This programme offers the exciting opportunity to study Shakespeare in the centre of London, the city where he spent his working life as a writer. UCL has one of the top English departments in the UK, and counts several published Shakespeare scholars among its staff.

Application Requirements

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Applications for places on this course are considered at any time throughout the year. For 2012 entry applications must be received by 3rd August.

Programme structure

180 credits comprising: 90 credit dissertation; 6 x 15 credit modules

Curriculum

The programme consists of three elements taught within the department, while allowing the opportunity to take modules outside the department selected from a menu of recommended complimentary modules.

The three elements – Shakespeare in his Time, Research Skills and Methods, and Shakespeare’s Afterlives – are offered as 15 credit modules in both autumn and spring terms, while the dissertation is written during the summer term.

Shakespeare in his time 1 (autumn) and 2 (spring) give the student a thorough grounding both in Shakespeare’s plays and poems and in the contexts which shaped them. Each week a particular work or group of works will be explored in depth, and considered in relation to historical issues, sources, and writings by Shakespeare’s contemporaries. Both modules are compulsory and are assessed by an essay (2-3,000 words).

Research skills and methods 1 (autumn) and 2 (spring) introduce tools necessary for the study of Shakespeare at graduate level, such as bibliography, editing, and the use of archival resources. They include a series of classes on the skills needed to read early modern manuscripts. RSM 1 (autumn) is compulsory and will be assessed by a research exercise, and RSM 2 (spring) is non-compulsory and is assessed by a research methods project (2-3,000 words).

Shakespeare’s afterlives 1 (autumn) and 2 (spring) examine the reception of Shakespeare’s works and their cultural influence, especially in Britain, North America and continental Europe, drawing on the UCL English Department’s notable expertise in the periods from Shakespeare’s death to the present day. Students will explore how Shakespeare has inspired later writers and how each different age has made its own Shakespeare. The course will include some attention to Shakespeare on film and to the diverse branches of Shakespeare criticism. Both modules are non-compulsory and are assessed by an essay (2-3,000 words).

The dissertation (summer) is a 15-20,000 (plus oral assessment) essay, concerning some aspect of Shakespeare arising out of the course. The oral assessment takes the form of a 5-10 minute presentation in spring term at the dissertation planning conference; this is an ungraded but compulsory exercise.

UCL achieves high ratings in university league tables, and the English Department is widely recognised as one of the top departments in its field for both research and teaching. The MA is taught by leading research specialists in the field. Teaching is by seminars, supported by access to specialist advice ; provision will be made available for one-to-one discussion – of an academic or pastoral nature – at various points throughout the year. A dissertation and coursework enable students to pursue their individual interests, aided by UCL’s unrivalled proximity to London's world-class research libraries, theatres, and other cultural facilities. The course is an ideal preparation for students who wish to undertake original Shakespeare-related research for a PhD. Graduates of the MA have gone on to various kinds of success, including PhD study at UCL and elsewhere, and work in publishing and the film industry.

Graduate Handbook for current students: Shakespeare in History

Part-time students

Part-time students are advised to take 'Shakespeare in his Time' 1 and 2, and 'Research Skills and Methods' 1 in their first year, then ‘Research Skills and Methods’ and ‘Shakespeare’s Afterlives’ in the second year, and are otherwise free to construct their own programme. Work on the dissertation is spread across the summer term in both years. Course construction for part-time students will be discussed on a student by student basis depending on circumstances and commitments.

Opportunities for Further Research

Candidates who are successful in obtaining the MA and have found a promising subject requiring further study are welcome to apply to the UCL MPhil/PhD programme.

Research Resources

The resources for studying Shakespearean and Renaissance literature at UCL are rivalled by very few institutions anywhere in the world. The manuscript collection in the nearby British Library offers graduate students unlimited scope for research. UCL is a few minutes away from a wide range of other major research institutions and libraries, such as the University of London Library, the Warburg Institute, and the Institute of Historical Research.

The London Shakespeare Seminar holds regular meetings nearby, bringing together lecturers and graduate students from all the London colleges. The seminar acts as a forum for new research both within and outside the university, with the frequent presentation of papers by internationally renowned scholars.


		A late 18C / early 19C print by Heath after Stothard of Bottom, Titania and Oberon.

An external examiner comments:

The degree programme's content is stimulating and exceptionally well designed ... this MA is an outstanding, inspiring success.

What students say

Oliver (Shakespeare 2006-7) writes:

Being able to devote a year to the study of Shakespeare has given me an entirely new depth of appreciation for the plays and poetry. Reading them with an informed sense of the historical and artistic environment in which Shakespeare worked is like understanding them for the first time. The course has enhanced my enjoyment of Early Modern literature in general and provided a thorough grounding in historical, as well as literary, research. Looking at the history of Shakespeare’s reception through the centuries has also provided a unique and often entertaining perspective on changing cultural tastes and ideologies.

Studying in a department actively engaged in work on Shakespeare, both editorial and biographical, lends a sense of purposefulness and excitement to the course. In addition, I have found the centre of London an ideal environment for the MA, with access to the University of London’s facilities and the British Library, as well as the Globe, Barbican and National Theatre.

Yasmin (Shakespeare MA 2008-09) from the USA writes:

For me the Shakespeare MA at UCL was the fulfillment of a long-held dream, and it more than lived up to any expectations I could possibly have had. The course is challenging and tremendously enriching – it changed the way I read and think about texts. By looking at Shakespeare in the context of his time, the MA provided me with new depths of understanding for the plays and poems, for the many layers of meanings used, and for the early modern world. The Shakespeare faculty, are leading academics in their fields, and their enthusiasm and excitement for their subject in seminars and tutorials is contagious. What makes the experience outstanding is that they are also great teachers, who are incredibly supportive and generous with their time. Being taught palaeography, a skill necessary to study primary source material was uniquely exciting. The year of intense study introduced me to much compelling early modern material that has made me want to pursue a PhD.

Adam (Shakespeare MA 2007-8) writes:

It is precisely its focalization that makes studing Shakespeare at UCL so worthwhile. I am now able to enjoy his plays and poems within their contemporary historical and cultural contexts as well as understand their perpetual influence which has journeyed continuously in many different guises through the last four centuries. It was not until I began the course and received a thorough grounding in both literary and historical research methods that I realised that I would be academically capable of pursuing my study to PhD level. The groundwork and training is all here, something I had not so much as considered before. Needless to say London is both the hub of our and Shakespeare's England – there is truly nowhere better to study.