MA in English: Course Details & Career Scope

MA in English: Course Details & Career Scope

MA in English: Course Details & Career Scope,Apr 09, 2025

Online MA

Apr 09, 2025

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Master of Arts in English is a 2-year postgraduate level that examines global literature and language in English. It educates students in thinking critically and analyzing, enabling them to create original ideas in learned academic writing and conversation. The course would cultivate vital literary concepts, trends, and tendencies between periods, genres, and cultures in English literature and literary theory and methods for composition and rhetoric. The thesis will include topics like contemporary poetry, drama, and fiction. Indian Poetry and Drama, Indian English fiction, Literary theories regarding American poetry and drama.

 

Research forms an essential part of the program that, in turn, helps students to deepen their understanding and broaden their knowledge. The students learn to evaluate sources of information by critically assessing the complexities of meaning, authenticity, classical reference, and linguistic effect. The course of study most often requires a thorough examination of the historical background and etymology of the language in conjunction with its global significance as a communicative medium.

 

Course Highlights

Particulars

Details

Course Level

Postgraduate

Course Duration

2 years

Course Eligibility Criteria

Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.

Course Examination Type

Semester Type

Course Fees Range

INR 10,000 to INR 50,000 per year

Job Profiles

Corporate Trainer, Web Content Writer, Translator, Literary Agent, etc.

Average Salary Range

INR 3 to 8 Lakh Per Annum

Top Recruiters

Flipkart, Amazon, India Today, NDTV, etc.

An MA in English covers all genres of topics in English literature- poetry, prose, drama, and linguistics. Because Literature encompasses such an extensive field, students are given opportunities to choose electives and specialize in a specific area of interest. Some students may pursue a PhD in the English discipline immediately after completing an MA in English, while others may redirect their career path into teaching, journalism, or translation.

 

One has several reasons to pursue an MA in English; for example, it is one major step for someone's future career concerned with teaching or journalism, or it opens many doors for those wanting to go into writing or working as a translator in different international agencies.

 

Course Benefits

  1. An MA in English can lead to many different professional avenues. Conventional job opportunities include writing, editing, journalism, and teaching. Nowadays, though, many people complete an MA in English so they can work as content marketers and writers, as well as work in a university or community college environment.  
  2. A Qualification in education is highly necessary while applying for international jobs. An MA in English will not only get you your desired job but will also enable you to enhance your performance based on your understanding of the subject.
  3. Studying for an MA in English will make you much more articulate. No matter how good you are, you will find that words spring to mind more easily and that you think in English more often than you used to.
  4. The fact that you possess a Master's degree in English clearly shows that you are proficient in the language. English language students are always welcome in all industries, not only in India but globally as well.

 

Who Should Opt for an MA in English? 

  • Everyone who's into journalism, editing, or writing ought to pursue an MA in English. 
  • Qualifying criteria for literature students opting for the MA with English as one of their subjects for study. 
  • Further, students interested in pursuing outside jobs might prefer taking an MA in English.

 

MA in English Eligibility 

Eligibility for the MA in English course is almost the same for all universities and schools for their courses. Thus, a few of the most important eligibility criteria have to be followed.

 

  • The candidate should have a bachelor's degree, i.e., BA in English, with at least 45% to 50% aggregate marks or CGPA equivalently. 
  • He/she must have a bachelor's degree from any recognized university or college. 
  • The eligible applicants will have to appear for an admission test or will be selected on merit, as per the rule of the college or university.
  •  

Course Curriculum

Semester 1

 

Communication

Morphology

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

Henry Fielding: Joseph Andrews

William Congreve: The Way of the World

Sheridan: The School for Scandal

Background to Indian English Poetry

The Old Playhouse and Other Poems

Semester 2

 

Language and Society

Distinctive Features of British, American, and Indian English

Thomas Hardy: Jude the Obscure

Graham Greene: The Power and the Glory

Samuel Backett: Waiting for Godot

Harold Pinter: Homecoming

Background to Indian Prose

RK Narayan: An Astrologer’s Day

Semester 3

 

Aristotle: The Poetics

Philip Sidney: An Apology of Poetry

John Milton: Paradise Lost Book1

Alexander Pope: The Rape of the Lock

Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter

Development, Hypothesis, and Preparation of Research Proposal

Semester 4

 

Ronald Barthes: The Death of the Author

Northrop Frye: The Archetypes of Literature

ST Coleridge: The Rime of Ancient Mariner

William Wordsworth Poetry

King Lear

Arthur Miller: The Death of a Salesman

Edward Albee: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men

 

 

Career Options

Students completing an MA in English courses can opt for a range of career options. English being one of the most spoken languages in the world, students holding an English degree can get jobs in a range of global industries.

 

Top recruiters

Some of the best recruiters in this area of study are as follows:

Flipkart

Amazon

India Today

NDTV

Infosys

Deloitte

Below are some of the best jobs and career profiles students can be presented with after obtaining their MA in English.

Job Profiles

Job Descriptions

Editor or Assistant Editor

A favorite among English Literature Postgraduates. A book publishing diploma can come in handy.

Web Content Writer

A fast-growing career choice for English graduates. The responsibility of an online content writer is to produce engaging and informative articles for websites and blogs.

Academic Writer

Academic writing is a very usual substitute for English graduates. An academic writer's major duty is to create research papers, journal articles, statements of purpose, etc.

Teacher

English Literature postgraduates may be employed as PGTs. Another degree, a B.Ed. ensures getting a good job.

Translator

A translator's job is to translate a specific paper into English. A degree in translation is advisable.

SEO Analyst

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has developed as a rapidly expanding industry of labor.

 

FAQs

What is a Master of Arts in English degree?

MA English is a postgraduate degree. It is a two-year English Literature course in which students learn about famous works produced or translated into English. 

 

What are the subjects of an MA in English?

The syllabus for English literature includes English novels, English poetry, English drama, English prose and essays, and Indian literature in English. Major placement areas for MA English graduates are banks, teaching, administrative jobs, and police recruitment, among others.

 

What is called a PhD in English? 

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in English is a much-in-depth study of the English language along with its vast and rich literary traditions.

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