MA Victorian Studies

Program Overview

The Victorian Studies MA program at Birkbeck, University of London is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time on-campus program that explores the Victorian era through core and option modules. It offers opportunities for internships in the cultural sector, and graduates pursue careers in academia, education, publishing, and the arts. The program is ranked 2nd in the UK for English Language and Literature research and features a lively Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

• Program Name: Victorian Studies (MA)
• Mode of Study: On-campus
• Duration:
• Full-time: 1 year
• Part-time: 2 years
• Start Date: October 2024
• Attendance:
• Full-time: Two evenings a week, October to July
• Part-time: One evening a week, October to July
• Key Highlights:
• 2nd in the UK for English Language and Literature research (Research Excellence Framework 2021)
• Lively Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies
• Free-to-read online journal "Read 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century"
• Scholarships and studentships available

Outline:

• Structure:
• Consists of core modules and option modules
• Full-time: 180 credits (3 core modules, 2 option modules, 1 dissertation)
• Part-time: 180 credits (3 core modules, 2 option modules, 1 dissertation)
• Modules:
• Core Modules:
• MA Dissertation Skills
• Modernising Victorians
• Progress and Anxiety, 1789-1859
• Indicative Option Modules:
• Curating the Nineteenth Century
• Death in Victorian Culture
• Victorian Femininities: the Myths, the Power, the Politics
• Victorian London: Literature, Culture and the Urban Experience
• MA Victorian Studies dissertation
• Dissertation (Literature and Culture 1800-present)
• Course Schedule:
• Individual Module Descriptions:

Assessment:

• Assessment Methods:
• Coursework essays
• Dissertation

Teaching:

• Teaching Methods:
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Workshops

Careers:

• Potential Career Paths:
• Academia
• Education
• Publishing and editing
• Creative arts
• Library and archive work
• Arts administration
• Journalism
• Writing-based careers
• Examples of Recent Graduate Careers:
• Policy Advisor
• Classics Editor
• Curator
• Company Manager
• Director of Education
• Curator of Contemporary Literary Archives
• Novelist
• Spiritualist medium

Other:

• Internship Opportunity:
• In the final year of study, students can take an internship module and gain first-hand experience in the cultural sector.
• Previous interns worked with institutions like the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, the Salvation Army Heritage Centre and Archive, and the Guildhall Art Gallery.
• Support Services:
• Birkbeck offers study and learning support, a disability and dyslexia service, and a counselling service.
• Learning Development Service:
• Supports with academic skills, written English, and numerical skills.

Part-time home students: £5,400 per year Full-time home students: £10,800 per year Part-time international students: £9,915 per year Full-time international students: £19,830 per year