Hello.

I am a second year undergraduate of English Literature at the University of Central Lancashire and was recently advised by my senior lecturer to think about PG work. Is this postgraduate work? And if so would this involve a Master's degree or are there other options? I would very much like to be a literary critic so I guess Masters is the likely option.

Ryan

Yes PG means postgraduate.

Most people start by doing a Master's (MA) in a period / area they're interested in. The content of MA courses vary, but a good MA will usually have a number of taught seminar modules over two terms, for which you'd be handing in extended essays to be assessed. In your last term, you'd be expected to produce a longer dissertation (around 10,000 words) based on your own independent research into a topic of your choice.

Some people do an MRes instead of an MA. This is usually entirely based on your own independent research, and you'd simply write a much longer dissertation to be assessed. It could be a good option if you had a really clear idea about what you were interested in working on.

An MA / MRes in humanities would be funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), but competition is very fierce. Some universities also offer bursaries for thier MA courses, but it just depends on the place, and you'd need to look into it. You may end up paying for the MA/MRes yourself (e.g. by taking out a career development loan and / or working part-time).

If you did well on your MA/MRes, you could then go for a PhD. Again, funding would come through the AHRC if you were lucky, or sometimes a university. Many people fund their own PhDs too.

Hope that helps.