#22 in the world

Ranked 22nd in the world for arts and humanities in the 2020 QS World University Rankings by Subject.

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)

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.

This course provides you with the option of pursuing a career as a secondary-level English teacher, journalist, writer or literary critic and roles in the media, public and community service and academia.

Employers value our English graduates because the program is designed to promote qualities of personal and intellectual autonomy, skills in research and enquiry, and a capacity for both information literacy and effective communication.

Some students pursue this degree as a prelude to further advanced doctoral study, often with a view to an academic career; others, particularly school teachers, see it as an opportunity to upgrade existing skills for purposes of professional enhancement. Other students are motivated primarily by a particular interest in this subject.