Postgraduate Study

In the School of English Drama and Film, we offer both taught and research graduate programmes in Gender, Culture & Sexuality; Creative Writing; Drama and Performance; and Film and Media Studies at MA, MLitt, and PhD levels. The School of English Drama and Film is based in the University’s main campus, located just a few kilometres from the city centre, a UNESCO ‘City of Literature’, with all its cultural attractions, including the National Library, the Irish Film Institute, and renowned theatres like The Abbey, The Gate, and many more. Dublin itself is an extremely well connected transport hub, and offers a very good base for exploring Ireland more generally.

Masters Programmes

Our graduate programmes offer both a challenging and a rewarding introduction to advanced study. Our Masters programmes involve seminars, workshops, presentations, rehearsed readings, laboratory sessions, theatre visits, critical appraisals, and regular feedback from peers and members of staff during taught modules. The highlight for our students, however, is almost always the dissertation. This offers an exciting opportunity to pursue a significant, independent and original body of research under the watchful supervision of a member of the School's academic staff. The School of English, Drama and Film is a research-intensive department, and has a breadth of expertise to offer. The active research culture nurtures and encourages the next generation of scholars to push back the frontiers of understanding, to seek out new evidence, and to challenge accepted interpretations. Some of our more recent graduates have gone on to positions in areas as diverse as film production, journalism, teaching and management. Click the link of interest at the right for more information on individual MA programmes.

MLitt Programmes

An MLitt is a master's-level research degree based primarily on an independent research project, usually proposed and developed by the student, and carried out under the guidance of a supervisor and a research studies panel. In the case of the MLitt, or the research master's, the student will produce a thesis of 40,000- 60,000 words. For more information please visit our PhD and MLitt Research Programmes page.

PhD Programmes

Our structured PhD programme supports high-level independent research beyond the MA level in all English, Drama and Film subject areas. 

Potential PhD researchers wishing to start in the Autumn trimester are encouraged to submit their completed online application before the 1st of July at the latest. Those applying for January start need to submit before the 15th October. For a May start, applications must be completed and submitted by the 1st of March.

For more information on PhDs, click here or contact the School's Graduate Administrator at (opens in a new window)graduateEDF@ucd.ie.