Skip to Content
MRes|Postgraduate Taught

Arts and Humanities

Entry year
2024/25
Entry requirements
2.1
Duration
2 years (Part-time)
1 year (Full-time)
Places available
n/a (Part Time)
n/a (Full Time)

The MRes in Arts and Humanities is a research preparation degree that offers students the opportunity to undertake advanced studies within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen’s. The course is structured around the personal research interests of each student and supported by a bespoke research preparation portfolio and a range of optional modules in areas related to the research. The MRes is available in a wide range of disciplines within the School of Arts, English and Languages and also in Archaeology.

* QUB is ranked 12th in the UK for Graduate Prospects (Complete University Guide 2023)

Arts and Humanities highlights

Career Development

The MRes develops practical, analytical and critical research skills, as well as project management capacities, relevant to a variety of professional and intellectual contexts.

Student Experience

The MRes allows great freedom of choice regarding the subject of study and how it is studied. It encourages the student to work independently, as well as having the expertise and guidance of a supervisory team.

World Class Facilities

The Graduate School at Queen’s is ranked 1st in the UK (International Student Barometer). Further world-class facilities include the state-of-the-art Sonic Arts Research Centre, as well as the McClay library (opened July 2009) – with 2,200 reader spaces and housing 1.2 million volumes.

Internationally Renowned Experts

You will be taught by staff with research profiles of international standing (REF 2021 over 99% QUB research environment was world-leading or internationally excellent), with a wide range of interests in arts and humanities subjects.

Course Structure

Students may enrol on a full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) basis.

The MRes is awarded to students who successfully complete four taught modules (80 CATS points) and a 20,000 word dissertation plus seminar presentation or final portfolio of similar depth and scope (100 CATS points).

Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.

Archaeology

- Research theory and practice (ARP7041)
- Irish archaeology in a global context (ARP7202)
- Current Debates in prehistoric Archaeology (ARP 7511)
- Advanced Excavation (ARP 7520)
- Workplace internship (ARP 7306)

Note: these modules are normally available only to students being supervised in Archaeology. Contact: Dr Dirk Brandherm (d.brandherm@qub.ac.uk).

Arts Administration

- Audiences for the Arts (SCA7001)
- Cultural Policy (SCA7002)
- Professional Development and Work Placement (SCA7005)
- Research in Arts and Cultural Industries Management (SCA7006)

Note: other modules in this pathway are not normally open to the M-Res. For further information, contact Dr Kim-Marie Spence (k.spence@qub.ac.uk)

Broadcast Production

Individual modules may be available as listed above (BCP).

Research areas covered for Broadcast include:

- Digital art
- Digital media
- Documentary
- Gender and popular culture
- Gothic / horror, science fiction, fantasy in and across media and literature
- History of media, particularly in the UK
- Immersive media
- Interdisciplinary practice
- Journalism
- Performance
- Podcasting
- Representations and uses of history, memory and nostalgia in media and literature
- Representations of terrorism in film and TV
- Sound art
- Voice

For further information, contact Gaby Matthews (g.matthews@qub.ac.uk)

Course Details

The MRes degree is intended for applicants who already have a clear dissertation project (or equivalent, e.g. composition portfolio, performance, creative writing). In liaison with the supervisors, a plan of work in semester 1 and 2 is agreed and serves as preparation for the project as well as assessed work in its own right. The programme provides students with the opportunity to work closely with a supervisory team to produce a substantial piece of independent research and to develop wide-ranging research skills within disciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks.

The programme normally comprises the following elements:

• A Research Methods module appropriate to your field of study (20 CATS)
• Two research preparation modules (AHS7031 and AHS7032), defined by the supervisors and aiming to equip students with the skills, research tools and background work required for the final dissertation or portfolio (2 x 20 CATS)
• One optional module drawn from a selection available from within the Faculty (20 CATS) including Independent Study in Arts, Humanities and Languages (AHS7000)
• An extended dissertation (20,000 words plus seminar presentation - AHS7040) or a portfolio of similar scope and depth (AHS7041). (100 CATS).

Note: registration in any module that begins other than those with an ‘AHS’ code requires the permission of the named subject contact (see below). This applies to: ARP, BCP, CEL, ENG, LIB, MML, MUS, and SCA modules.

Drama

Research areas for Drama include:

- Beckett Studies
- Gender and Theatre Studies
- Post Conflict Theatre
- Irish Theatre
- Shakespeare in Performance
- Adaptation
- Monodrama
- Dance Theatre
- Drama and Medical Humanities
- British Theatre
- Applied Drama
- Theatre Historiography
- Symbolist Theatre
- Victorian Theatre and Melodrama

For further information, contact Dr Trish McTighe (t.mctighe@qub.ac.uk).

