English Language & Literature

Above all else, you love to read: novels, poetry, non-fiction, drama, magazines.You want to give yourself the opportunity to read great books and to learn more about the English language. You want to engage with the writings that have helped us to understand ourselves and the world that we live in. You want to know more about culture, in the broadest sense. You love film and music; and you want to understand how these art forms relate to fiction, drama and poetry. You love to write, and you want to express yourself as eloquently and effectively as possible. You are open to new ideas and to the power of words and images to inform, influence and convince.

English is of central importance as a means of communication in the fields of commerce, media, law, science and technology. Having the ability to speak and write fluently and accurately in English is clearly an asset to anyone who wishes to follow a career in any of these fields. 

The English programme at MIC will enable you to develop critical and analytical skills through an appreciation of the English language and its literature, as well as through the study of the social, cultural and historical contexts in which that literature was produced.

English at MIC covers a wide range of topics including modern drama, 20th century literature, literary interpretation, neoclassical literature, Irish poetry and prose, romantic literature, Elizabethan-Jacobean theatre and literary modernism. 

The first year course is a complete introduction to literature and is aimed at any student who wants to read fiction, drama and poetry with perception and pleasure. It also provides the necessary foundation for those who wish to take English to degree level. 

The focus of English at MIC is the study of literature in English. The course is confined, for the most part, to works produced in Ireland, the UK and the USA.

Graduates find work in a wide range of areas, including:

• Journalist
• Editor
• English Teacher (Professional Master's of Education required)
• Communications and Public Relations
• Media production and media research
• Publishing and Advertising
• Research and teaching at third level
• Development and research in voluntary organisations

• MA in English Language and Literature
• MA in Applied Linguistics
• Structured PhD in Applied Linguistics
• MA/PhD Research