New Programmes

The BA in English Language and Literature (MI009) and the BA in Drama and English (MI010) are both four-year, full-time, honours degree (Level 8) programmes. Both programmes are offered at MIC’s Limerick campus.

The BA in English Language and Literature is the only programme of its kind currently offered in Ireland and is the ideal choice for anyone who is fascinated by spoken and written language. Students on the programme will explore real-world issues through the lens of language and literature. Graduates of the programme will have expertise spanning the language system (vocabulary, grammar, phonology and discourse), digital analysis and content creation tools, as well as a thorough understanding of English literature across a range of eras, literary and cultural theories and genres. Career opportunities span areas as diverse as Publishing, Digital Content Creation, IT, Teaching, Communications, Administration and Content Design.

The BA in Drama and English is the only programme of its type in Munster and is the perfect programme for those with a passion for the page and stage. The programme combines practical modules in acting and theatre production with academic research on great literature. Students will engage with a wide variety of texts (plays, fiction, graphic novels, film, and poetry), explore how stories are brought from the page to the stage and screen, and also help create works for the stage. Career opportunities include roles in the theatre and creative industries, academia, community arts, and social work. The addition of Drama and Theatre Studies as a new subject offering on the Leaving Certificate also means that graduates will be ideally situated to take up roles in post-primary teaching upon qualification with the relevant Professional Masters in Education.

The BA in English Language and Literature aims to foster critically aware and digitally-skilled graduates who are highly adept at creating and interpreting texts and content. The programme will enhance literary and professional knowledge of English by focusing on the core features of language and linguistics, as well as the core literary texts, genres and theories. Graduates will have expertise spanning the language system (vocabulary, grammar, phonology and discourse), digital analysis and content creation tools, as well as a thorough understanding of English literature across a range of eras, literary and cultural theories and genres.

What will you study?

Year 1 is designed to give you the foundational skills in both language and literature. Students will study the systems and structures of the English language: the fundamentals of our sound system, how these sounds combine to form words and how these words combine to form sentences. You will be introduced to the notion of language beyond the sentence, looking at how it functions in the real world (clue: very differently to how you might think). We also look at different approaches and digital applications used in the study of language. There are two foundational modules in English literature (digital and performance) that study poetry, prose (novel and short story) and drama. Finally, two specifically designed modules bring the worlds of language and literature together in an exciting learning environment.

In Semester 1 of Year 2, we aim to build on your digital and analytic skills by exploring key notions in the study of language such as style. The literature module studies 20th Century novels from Ireland and beyond, allowing you to examine how features of language identify a particular author’s writing style. In semester two, we use language and literature to question the dominant value systems and ideologies present in everyday written and spoken language. We explore themes in contemporary language and literature, but also pay close attention to their history through an examination of issues such as politics, imperialism and globalisation. In second year, you will also have an extensive selection of elective modules to choose from, including teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL).

Year 3 is devoted to work placement and/or study abroad.

In Year 4, the final year, we investigate some of the major trends and advancements in language and literature in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries including forensic linguistics, human machine interaction and ecological, racial and gender-based theoretical models. We study the applied nature of these contemporary modes of thinking through a variety of text types using a variety of methodologies. Our primary focus is on the understanding of the meaning of texts that we encounter in our everyday spoken and written lives. The second semester features the capstone module of the programme, Language and Literature 4, which is a student-led module culminating in a day-long seminar designed to provide first-hand experience of an academic conference, complete with plenary speaker.

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MIC's new BA in Drama and English offers a unique combination of Drama/Theatre practice and research with significant grounding in English Literature. By combining a focus on practical modules in acting and theatre production with academic research on great literature, we offer our students a unique and exciting degree that will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and excellent writing and communication skills.

What will you study?

Our innovative programme incorporates all the foundational skills necessary to support students on their journey. In Year 1 core modules, students will be provided with the transferable skills in Academic Writing, Research, and Information Technology in a discipline-specific manner. These two cutting edge modules embed the key skills required to write an academic argument, to collaborate, and to present ideas (or even dramatic scenes!) using a variety of 'live' and digital formats. In Year 1, students will also gain insight into a broad range of literary genres and critical theories. You will be introduced to everything from Greek tragedy to contemporary stage and film adaptations, James Joyce to Felispeaks, and will examine the roles that literature and drama have played in social transformation (from the birth of democracy to #WakingTheFeminists and beyond!). 

In Year 2, students will have the opportunity to enhance their study with a choice of electives, including Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Introduction to Devising Theatre, Critiquing Theatre, Cultural Policy and Administration, Musical Theatre in Performance, and Ensemble Performance. Alongside your core modules in English and Drama, your electives will allow you to specialise your pathway through the BA.

In Year 3, students have the opportunity to develop their skills further through practical work placements or study abroad options.

All the skills will be utilised over Year 4 while completing a final undergraduate project and a large, professional production mounted in a state-of-the-art venue (either the Lime Tree Theatre or the Belltable) and core modules in Literary history, from the Elizabethans to the Romantics to the Modernists.

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