks seminars are collaboratively taught, typically by a pair of lecturers each term, and are cross-period. Specialist seminars are individually taught and have a specialist focus. Both are research-led. Research Training sessions provide students with discipline-specific academic skills.
In addition, the Textual and Related Studies courses provide bibliographical, manuscript and palaeographical training for students wishing to specialise in Medieval or Renaissance literature.
Course Details
Of the four taught components, everyone takes at least one Research Frameworks seminar and two Specialist seminars. Medieval and Renaissance specialists also take their respective Textual and Related Studies course. Underpinning everything is regular supervision.
Research Frameworks
These run across the first two terms and encourage students to develop the conceptual and theoretical sophistication required for framing postgraduate-level dissertation projects.
Specialist Seminars
These research-led seminars are taught by specialists and range widely in topic, period and region from Middle-English contemplation to Caribbean environmental literatures.
Research Training
This provides the training essential to postgraduate researchers in the humanities. It is taught by means of lectures and of associated workshops based in our libraries.
Supervision
Your individual supervisor will work with you throughout the year, offering guidance on coursework drafts and overseeing your dissertation research and writing.
Medieval Textual and Related Studies
This practical course provides the foundation for the knowledge and skills necessary to read, transcribe and study medieval texts in their manuscript form in the period 1100-1500. It is part of the Medieval route.
Renaissance Textual and Related Studies
This introductory course equips students with the skills and understanding needed to study early modern manuscript material and to conduct research using material printed in the period 1500-1700. It is part of the Renaissance route.
Period Specialisation
Within the MPhil, it is possible to specialise in any period of your choosing, such as the long eighteenth century, Romantic or Victorian periods, through your choice of specialist seminars and dissertation focus.
It is also possible to receive certification of expertise in Medieval or Renaissance literature. This may particularly suit students intending to pursue PhD study or careers in archives, museums, and the wider heritage sector.
Medieval Route
This route includes exciting and rigorous training in medieval manuscript studies and palaeography, leading to working independently with the University's astonishing collections of manuscripts.
Renaissance Route
This pathway includes an introduction to the study of early modern printed books, manuscripts, and palaeography, taught hands-on in the Cambridge University Library with its unparalleled holdings.
Read the views of students...
...specialising in eighteenth-century literature
While I have appreciated the option to remain within my time period (important for me as I will be progressing to a PhD in Romantic-era women’s novels), I have also appreciated the opportunity to move away from my usual novels and into drama and poetry as well. Across my Specialist Seminars, there have been a range of approaches, from the highly theoretical to the contextually particularised, which have supported me in finding the most convincing manner to present my own arguments. I’ve found the combination of Research Frameworks and Specialist Seminars to afford both flexibility in approach and opportunities to specialise in historically-situated ways, facilitating an in-depth knowledge of my period and an interdisciplinary angle on the questions which might arise in relation to it. Rigorous but stimulating, and above all enjoyable, I feel that the MPhil in English Studies balances depth and breadth well, and has provided an excellent grounding in the skills and knowledge I will need for my PhD.
Shona
...specialising in Renaissance literature
When I was applying for the English Studies MPhil, I felt torn in two directions: I had already specialised in the Renaissance during my undergraduate degree to a large extent, but a large part of me still longed to sit around reading unwieldy Victorian novels all day. In fact, it was my (otherwise crippling) indecisiveness that made my choice of studying here at Cambridge a very sensible one: it allows for real variety of interest alongside the dedication to one niche area of study. While I have elected to become a Renaissance specialist, I have also been able to study all kinds of other things, including reading graphic novels, listening to pop music, and binge-watching all of The Wire. And of course, I have been able to read my fair share of very heavy – in both senses of the word – 19th century novels. Following the Renaissance track has allowed me to properly burrow down into the time period, even while indulging my curiosity in other seminar courses. From not knowing what the word ‘palaeography’ even meant to deciphering dense passages of secretary hand about conjugal conflict or licking frogs, I have been able to grow in unexpected new directions over the course of the year. The continuity of the dissertation makes it feel like I’m really developing as an academic, and it is satisfying to have a singular research focus as a throughline while the seminar courses come and go.
Ella
...specialising in Medieval literature
I have really appreciated the way the MPhil’s structure has enabled me to specialise in medieval literature while still maintaining contact with other periods, which has often helped me to see my own specialist area from a more rounded perspective, as well as given me the chance to engage with other interests that do not fit under the banner of medieval studies. At the same time, the course has taught me new skills that are vital for any medievalist: the Textual and Related Studies course has enabled me to work confidently with medieval manuscripts despite having never previously done so, and the Latin course has made accessible a huge corpus of medieval texts I could previously only engage with in translation, many of which have been critical to my research.
Nathan
"...being exposed [in Research Frameworks seminars] to a range of philosophical and political texts concerning ethics, gender and embodiment has shaped my thinking here. It’s been a pleasure to hear from others in these classes: seeing where we have common ground has encouraged me to be a bit more open-minded with the philosophies and critical approaches I tend towards and has demonstrated some of the less obvious connections that can be made across time periods."
How am I assessed?
Students are supported throughout the MPhil by regular meetings with their supervisor. Examined elements are as follows:
(i) Short Written Exercise submitted in Michaelmas term on a topic directly related to the dissertation. Assessed as a pass/resubmission by the supervisor. It does not contribute to the overall mark for the MPhil.
(ii) Two Coursework Essays of 5,000 words related to Specialist seminars on an independently chosen topic, one submitted after Michaelmas term and the other after Lent term. (Those taking the Medieval TRS course may substitute the Michaelmas coursework essay with an exercise in Textual and Related Studies if they wish.) The lower of the two coursework marks achieved is weighted as contributing 20% towards the student’s overall mark; the higher-scoring coursework mark contributes 30%.
(iii) Dissertation of between 12,000 and 15,000 words, submitted at the end of Easter term. Worth 50% of the overall mark for the degree.
Discover more
By the time you leave Cambridge, you will have found your own path and interests. You will have engaged in a subject which has helped you think more critically. Learn about other aspects of the course, studying at Cambridge and future careers.
