Master of English Studies

The Master of English Studies is designed for research students from Australia and overseas, secondary school teachers and those interested in studying English literature at an advanced level.

Through the course you will bring together contemporary critical theory with literary narratives and investigate how and why literature still enjoys particular resonance in the 21st century. You will consider the ways in which the study of literature works in a specifically Australian cultural context.

This course focuses on three core approaches:

• critical reading
• literary history
• literary comparison (including the question of English as a world literature)

The Department of English at the University of Sydney is ranked as the best in Australia and 20th in the world by the 2016 QS World University Rankings. Our reputation is established in literary studies across a wide historical and geographical range.

We offer an extensive choice our scholarly experts teach in a broad spectrum of fields: medieval; early modern; 18th and 19th century; modern and contemporary; American and Australian literatures; and various aspects of cultural theory. You also have the option of taking creative writing units of study in contemporary poetry, fiction and screenwriting.