Postgraduate

Interested in postgraduate study in English?

postgraduate admission procedures

English Department, Arts I Building, Division of Humanities, University of Otago, PO Box 56 Dunedin, New Zealand.

For information on the Linguistics Programme, please visit their website

The Department of English warmly invites graduate students who have obtained a BA Honours or Postgraduate Diploma in the subject at a satisfactory level (normally A- or above) to pursue research in areas where the necessary research resources exist, and for which supervisory expertise is available.

Please note that the following requirements are internal to the Department of English. You must also apply to the Division of Humanities. Students applying for scholarships must submit the required information to the Department in order to be ranked for a scholarship.

For more details about postgraduate study in the Department, see the
English Department Postgraduate Handbook.

 

Requirements for the MA in English

MA applicants must have completed a BA (HONS), a postgraduate Diploma, or equivalent. Normally a mark of A- or above on the ENGL490 (Research Dissertation) is required.

To apply to the MA in English, you will need to submit the following to the postgraduate coordinator at the time of applying for entry and/or scholarship:

  • a research proposal, including a bibliography, outlining your proposed topic;
  • a letter of support from a prospective supervisor (the letter may be sent as an email to the postgraduate coordinator
  • a writing sample (Otago graduates with a mark of 80 or above on the ENGL490 do not need to submit a writing sample).

Requirements for the PhD in English

Ph.D applicants must have completed the M.A. in English, normally with a grade of Distinction (80 or above).

To apply to the Ph.D in English, you will need to submit the following to the postgraduate coordinator at the time of applying for entry and/or scholarship:

  • a research proposal, including a bibliography, outlining your proposed topic. Proposals for the Ph.D. must indicate how the proposed topic will be a contribution to knowledge in the field.
  • a letter of support from a two prospective supervisors (the letters may be sent as an email to the postgraduate coordinator)
  • a writing sample (Otago graduates with a grade of Distinction in the MA do not need to submit a writing sample).

Informal enquiries prior to formal application may be made to the Head of Department, Dr Christine Prentice , or the Postgraduate Co-ordinator, Dr Shef Rogers.

Staff Research Areas

In choosing a supervisor for your thesis, look for a person who is congenial to you and competent to direct your research programme, preferably someone with a research interest related to your own future field of inquiry. Staff interests are clear from their teaching, recent publications (all books, and articles since 1994) and current major research projects. Please visit the Staff areas to see lists of authors and areas for which staff have provided or are willing to provide supervision, lists of recent staff publications to show the research areas and approaches of individual staff members, and brief outlines of current staff research projects.