What is English Literature?
English literature is the study of literature written in the English language. The writers do not necessarily have to be from English but can be from all over the world. It includes some of history's most famous writers like James Joyce, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Arthur Conon Doyle, Dylan Thomas and many more.
English literature dates back more than 5 centuries. It represents writers not only from different parts of the world and time periods, but covers every major genre and style of writing.
Few lines about MA English
MA English is a 2-years post graduate course that is divided into 4 semesters. The course covers English literary studies, theories, criticism and pedagogy all in the form of a theory. The course is the combination of modern and ancient English literature, consisting of three main areas of focus i.e. Prose, Poetry and drama. The course includes literature by various English writers along with many other writers such as Irish, Scottish, Polish, American and Welsh.
The course also includes the study of Indian writings in English from early times to contemporary ones. The course prepares students for teaching and creative English writing.
Eligibility for MA English
The degree students who have completed their bachelors in the streams of arts, commerce and science with 40% aggregate from recognised university are eligible to apply for MA English course.
Admission Procedure
The students with relevant qualifications can join the MA English course by two modes. The first one is Merit based admission and the second one is direct admission.
Let’s discuss in detail
1. Merit Admission
There are many top educational institutes that conduct entrance exams for the MA English course. This mode is called merit admission mode. The entrance exams are conducted to select the serious and hardworking students from the group of non-serious candidates to the available limited number of seats in the colleges. The qualified students are allotted the merit seats and are given admission, the fees are fairly nominal for merit admissions.
2. Direct Admission
The students have another option of getting admission to MA English course by direct admission process. Under this mode of admission, the students are given direct admission to their desired colleges under management quota. The direct admission students enjoy many special privileges like they are not required to apply for any institution-based entrance exam for getting admissions. They have an option to choose their desired colleges and book their seats even before the starting of the academic year. The students who are interested in direct admissions are required to contact Galaxy Educational Services for more details.
Course Curriculum for MA English
The students of MA English will be learning the following subjects in their course duration
| Sl. No. | Subjects of Study |
|---|---|
| 1 | Literature in English: 1550-1660 |
| 2 | Literature in English: 1660-1798 |
| 3 | Literature in English: 1798-1914 |
| 4 | Literature in English: 1914- 2000 |
| 5 | Study of Genre: Fiction |
| 6 | Critical Theory |
| 7 | American Literature |
| 8 | Indian Writing in English |
| 9 | Colonial and Post-Colonial |
| 10 | Literature and Philosophy |
| 11 | Literature and Gender |
Career and Scope
After successful completion of MA English one can go for the UGC-NET Lectureship exam and join as assistant professors in universities. They can join as content writers, copy writers and technical writers in various MNCs. They can join a PhD course to take up research in the field of English. They can even join as lecturers in various colleges to take up teaching of communicative English.
Job Roles
Some of the job roles available for MA English students are:
- Assistant Professor
- Lecturer
- Content Writer
- Copywriter
- Technical Writer
- News Paper Reporter
Salary and Emoluments
The fresh MA English students will be earning around 3 lakhs to 5 lakhs per annum. The experienced professionals will be earning around 6 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum. The salaries depend upon location and recruiter.
Top organisations hiring MA English Students
Some of the top organisations hiring MA English students are:
- Advertising Agencies
- Construction Companies
- IT Companies
- Colleges and Universities
- Newspaper Offices
Concluding Lines
The MA English students can find ample job opportunities in the field. They can join IT companies as technical writers and content writers. If they are interested in teaching then they can take up UGC-NET exams and join as professors in universities. The demand is decent for the MA English graduates. They are decently paid and also given opportunities to grow in their careers.