MA in English career prospects and course? help.

kippyc

Hi,
I was wondering has anyone experience of the Masters programme in the Maynooth English department? Particularly the Irish Studies course.

I have recently graduated and have been accepted into the programme for Sept 2009, but I am concerned over the cost and is the course really worth it? Basically what can I do with it, career wise, and is it of benefit or a valued undertaking?

Help!

Lord TSC

I did the PostColonialism course this year, though that means 2 of my 6 were shared classes with the Irish Studies course.

Is it enjoyable? Well, did you enjoy English in your BA? The answer will roughly be the same, though I personally did enjoy the MA a bit more, since I found that it was more interesting. We were given a bit more freedom to tackle stuff that we only touched on briefly in third year BA.

As for job and career opportunities, I'm moving on to my H.Dip now so teaching is the obvious one. You can also move into your PhD.

kippyc

Thanks. My intentions had been the MA then a H.Dip, but the obvious concerns began to surface, such as cost, and the increased lack of jobs in the teaching sector. Whether or not I would be throwing good money after bad especially when a loan is my only option in financing the postgrad.

My only answer to the question whether I enjoyed my undergraduate course in English would be yes.:) I found it engaging and it introduced me to texts I wouldnt have discovered otherwise. One of the main reasons I chose English to carry on.

Its always good to hear a positive response though so thanks for the help.
Any other opinions or views on the course are always welcome:)

slap/dash

hi, i did the irish studies MA this year and am as you see, avoiding my mini thesis!

all in all my opinion is that the department and the MA itself is excellent. i plan on continuing to a phd at nuim if all goes well.

there will be some great lecturers teaching this year coming up so it will be top notch this year.

feel free to ask me any specific questions

slap/dash

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

I did the PostColonialism course this year, though that means 2 of my 6 were shared classes with the Irish Studies course.

Is it enjoyable? Well, did you enjoy English in your BA? The answer will roughly be the same, though I personally did enjoy the MA a bit more, since I found that it was more interesting. We were given a bit more freedom to tackle stuff that we only touched on briefly in third year BA.

As for job and career opportunities, I'm moving on to my H.Dip now so teaching is the obvious one. You can also move into your PhD.

YO!

Lord TSC

Hey! How goes the mini-thesis?

kippyc

slap/dash wrote: »

hi, i did the irish studies MA this year and am as you see, avoiding my mini thesis!

all in all my opinion is that the department and the MA itself is excellent. i plan on continuing to a phd at nuim if all goes well.

there will be some great lecturers teaching this year coming up so it will be top notch this year.

feel free to ask me any specific questions

Thanks for the offer so think ill take ya up on it:)
How many was in your year roughly?

Is it necessary to have a thesis proposal before undergoing the course?

And finally:D is there any particular readings or texts I should attempt in order to keep ahead of the game?..... while Im taking it easy at home:D

slap/dash

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Hey! How goes the mini-thesis?

GUESS! HAHA

who you?

slap/dash

kippyc wrote: »

Thanks for the offer so think ill take ya up on it:)
How many was in your year roughly?

Is it necessary to have a thesis proposal before undergoing the course?

And finally:D is there any particular readings or texts I should attempt in order to keep ahead of the game?..... while Im taking it easy at home:D

eh, something like 30...15 in irish studies and 15 in empire studies....but they did say we had an exceptionally large year.

absolutely not.....id guess 90% of people had very little idea going in...and most seemed to get into it towards the end of term 2....with plenty of people still at sea even then.

well, they are changing the ma this year to include more elective modules, and there will be at least 2 profs who werent around last year teaching...awesome ones btw....im jealous!

i cant answer that question,,,it depends on what your take on theory etc is right now....i was rather resistant to postcolonial theory at first, but found myself coming around radically from my initial position

personally, reading joe clearys outrageous fortune and his literature partition and the nation state had huge effects on me.

the cambridge companion to modern irish culture is an easy intro

hope that helps....

kippyc

Perfect, thanks!

kippyc

Oh an good luck with the thesis!:)

klasskrista

I'm doing the irish studies course in sept too......I'm very excited and all this talk of a good course is making me more excited!roll on september!

kippy I shall c u there!