The Master of Philosophy Degree in English Language and Literature is a two-year program—unique among Canadian universities—featuring intensive field-specific study, broad coursework, a Publishing Practicum and guaranteed entry into the Queen’s English Doctoral Program once the degree is completed. The MPhil in English will be of particular interest to those undergraduate students who are already contemplating doctoral research.
All of our students are supported with a combination of grants and/or teaching assistantships, for more information about funding please visit our funding and awards page.
Key Advantages After Completion of Degree
MPhil students choosing to move directly into the workforce upon graduation will have attained field-specific expertise, advanced professionalization, and evidence of research and writing skills through the Publishing Practicum.
MPhil students choosing to move on into doctoral studies will accelerate their dissertation work by three full terms.
Highlights of the MPhil Program:
- Small Seminars — diverse graduate-level coursework
- Field Examinations —excellent training for further graduate work and teaching
- Publishing Practicum — producing scholarship ready for submission
- Guaranteed Entry, with advanced status, into the PhD program at Queen’s following completion of the MPhil
What Can I Do With It?
- Teaching — the MPhil guarantees field-specific expertise
- Publishing or Writing — the MPhil offers concrete experience and mentorship, including the Publishing Practicum
- Queen’s English PhD — the MPhil track accelerates passage through the program, providing more years of funded time to work on the dissertation
The Master's of Philosophy mainly comprises elective seminars, professional and career development courses, and exams in a recognized field of study chosen by the student.
Year 1
- ENGL 800/900 Professional and Pedagogical Skills in fall term
- ENGL 803 Research Forum in fall and winter terms
- 2 elective seminars in fall term
- 3 elective seminars in winter term
- Declaration of Year 2 special field at end of winter term
- Study for field exam in summer term
Year 2
- Study for and writing of field exam in fall term
- 1 elective seminar in fall term
- Publishing Practicum in winter term
- 2 elective seminars in winter term
MPhil students must take courses from all three periods over the two years of their program:
- Course Group 1: Medieval to 1660
- Course Group 2: 1600 – 1900
- Course Group 3: 1900 to present
Each year, one of the courses may be an individual Directed Reading arranged with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator and a supervisor, rather than a seminar.
One of the courses may also be taken in a Queen's graduate program other than English, such as Philosophy, Art, History Global Development studies, Cultural Studies or Gender Studies.
The Publishing Practicum is an initiative of the English Department designed to foster the early professionalization of our MPhil and PhD students and to provide a competitive advantage in the academic job market and national scholarship competitions.
This seminar takes students through the revision and submission stages of scholarly publishing from draft essay to academic article with the goal of achieving a publishable piece by the end of the student’s first year of doctoral study.