Program Overview
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independent-prescribing-pgcert industrial-pharmaceutics-msc international-business-msc international-human-rights-law-llm international-public-policy-msc international-public-policy-pgdip international-relations-ma international-relations-pgdip interpreting-ma law-llm leadership-sustainable-development-msc leadership-sustainable-rural-development-msc linguistics-ma linguistics-pgcert linguistics-pgdip management-msc marketing-msc master-business-administration-internship-mba master-business-administration-mba mechanical-engineering-management-higher-level-apprenticeship-msc mechanical-engineering-management-industrial-internship-msc mechanical-engineering-management-msc mechanical-engineering-management-pgcert mechanical-engineering-management-pgdip mechanical-engineering-pgcert media-broadcast-production-ma media-broadcast-production-pgdip mental-health-mental-capacity-law-msc mental-health-mental-capacity-law-pgdip mental-health-pgdip midwifery-msc net-zero-engineering-distance-learning-msc net-zero-engineering-msc net-zero-engineering-year-industry-msc pharmaceutical-analysis-higher-level-apprenticeship-msc pharmaceutical-analysis-industrial-placement-msc pharmaceutical-analysis-international-industrial-placement-msc pharmaceutical-analysis-msc philosophy-ma philosophy-pgdip planning-development-higher-level-apprenticeship-msc planning-development-msc planning-development-pgcert politics-ma politics-pgdip prescribing-pharmacists-pgcert professional-nursing-adult-nursing-msc professional-nursing-children-young-people-msc professional-nursing-learning-disabilities-nursing-msc professional-nursing-mental-health-nursing-msc professional-practice-architecture-pgcert psychological-science-msc public-history-ma social-science-research-mres social-science-research-pgdip sociology-global-inequality-msc software-development-msc software-development-part-time-msc specialist-cognitive-behavioural-therapy-msc sustainable-energy-systems-management-msc sustainable-energy-systems-management-pgdip systemic-practice-family-therapy-msc systemic-practice-family-therapy-pgcert systemic-practice-family-therapy-pgdip systemic-psychotherapy-msc teaching-english-speakers-other-languages-applied-linguistics-msc translation-ma violence-terrorism-security-ma violence-terrorism-security-pgdip youth-justice-msc youth-justice-pgdip zero-carbon-engineering-pgcert Share Facebook Linkedin Email Undergraduate 2025 MA | Postgraduate Taught English - Poetry Apply now Register Interest Entry year Academic Year 2026/27 Entry requirements 2.2 Attendance 1 year (Full-time) 3 years (Part-time) Places available TBC (Full Time) TBC (Part Time) Overview Course content Modules Entry requirements Careers Fees and funding Apply Poetry is, quite simply, the activity for which Queen’s University is best known around the world. Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney was both a student and lecturer here at Queen’s, and other famous poet-alumni of the university include Ciaran Carson, Paul Muldoon and Medbh McGuckian. Heaney was a founding member of the famous ‘Belfast Group’ in the 1960s, a forum in which young poets came together with critics to discuss their work and the craft of good poetry more generally. The fruitful interaction of creative and critical activity is at the heart of what this unique MA offers. Drawing on our long-standing reputation for producing distinguished critics and poets, this programme's creative-critical intersections make it suitable for a new generation of poets and critics alike.
Key Program Features
English - Poetry highlights
World Class Facilities
Housed in the beautiful Lynn Building – formerly the library where Heaney, Muldoon, Carson and McGuckian read slim volumes of poetry, and Philip Larkin was a librarian – The Graduate School is a dedicated social and academic space for postgraduate students at Queen’s, offering research facilities and ongoing training in all aspects of research, essential skills, and career development. The award-winning McClay library houses Irish Special Collections, with unique resources on modern and contemporary Irish poetry, including Belfast Group worksheets and manuscripts, and extensive journal collections. The Seamus Heaney Centre has a dedicated work and social space for postgraduate students, a poetry library, and a lively programme of activities all year round.
Internationally Renowned Experts
English at Queen’s is ranked in the top 150 in the world (QS World Rankings by subject 2025). Alongside the expertise and guidance you’ll receive from the MA teaching team, you will have the chance to attend workshops and one-to-one consultations with outstanding poets and writers who spend time at Queen’s each year: The Ireland Chair of Poetry, International Visiting Poetry Fellow, Seamus Heaney Centre Fellows and Ciaran Carson Fellows.
Student Experience
You will be joining an academic environment with a long-standing reputation for the writing and critical appreciation of poetry from Ireland, Britain and the United States, and will also benefit from the literary activities and resources of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s – the first centre of excellence for poetry in Ireland. Poets and poetry critics in the School include Leontia Flynn, Fran Brearton, Gail McConnell, Stephen Sexton, Dawn Watson and Nick Laird, along with annual visiting international poetry fellows. Our ‘Belfast Group’ heritage is a distinctive feature of our programme. The MA in Poetry inherits and updates the tradition begun in small back rooms in the 1960s of poets and critics coming together to produce and discuss poetry. Our unique interdisciplinary approach continues this fruitful commingling of creative and critical perspectives and methods.
