Introduction
Study the development of the English language from its Anglo-Saxon origins to contemporary usage while exploring its rich literary history.
Study Information
At a Glance
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MA
- Duration
- 48 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time
- Start Month
- September
- Location of Study
- Aberdeen
- UCAS Code
- LL10
The MA English Language & Literature degree offers a unique opportunity to examine the English language holistically across a spectrum of literary periods and genres while enabling you to focus on specific areas that capture your interest. Our programme draws on specialist knowledge and expertise from the disciplines of Celtic & Anglo-Saxon studies, Language & Linguistics, and English literary studies, allowing you to appreciate the links between the evolution of English and its use in literary texts. You will explore the language of Old English, the structure and use of contemporary English, and the rich variety of literature in English that has arisen alongside its linguistic development.
What You'll Study
- Year 1
-
Year 1: Compulsory Courses
- LN10XX English Past and Present (15 Credit Points)
- LN15XX Language Structure and Use (15 Credit Points)
- Academic Writing for Language & Literature (AW1008)
-
This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD1002)
-
This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students and articulating students who are in their first year at the University, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
- Acts of Reading (EL1009)
-
15 Credit Points
This course introduces students to the study of English by exploring the dynamic relationship between author, reader and text in a series of classic works of fiction and poetry. It covers a broad historical range (from Folk Tales and ballads to 21st century postmodernity) and offers a basic grounding in key elements of literary theory, literary history and the varieties of literary form.
- Controversial Classics (EL1513)
-
15 Credit Points
Literature can provoke, offend and disturb as well as entertain. This course considers some of the most powerful and controversial works of modern literature. It examines the circumstances of publication, the nature of the controversy, and the cultural and critical impact of each work. The course shows how poems, plays and novels can raise searching questions about national, racial and personal identity, and looks at the methods used by writers to challenge their readers, as well the responses of readers to such challenges.
Year 1: Optional Courses
Select TWO courses from the list below. Plus, select further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.
- English Past and Present (LN1008)
-
15 Credit Points
How do we get from Beowulf to ‘bae’? From Chaucer to ‘sashay away’? This course will look at the development of English over the last millennium and beyond, examining language changes in sound, structure and meaning. You will also be introduced to present-day study of English, its spread as a truly global language, and how all of this can add to our understanding of language in the modern world and in the past.
- Language Structure and use (LN1507)
-
15 Credit Points
This course opens up new ways for students to think about language by introducing them to the fundamentals of English linguistics. Students will learn how to identify and analyse the major "building blocks" of language in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Examples for illustration and discussion will be drawn from varieties of English spoken in the British Isles and worldwide, with lectures and tutorials geared to providing students with an active vocabulary with which to discuss language, and essential tools with which to analyse its structure and function.
- Year 2
-
Year 2: Compulsory Courses
- Encounters with Shakespeare (EL2011)
-
30 Credit Points
So you think you know Shakespeare? This course invites you to think again. Studying a range of plays we get behind the mythology of Shakespeare, and rediscover the dynamic inventiveness of the Elizabethan theatre. Shakespeare and his contemporaries were the principal players in a period of literary experimentation that reinvented the possibilities of literature. Encounters with Shakespeare is your chance to find out more.
- Elements of English (LN2515)
-
30 Credit Points
We perceive language as an integrated whole, but in fact it exists on many levels. This course investigates these layers of structure through examination of speech sounds, word formation, and sentence construction. We will consider the theory behind these areas of phonology, morphology, and syntax, looking at how they function independently and interact. Students will gain skills to undertake analysis of language structure and think critically about structural elements fundamental to English.
- Year 3
-
Year 3: Compulsory Courses
- CE3047 Introduction to Old English Language (30 Credit Points)
- Introduction to Old English Language (CE3047)
-
30 Credit Points
This course will provide an introduction to the language of the Anglo-Saxons. It will focus on grammatical study of the language, and translating basic Anglo-Saxon passages into modern English. It will be based on a new version of the Old English course designed by Dr Duncan Macrae-Gibson, an eminent Anglo-Saxonist and inspirational lecturer at Aberdeen. This 21st-century version of the course (published by Aberdeen University Press) will include traditional and online elements. The course will give students the opportunity to begin learning the language in which 'Beowulf' and many other fascinating poems and prose texts were composed.
Year 3: Optional Courses
Select ONE of the following:
- LN3524 Stylistics (30 Credit Points) OR LN3510 Discourse Analysis (30 Credit Points)
Plus, select 30 credits of Level 3 English or Language & Linguistics to make up 120 credit points.
