約克大學

Study widely and deeply in poetry and ideas from the classical period to the present day. Engage with a cross-cultural approach, and place issues of translation and cultural exchange at the heart of the study of poetry from classical to post-colonial poetics.

You'll be able to focus on the poem and the poet with an emphasis on theory and form, and be able to construct a distinct, individually chosen programme of study from a wide range of options. This will include the opportunity to take a workshop in poetry writing with our creative writing faculty.

Taught and supervised by world-leading scholars, the course will develop your research skills and you'll be able to apply these to a substantial piece of independent research. This will provide you with a foundation for doctoral research, as well as transferable skills for related careers in teaching, publishing, arts management and journalism. ?

You’ll engage with the wider research culture of the Department of English, one of the UK's largest research centres in modern English, and there will be a diverse schedule of seminars, conferences and reading groups for you to attend. You’ll also be part of the Humanities Research Centre, a vibrant interdisciplinary hub which will enable you to form close social and intellectual bonds over the course of your study.

Course content

The language of the course, and of many of the poets studied, will be English, but you'll also study poetry from a variety of linguistic cultures, and in a wide range of historical contexts. The wide module range includes staff research strengths such as classical and Renaissance poetry, the Romantics and Victorians, and British, Irish and American contemporary writing, as well as old English poetry, symbolism, medieval poetic inheritances, and poetry and art.

Careers and skills

Our postgraduates go into academia and teaching, arts administration, journalism, broadcasting, public relations, social work, politics, the civil service and management consultancy. Many alumni have also gone on to become successful novelists, poets and playwrights.