MA in English Syllabus & Subjects 2025

Yes, you can download the syllabus and subjects pdf for MA in English, if you wish to get more info regarding the list of subjects your university offers along with the electives. Besides that, you can also see reference materials, credit numbers, semester-wise subject codes, subject descriptions, and other important details. You can download the pdf by visiting the official website of your desired university and clicking the download pdf option on the subject/syllabus page.

Yes, in the MA English curriculum, you will get project work as it is a kind of learning component that includes practical experience and research. You will be required to submit your project work and thesis at the end of the fourth semester. The projects contribute to the total number of credits that are needed to conclude the course program by the end of the year.

You will encounter both modern as well as traditional in-person strategies while seeking a course program in MA in English. Further, you will get to participate in poetry reading sessions, seminars, workshops, group discussions, etc. Apart from these, it will also include

• Book Reading Sessions
• Case Study
• Experiential Learning
• Internship/Work Placements
• Seminars and Group Discussions
• Traditional Classroom Method

Yes, you may find the syllabus of MA English comparatively tough as it requires comprehensive study. You will need to practice and read in detail to score well. Moreover, try to pay complete attention in the classroom and also have extra time for personal study.

The list of popular MA in English project topics includes the following:

• The Teaching of Language Skills
• The Role of Symbolism in William Shakespeare's Plays
• The Representation of Gender in Victorian Literature
• Methods and Approaches to Language Teaching
• English Language and Literature Training
• Background to Indian English Poetry

The core subjects of an MA in English include 19th & 20th Century Novel, 20th Century Poetry and Drama, British Literature I: Chaucer to Milton, British Literature II: Dryden to Romantic Age, British Literature III: Victorian Times to Modern Times, Eighteenth-Century English Literature., English Poetry from Chaucer to Milton., Language and Linguistics, Literary Criticism 1 & 2, Shakespeare, etc.

The list of MA in English elective subjects includes Ancient Greek and Latin Literature, Campus Novels, English Poetry, European Comedy, Foreign Languages, Indian Prose Works, Literature and Gender, Modern English Drama, Research Methodology, Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Drama, Spy Fiction, Traditional English Drama, Visual Arts and Literature in Europe or American Literature, etc.

Yes, you will be practicing a little bit of research in the project work during the last two semesters of the MA English curriculum. The research will help you have a better understanding of your subject along with advancing your education.

In the fourth semester of MA in English, you will be studying fiction and criticism related to ancient literature including topics like Literary Criticism, Dissertation, Fiction, Postcolonial Novel, Foreign Languages, and Fiction from 1900 Onwards.

In the third semester of MA in English, you will have to study ancient literature, culture, and criticism. It will include topics like Post Colonial Literature, 20th Century Literature Theory and Criticism, Culture Studies, Literature Review, 16th-19th Century Literary Criticism, Gender Studies, and Foreign Language.

In the second semester of MA in English, you will be studying topics such as 20th Century British Drama, Indian Writing in English, 20th Century British Novels, American Literature, and Classical Literary Criticism.

In the first semester of MA in English, you will have to study topics such as Digital Content Writing, 14th-20th Century British Poetry, Appreciating Shakespeare, Literature and Film, and Scholarly Writing.

When you seek a program in MA in English, you will have to study both the core and elective subjects such as Eighteenth Century English Literature, English Poetry from Chaucer to Milton., 19th & 20th Century Novel, 20th Century Poetry and Drama, Literary Criticism 1 & 2, Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Drama, Campus Novels, European Comedy, Foreign Languages, Shakespeare, Spy Fiction, Language and Linguistics, Traditional English Drama, including others.

To prepare for the entrance exam, you will have to study topics like Analytical and Logical Reasoning, Applied Grammar, Contextual Usage, Fine Arts – Painting, Applied Mechanics, Plastic Arts, Printmaking, Scientific Aptitude, Sculpture, Sequencing of Ideas, Applied Mathematics, Art History and Visual Studies, Vocabulary along with others.

There are many colleges that provide the best curriculum for MA English courses. A few colleges include Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Jadavpur University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Miranda House, Presidency University, Christ University, Hansraj College, Loyola College, University of Calcutta, University of Delhi, along with others.

The best reference books to study MA in English subjects include the following:

• Paradise Lost by author John Milton
• Piers Plowman by author William Langland
• The Art of Rhetoric by author Aristotle
• The Book of Margery Kempe
• The Nautch Girl by author Hasan Shah
• The Oresteia by author Aeschylus
• Theory of Criticism by author Raman Selden

You can consider these reference books while pursuing an MA in English:

• Drama I- Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama
• Drama II- Restoration to Twentieth Century
• English Language and Linguistics
• Fiction I- Origins and Developments up to 18th Century
• Introduction to Translation Studies
• Literary Criticism and Literary Theory
• Poetry II- Eighteenth to Nineteenth Century
• Writings by and on Women

The course structure of MA in English is divided into four semesters which consists of different languages and literature topics. It helps you brace yourself for different sectors including publishing, literature, information technology, journalism, etc., providing you with a deep analysis of the topics.

In detailed MA English, you will need to study topics such as  Henry Fielding: Joseph Andrews, Raja Rao: The Serpent and the Rope, Shakespeare Criticism: Dr Samuel Johnson, Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice, Aristotle's Poems, English in India, Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness, Morphology, Rabindranath Tagore's Poems, Semantics, William Shakespeare Poems, and many more.

Yes, pursuing a program in MA in English can be a great call to enhance your communication skills. Also, it can amplify your career prospects to get hired in a journalism firm and also open the door to many other career prospects in writing or translation for various foreign organisations.