English

For Research areas covered in English, see below:

Semester 1

- Literary Research Methods (ENG 7163)
- Contemporary Literature in Crisis (ENG7076)
- Dickens in Context (ENG7065)
- Narratives of Atlantic Slavery (ENG7364)
- Special Topic Irish Writing (ENG7119)
- Decadence and the Birth of Modernism (ENG7362)
- Adaptation: Texts, Screens, Cultures (ENG7372 )
- Irish Women's Writing (ENG7373)
- Shakespearean Childhoods (ENG7024)
- Debating Modernity in Contemporary Indian Literature

Semester 2

- Fictions of Female Community1668-2019 (ENG7367)
- African Fiction: Race, Rites and Religion (ENG7366 )
- A Space for Radical Openness? Writing the Margins in Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature (ENG7370)
- Magic and Science in Medieval Writings (ENG7371)
- Irish Poetry (ENG7305)
- Trauma and Memory (ENG7365)
- Shakespeare and Asia (ENG7374)
- Popular Fiction at the Fin de Siècle (ENG7368)

For further information, contact Dr Justin Livingstone (j.livingstone@qub.ac.uk)

European Literature in Translation

Individual modules may be available as listed above (MML 7019, 7021, 7024, 7035).

For further information, contact Professor Sue-Ann Harding (s.harding@qub.ac.uk)

French

Research areas covered in French include:

- French linguistics and sociolinguistics
- 19th-century studies
- Modernist poetry
- Proust
- 20th and 21st-century French literature
- Autobiography and autofiction
- Caribbean literature
- Postcolonial literature and theory
- Crime fiction
- Francophone-Chinese writing, art and film
- Transnational and migration studies
- Travel Writing
- Medical Humanities
- Illness narratives
- French Media Cultures
- French and Francophone Cinema
- Popular Fiction and TV Series
- Literary Theory

Contact: Dr Dominique Jeannerod (d.jeannerod@qub.ac.uk)

Irish

Research areas covered in Celtic Studies include:

- Linguistics
- Lexicography
- Language and society
- Irish and Scottish literature and identity
- Medieval Irish literature and language
- Historiography
- Folkloristics and mythology

Module:

- Independent Study in Celtic (CEL7010).

Note: this module is open only to students being supervised in Celtic.

Contact: Dr Síobhra Aiken (s.aiken@qub.ac.uk)

Liberal Arts

- LIB7001 Incorrigibly Plural
- LIB7003 America's Aftermaths
- LIB7004 Discourses of Crime and Deviance
- LIB7005 Migrating Identities

Contact: Professor Philip McGowan (p.mcgowan@qub.ac.uk)

Linguistics

Pending availability and meeting prerequisites, students in the M-Res may take modules in Linguistics (listed above). For further information please contact Professor Joan Rahilly (j.rahilly@qub.ac.uk).

Music

Research areas covered in Music include:

- Cabaret
- Collections development
- Composition (instrumental, orchestral, electronic, computer-based)
- Editing
- Eighteenth Century studies (J.S. Bach, G.F. Handel, W.A. Mozart)
- Folksong
- Graphic scoring
- Historical dance and music theatre
- Improvisation
- Irish Traditional Music
- Machine-learning research
- Manuscript studies
- Music in Ireland
- Musical theatre
- New performance environments
- Politics and popular song
- The Voice

For further information, contact Dr Sarah McCleave (s.mccleave@qub.ac.uk)

Portuguese

Research specialisms include:

- Brazilian cultural studies
- Digital culture in Brazil/Latin America
- Contemporary Brazilian film and documentary
- Postcolonial literatures and film
- Portuguese-speaking Africa
- Gender Studies

Contact TBC

Sonic Arts

Research specialisms include:

- Sound Art
- Improvisation
- Contemporary Music Performance
- Composition (instrumental, orchestral, electronic)
- Socially Engaged Sonic Arts
- Sound Studies
- Acoustics and Psychoacoustics
- Recording and Production
- Sound Design
- Physical Modelling
- Instrument Design
- Performance Technologies

For further information, contact Professor Pedro Rebelo (p.rebelo@qub.ac.uk)

Spanish

Research specialisms include:

- Early Modern Spanish literature
- Spanish Renaissance and Baroque literature and culture
- 18th-century Spanish literature and culture
- Spanish Enlightenment
- 19th-century Spanish literature and culture
- Surrealism
- Memoirs and Autobiography
- Spanish science fiction
- Modern Latin American Studies
- Mexican Studies
- Colonial Latin America
- Argentine literature and art
- Poetics
- Reader response and reception studies
- Gender studies
- Eco-criticism

Contact TBC

People teaching you

Reader (School of Natural and Built Environment, Culture and Society)

SNBE
Email: d.brandherm@qub.ac.uk

Senior Lecturer (Modern Languages)

SAEL
Email: d.jeannerod@qub.ac.uk

Reader (Music)

SAEL
Email: s.mccleave@qub.ac.uk

Lecturer (Celtic Studies)

SAEL
Email: s.aiken@qub.ac.uk

Lecturer (Drama)

SAEL
Email: t.mctighe@qub.ac.uk

Professor (Sonic Arts)

SAEL
Email: p.rebelo@qub.ac.uk

Teaching Times

Combination of morning, afternoon and evening teaching with 3-4 contact hours per week. Tutorials with supervisor TBA on an individual basis.

Learning and Teaching

Learning opportunities associated with this course are outlined below:-

  • Learning opportunities associated with this course are outlined below:

    You will receive one-to-one supervision for the Research Preparation Portfolio modules, for any Independent Study modules, and for the final dissertation or portfolio. For other optional modules, you will be taught as a member of a small class. You may have a second supervisor as well as a first supervisor. You are encouraged to attend research seminars in your field of study and to be involved in the activities of the Graduate School.

Assessment

Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:

  • Students will complete a programme of research training defined by the supervisors which will be written up in the research preparation portfolio. This will include work in terms of literature review, detailed information on research methodologies and the wider enhancement of skills and knowledge through engagement with the research environment of the School and Faculty.
  • Two additional modules will be undertaken (20 CATS each), selected from the portfolio of options available within the Faculty.
  • The most substantial element of the programme is submission of an extended dissertation or equivalent portfolio of practice-based work (20,000 words plus 5000 words seminar; or portfolio of equivalent scale and scope).

PREV
Overview

NEXT
Modules

Modules

The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2023/24). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.

  • Year 1

    Core Modules

    Dissertation (100 credits)
    Portfolio (100 credits)

    Optional Modules

    Advanced Excavation (20 credits)
    Sociolinguistics (20 credits)
    Broadcasting Genre (20 credits)
    Incorrigibly Plural (20 credits)
    Corpus Linguistics (20 credits)
    Engaging Audiences (20 credits)
    Independent Study (20 credits)

Entrance requirements

Graduate

Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or above in a related subject or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

Applicants with relevant professional experience and a 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Exceptionally, applicants who do not hold a 2.2 Honours degree and who possess relevant experience may be permitted the opportunity to demonstrate achievement at an equivalent level. For example, if intending to study within Creative Arts, this could comprise several years of experience or employment as a composer, sound technician or in theatre work. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

All applicants will also be required to submit a 750 word research proposal, which demonstrates an understanding of the research area and methodology and a portfolio of practice-based work, if applicable.

The University's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy provides guidance on the assessment of experiential learning (RPEL). Please visit http://go.qub.ac.uk/RPLpolicy for more information.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 16th August 2024 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.

International Students

Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.

English Language Requirements

Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

  • Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
  • Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.

PREV
Modules

NEXT
Careers

Career Prospects

Introduction

The MRes forms an excellent foundation for doctoral (PhD) work. It is also ideal for students who wish to undertake an independent research project for personal and professional development. It encourages practical, analytical and critical research skills and project management capacities relevant to a variety of professional and intellectual contexts.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/

Prizes and Awards

If studying a modern language on the MRes, students may be considered for the Henry Hutchinson-Stewart or Musgrave Scholarships, as well as the Bulletin of Spanish Studies Postgraduate Bursary.

If studying music or music technology, students may be considered for the Douglas C. Harrison bursary or the May Turtle award.

Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills

In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.

Tuition Fees

Northern Ireland (NI) 1 £7,300
Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2 £7,300
England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1 £9,250
EU Other 3 £21,500
International £21,500

1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.

2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.

3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.

All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

More information on postgraduate tuition fees.

Additional course costs

There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.

All Students

Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.

Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.

Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.

If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.

Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.

There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

How do I fund my study?

The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study. Tuition fee loan information.

A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas. Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.

More information on funding options and financial assistance - please check this link regularly, even after you have submitted an application, as new scholarships may become available to you.

International Scholarships

Information on scholarships for international students, is available at www.qub.ac.uk/Study/international-students/international-scholarships.

PREV
Careers

NEXT
Apply

How to Apply

Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Apply now

When to Apply

The deadline for applications is normally 30th June 2021. In the event that any programme receives a high volume of applications, the university reserves the right to close the application portal earlier than 30th June deadline. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Entry Portal (DAP) against the programme application page.

Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions that apply when you accept an offer of a place at the University on a taught programme of study.
Queen's University Belfast Terms and Conditions.

Download a prospectus