- Knights, Virgins and Viragos: Chaucer and Medieval Writing (EL35DQ)
-
30 Credit Points
Knights, Virgins, and Viragos offers an introduction to the variety of medieval literature and culture. Turning a critical eye on the role misconceptions of the Middle Ages play in present day white supremacy, the course highlights genres from medieval drama to life writing, with attention to the medieval history of race making and modern responses to medieval texts.
- Year 4
-
Year 4: Compulsory Courses
- Dissertation in English Language & Literature (30 Credit Points)
- LN4520 Perception, Prescription, Prejudice (30 Credit Points)
Year 4: Optional Courses
Plus, select 30 credits of Level 4 English or Language & Linguistics to make up 120 credit points.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page. In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips.
How You'll Study
Learning Methods
- Group Projects
- Individual Projects
- Lectures
- Peer Learning
- Research
- Seminars
- Tutorials
- Workshops
Assessment Methods
You will learn through a mix of teaching methods and supervision to challenge your thinking and put your critical skills to the test. You will engage in a range of assessments to support your personal growth and develop your linguistic skills.
Honours projects are typically assessed based on a written dissertation.
Why Study English Language & Literature?
- Explore English from a linguistic and literary perspective.
- Learn how the English language works structurally and in practice.
- Develop your skills in written and oral communication, analysis, and research.
- Acquire new insights into how spoken English is changing, including evidence gathered from tracking TV and radio soaps over the years.
- Build connections within our vibrant research and teaching community across Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies, English, and Linguistics.
- Participate in the annual WayWORD Festival, a free student-led recognising internationally acclaimed authors, artists, filmmakers, new talent and more in showcasing alternative forms of literary and artistic expression.
- Award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library with top-class study facilities and literary treasures collected over 500 years charting the power of the written word from ancient papyri and medieval manuscripts to contemporary e-books and other media.
- Historic collections include rare, printed books, the 12th century Aberdeen Bestiary, MacBean Stuart and Jacobite Collection, the novels of Sir Walter Scott, and an exceptional collection of Charles Dickens' first editions.
- The university has an international profile through major literary projects including the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen and the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels of Sir Walter Scott.
Interested in this programme?
Entry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.
General Entry Requirements
- 2026 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants that present with BBBB will usually receive an unconditional offer.
Where we have more applicants than places we may need to ask for more than the minimum so continued engagement in school is recommended.
Widening Access: BBC
Applicants who meet one or more of our widening access metrics and present with BBC, are guaranteed an unconditional offer.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
Note: We do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B grade at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher.
National 5 English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C or above.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Widening Access: CCC
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above.
BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA
DMM in related subjects.
Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.)
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes.
IRISH LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Five subjects at Higher at H3.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
SL in English is also required.
- 2027 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants that present with BBBB will usually receive an unconditional offer.
Where we have more applicants than places we may need to ask for more than the minimum so continued engagement in school is recommended.
Widening Access: BBC
Applicants who meet one or more of our widening access metrics and present with BBC, are guaranteed an unconditional offer.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
Note: We do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B grade at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher.
National 5 English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C or above.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Widening Access: CCC
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above.
BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA
DMM in related subjects.
Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.)
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes.
IRISH LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Five subjects at Higher at H3.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
SL in English is also required.
The information displayed in this section shows a shortened summary of our entry requirements. For more information, or for full entry requirements for Arts and Social Sciences degrees, see our detailed entry requirements section.
Fees and Funding
You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.
- EU / International students
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £20,800
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *)
- £14,800
-
The above fee includes the £6,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply.
- Home Students
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £1,820
- England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £9,790
-
The UK Government has confirmed that the RUK fee cap will continue to increase each year to reflect inflation. Tuition fees will increase in line with the Government fee cap each year, and this should be taken into account when budgeting.
Scholarships and Funding
UK Scholarship
Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay tuition fees may be eligible for specific scholarships allowing them to receive additional funding. These are designed to provide assistance to help students support themselves during their time at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The University of Aberdeen is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme. More about this funding opportunity.
Funding Database
View all funding options in our Funding Database.
Careers
You develop a range of transferable skills, providing ideal preparation to progress into postgraduate study or enter careers across different work settings. Graduates can progress onto careers in fields such as:
- Language Data Analysis
- Language Documentation
- Lexicography
- Technical Writing
- Publishing
- Teaching
Our Experts
- Programme Coordinator
- Dr Elspeth Edelstein
- Other Expert
- Dr William Barras
Information About Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
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Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
University of Aberdeen
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX