Course Overview

Watch course video presentation here.

Do you have an interest in contemporary literatures and film from around the globe? If so, the MA (International Contemporary Literatures and Media) is for you.

This is an exciting multidisciplinary and comparative MA programme that aims to familiarise you with movements, authors, texts and themes of international contemporary literature and film. Incorporating modules from, for example, Journalism, Film Studies, Drama and Performance, you will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of modules that will complement your interest areas and potential career path.  The programme also broadens your intellectual horizons and provides you with the skills for research and critical analysis.

While you do not need proficiency in languages other than English for this programme (in core modules, texts will be read in translation), proficiency in other language will allow you to choose from a wider range of optional modules.

You will be prepared for a variety of careers in media, arts administration, teaching, and international marketing and communications.

The course provides excellent preparation also if you are interested in pursuing a PhD in this area. 

Scholarships available
Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.

Applications and Selections

Applications are made online via the University of Galway Postgraduate Applications System

Who Teaches this Course

researcher
Dr Michaela Schrage-Frueh
M.A. DR.PHIL
Lecturer in German
Arts Millennium Building
University Road
Galway
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researcher
Dr Deirdre Byrnes
BA, MPhil, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Arts Millennium Building
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researcher
Prof. Hans W Schmidt-Hannisa
M.A, Dr. Phil
Professor
DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN
NUIG
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Requirements and Assessment

Students have to take six modules (10 ECTS each). Four are obligatory and two are optional. Assessment of modules is by written exam or take-home essay. Students also have to write a minor dissertation of circa 15,000 words (30 ECTS).

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Second Class Honours NQAI Level 8 degree or equivalent in any discipline with a strong literature or media component.

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

1 year, full-time; 2 years, part-time

Next start date

September 2024

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

15

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

See offer round dates.

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

90

Award

CAO

Course code

MA-ICLM

Course Outline

The late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century saw fundamental cultural changes brought about by factors such as globalisation, the end of the Cold War, and technological and communicative innovations, and these changes are intensely reflected in literature and media. The course programme includes the study of seminal texts, films and other media by international authors and artists mostly from the 1960s to post-modernism and beyond. Non-English texts will be read in translation.

You will study four core modules (The Art of Reading, Contemporary Genres, Worlds of Fantasy, Literature and Conflict) and two optional modules from other programmes (for example: Irish Contemporary Drama, Digital Film and Culture, Journalism, Gender and Sexuality in Irish Cinema, Culture and Colonialism) across Semester One and Two and will be required to undertake a dissertation.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject
Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject
A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (90 Credits)

Optional GR521: Interpreting Literature: Theories & Methods - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional EN541: Colonialism In Twentieth Century Cultural Theory - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional GR512: Modern German Literature I - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional FM512: Film History I - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional FM521: Critical Theory I - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional DJ6127: Global Media and Society - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional EN6136: Thinking about Books/Thinking about Theatre - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional FR6101: Language, Gender and Power - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional IS104: Ideology, Politics & Society in Ireland, 1800-1921 - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional IS105: Young Ireland to the Free State: Writing in English, 1849-1922 - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional IS106: Decline & Revival: Language, Literature & Society 1800-1939 - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional PI6110: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Optional PI6103: Knowledge and Value in Modernity - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required MIC504: The Art of Reading - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required MIC6101: Worlds of Fantasy: Literature, Film, Computer Games - 10 Credits - Semester 1
Required MIC502: Dissertation - 30 Credits - Semester 1
Optional EN547: Literature And Colonialism - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional DT6101: Irish Drama and Theatre from Beckett to the Present - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional IS109: Gaelic & Free: Cultural Politics & Writing in Irish since 1939 - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional IS108: The Politics of Modernity: Writing in English, 1922 to the present - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional FM6100: Film exhibition, administration and education - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional GR513: Modern German Literature II - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional FM6119: Film, Politics, and Colonialism - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional DJ6122: Researching the Media - 5 Credits - Semester 2
Optional EN6101: Books Journalism - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional PI6102: Political values in the modern world - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional PI6113: Philosophy of Nature and Technology - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Required MIC6100: Resisting through Culture: Conflicts in Europe and Beyond - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Required MIC501: Contemporary Literary Genres - 10 Credits - Semester 2
Optional PI6111: Public Philosophy and Civic Education - 10 Credits - Semester 2

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

If you are interested in contemporary culture, but are looking for a less anglo/US-centric offering, then this is the course for you.  

Career opportunities

Postgraduate students acquire a flexible skills base in dealing with creative and communicative tasks, along with analytical, organisational and research skills. They move on to avail of a corresponding range of career opportunities after graduation. Careers can be developed in, for example, publishing, print and electronic media, the culture industries and education.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€7,640 p.a. full-time; €3,855 p.a. part-time (including levy) 2024/25

Fees: Tuition

€7,500 p.a. full-time; €3,750 p.a. part-time 2024/25

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. full-time; €105 p.a. part-time 2024/25

Fees: Non EU

€18,500 p.a. (€18,640 including levy) 2024/25



Student levy €140—payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.  Further detail here.

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