Further Study Opportunities
The School is pleased to offer the following scholarships for applicants to the MA Poetry programme. • The Seamus Heaney International Scholarship for the MA in Poetry (open to international students) - £10,000 All international applicants who have applied for the MA Poetry programme by Friday 30 May 2025 will be automatically considered for the award. • The Michael Longley Scholarships (open to Home and EU students) Two scholarships of £7,500 Closing Date for Applications: Friday 20 June 2025, 16:00:00 BST For further details see MA Poetry Scholarship Opportunities | Study | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) and Funding/Scholarships | School of Arts, English and Languages | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk) For details of other Queen’s University scholarships on offer for international students, visit: https://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/international-students/international-scholarships/
Career Opportunities
Career Prospects
Introduction
Graduates of the programme have a good employment record, entering professions such as publishing, journalism, arts administration, events organisation, the media, public relations, teaching, advertising, business and industry. The programme has an outstanding track record of student success in publication, and of graduates continuing their studies into (funded) PhDs in modern poetry or creative writing (poetry). http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/
Prizes and Awards
Students may apply for the Ireland Chair of Poetry Student Award (each worth €1,000), open to students studying for Masters degrees in Creative Writing or in Poetry in three Irish academic institutions.
Program Curriculum
Course Structure
1. Full-time students take 3 taught modules in each semester (the core ‘Reading and Writing Poetry’ module in semester 1 is a ‘double’ module), followed by the dissertation. Part-time students take 3 modules in each year, on either a 1+2 or 2+1 model across the two semesters, and the dissertation either in the summer at the end of their second year, or from September to May in their third year. Semester One Modules: ENG7307: Reading and Writing Poetry. Compulsory. 40 CATS. Weekly workshop and weekly seminar. ENG7300: Form in Poetry. Compulsory. 20 CATS. Weekly seminar. Semester Two Modules (Indicative): ENG7301: The Poetry Collection. Compulsory. 20 CATS. ENG7305: Irish Poetry. Optional. 20 CATS. ENG7094: The Poetry Workshop. Optional. 20 CATS. ENG7375: Love Poetry. Optional. 20 CATS. ENG7119 or ENG7199: Fulbright Special Option (tbc). 20 CATS. The MA is awarded to students who successfully complete compulsory and optional taught modules totalling 120 CATS points and a dissertation of either a 15,000-word thesis or a poetry portfolio of 30 pages plus 3000 word accompanying commentary (60 CATS points ). Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma by successfully completing 120 CATS points from taught modules or a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.
Compulsory Modules
Form in Poetry Reading and Writing Poetry The Poetry Collection
Course Details
In semester 1 students explore a range of writings – both poetry and criticism – through concepts and themes such as: Art, Love, Death, Animals, Nonsense, Music, Weather, Work. Poets studied in the seminars include Yeats, Plath, Auden, Eliot, Bishop, and Heaney. Students are introduced to the form and language of poetry, as well as to the historical dimensions of, and contexts for, various poetic forms – both traditional and experimental. The writing workshops involve detailed discussion of students’ own poetry, which they can bring to class for feedback from the tutor and other students. In semester 2 students study contemporary poetry collections, focusing on the ways in which the structure of a given poetry collection contributes to the overall meaning of the work, as well as choosing from specialist options which include Irish poetry, Love poetry, and writing workshops. The optional module list is indicative only.
Dissertation
Dissertation of up to 15,000 words or a poetry portfolio of 30 pages plus commentary on an agreed topic for the MA.
Optional Modules
Admission Requirements
How to Apply
Apply using our online Queen's Portal and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply .
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 .
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 15,200/year (international)
Tuition Fees
| Northern Ireland (NI) 1 | £7,700 |
| Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2 | £7,700 |
| England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1 | £10,400 |
| EU Other 3 | £23,000 |
| International | £23,000 |
1 EU 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.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Financial Aid & Funding Opportunities
A range of funding options may be available to students enrolling at Queen's University Belfast. Explore all options early — many scholarships have deadlines months before programme start.
- University Scholarships: Queen's University Belfast may offer merit-based, need-based, or programme-specific scholarships for postgraduate students. Contact the international or financial aid office for current awards.
- Government Scholarships (): National governments often fund outbound and inbound student mobility. Check your home country's government scholarship schemes (e.g., national student loan bodies, ministry of education awards).
- International Scholarships: Major funders include: Commonwealth Scholarships, Fulbright (USA programmes), Chevening (UK), Erasmus+ (Europe), DAAD (Germany), Campus France, Australia Awards, and many more.
- Employer Sponsorship: Professionals returning to study may negotiate tuition sponsorship with their employer, particularly for MBA or executive programmes.
- Graduate Assistantships / Fellowships: Some universities offer funded research or teaching assistant positions that include a stipend and partial or full tuition waiver.
- External Foundations: Rotary Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation, Ford Foundation, and many discipline-specific bodies fund postgraduate study globally.
- Payment Plans: Flexible instalment plans may allow you to spread tuition payments across the academic year.
About Queen's University Belfast
Queen's University Belfast
Botswana, Botswana
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University Profile- Application Deadline 20 June 2025
- Start Date the 1930
- Language English
- Duration 12 months
- Credits 60 ECTS / 180 credits (1-year programme)