Critical and Cultural Theory MA

Course overview

In this Masters degree you’ll study cultural analysis in depth, focusing on themes of commodification, language, and subjectivity. You'll study in an interdisciplinary way, developing skills that lead to a wide variety of applications and careers.

This degree takes a philosophical and historical approach to critical and cultural theory. We draw upon the major traditions of cultural theory, including semiology, feminism and gender theory, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, and Frankfurt School theories of the aesthetic, the media and technology. Key critical references include postcolonial and critical race theory, as well as posthumanism and ecocriticism.

You'll be exposed to a range of critical paradigms and develop your skills in close analysis: your ability to identify and unpack the key elements of a critical work or cultural artefact. This attention to the ‘textuality’ of these various texts, broadly defined, constitutes a crucial link between theory and practice, such that the line between critical and creative cultural practice is no longer determinative.

Applying

Entry requirements

You’ll need a bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) or equivalent qualification in a humanities or social science subject, such as History, Literature, Languages, Art History, Philosophy, Sociology, or Media or in a practice-based Arts subject where your degree included a significant proportion of historical and theoretical studies.

International

Our admissions team are experienced in considering a wide range of international qualifications. If you wish to discuss whether your qualifications will meet the necessary entry criteria, contact the School’s admissions team.

You can also check the accepted qualifications for your country or region.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Arts and Humanities (6 weeks) and Language for Social Science and Arts: Arts and Humanities (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities