School of English MA Handbook, 2011-12

School of English MA Handbook, 2011-12 Cover illustration by Sarah Longley

Welcome We extend a very warm welcome to you as new MA students, both those returning to us after undergraduate study in the School of English, and those who are joining us from other institutions or places. We hope that you will enjoy your year of postgraduate taught study with us, enriching and developing your enthusiasms in literature, writing or language study. The key contact points for you as a MA student are the convenor of your particular MA pathway, Linda Drain, as postgraduate secretary, and Moyra Haslett and Ramona Wray as Co- Directors of Education. Don t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions, but also let us know of any achievements or news which we might include in our regular staff e- bulletins on postgraduate issues. PG Secretary: Linda Drain l.drain@qub.ac.uk Tel: 028 90975103 Co- Director of PG Education (ELL, BL, MS, RR): Ramona Wray r.wray@qub.ac.uk Tel: 028 90973331 Co- Director of PG Education (CW, IW, MLS, MP): Moyra Haslett m.haslett@qub.ac.uk Tel: 028 90973962 MA convenors, 2011-12 MA English (English Language and Linguistics): Joan Rahilly MA English (Broadcast Literacy): Paul Simpson MA English (Creative Writing): Sinead Morrissey (1 st semester); Ian Sansom (2 nd semester) MA English (Medieval Studies): Stephen Kelly MA English (Reconceiving the Renaissance): Ramona Wray MA English (Irish Writing): Eamonn Hughes MA English (Modern Literary Studies): Moyra Haslett MA English (Modern Poetry): Philip McGowan This handbook is intended to help you in giving as much information as possible. If there is any question not answered here, please do let us know, as we seek to improve the Handbook for future students. 2

Contents Introduction to Postgraduate studies Induction Week: Enrolment and Registration QUB Email Queen s Online (QOL) Starting in Induction Week: Research Methods symposia Studying for a MA course First semester modules Second semester modules The dissertation Submission of written assessments Extensions Plagiarism Release of marks How to Receive Feedback Marking Criteria How the School is run How can your views be heard in the School? Research Culture in the School of English Weekly Research Seminars Postgraduate Conferences, 2011-12 Reading Groups Staff Profiles Fulbright Distinguished Scholars (2012) The English Society Creative Writing in the School The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry Queen s Writers Group School- based Social Events for PG students, 2011-12 Information on Facilities for Postgraduate Taught Students: The McClay Library Past theses and dissertations Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry: Reading Room The International and Postgraduate Student Centre (IPSC) General Information: School of English contact details Semester Dates for 2011-12 Support for Postgraduate Students Further Support for students at Queen s: University support: Accommodation, Careers and Employability, Chaplaincy, Counselling, Disability, Finance, Health Centre, Queen s Sport, Student Guidance Centre, Students Union, International Students, Paid Employment and Part- time Work, Paid Employment and Part- time Work for International Students 4 5 5 5 6 7 9 13 21 23 23 23 24 24 24 26 27 29 29 29 29 30 37 38 38 38 38 39 40 40 41 41 42 42 43 44 3

Introduction to Postgraduate Studies Welcome to the postgraduate studies programme in the School of English at QUB. Every year between fifty and sixty students begin MA study in the School, and it has acquired a reputation for excellence in research and scholarship over many decades. Many of the graduates from our postgraduate programmes are now leading experts in the field, and are teaching new generations of scholars in the UK, Ireland and around the world. We are very pleased that you have decided to undertake postgraduate study in the School of English, and we are committed to maintaining and improving a flourishing postgraduate community as an essential part of the School s academic life. Our aim is to continue to encourage and stimulate the best work in all of our postgraduate students. Becoming a postgraduate student is an exciting time, a time in which you have an excellent opportunity to develop your own ideas, arguments and writing skills with the advice and tuition of established scholars, critics and writers. It is a time not only for researching a subject which you find stimulating and rewarding, but also for discovering your distinctive voice, whether as a scholar, critic, or writer and making your original contribution to knowledge and understanding. Whatever your aims in undertaking postgraduate study, the opportunities offered by a postgraduate degree to explore, research and write about subjects which interest you will enable you to develop personally and professionally. We hope that you will find your life and work as a postgraduate student in the School of English rewarding and stimulating, and that your achievements here will serve you well in the future. With best wishes, Moyra Haslett and Ramona Wray, Co- Directors of PG Education 4

Induction Week: Enrolment and Registration You will be required to enroll for modules and register as a MA student in the week preceding first semester (w/c Monday 19 th September, 2011). This year, enrolment will take place on Thursday 22 nd September, 2011 in the Social Space, in the School of English (Ground Floor, 1 University Square). This process will use the QSIS system, but administrative staff (including Linda) will be present to help with this process, and academic staff (including Moyra and Ramona) will be present to help with queries concerning module choices. The Library holds information sessions on using QSIS which you may find helpful. You will be required to sign up for modules in both semesters. Modules in first semester are, with a few exceptions, core modules for each pathway. Modules in second semester are elective modules, so that you can choose from a wide range of modules within your designated pathway and across different pathways. Don t worry if you are not entirely certain at this point which modules you would like to study in second semester: there will be an opportunity for you to change the registration details of second semester modules during first semester. Changes to module choice can be discussed with the convenor of your MA, with Moyra or Ramona, and Linda can process any required changes. MA students study the equivalent of 2 full modules (ie taught over 12 weeks) in semesters 1 and 2 (eg you might be studying 2 full modules, or 4 half modules). The dissertation is then equivalent to 2 modules in terms of its credit within the MA. At enrolment, you will need to tell us whether you wish to register as a part- time (rather than a full- time) student. You need to complete enrolment before registration (ie enrol for your modules before paying tuition fees, as the modules will determine the fee). Registration is available until 5pm on Thursday, 22 nd September, in the International and Postgraduate Students Centre, and should take only 10-15 minutes. Email Once you have registered you will be issued with a Queen s email address. It is IMPERATIVE that you use this account as your tutors and the School will be communicating with you using the QUB email address you have been given. Queen s Online (QOL) http://www.qub.ac.uk/qol Queen s Online (QOL) is an on- line information and learning environment for Queen s students and staff. You will need your student number and email password to login. Most of your administrative contact with the School of English will be conducted through QOL. Course and exam information will be stored on module- specific directories. For more information, see: http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/informationservices/studentcomputing/ Students should familiarise themselves with QOL as quickly as possible as lecturers and tutors will be making immediate use of the platform. 5

Starting in Induction Week: Research Methods symposia An important aspect of postgraduate study is the preparation for it provides for independent research, particularly in the form of the MA dissertation and also, potentially, in preparation for Ph.D study. The School of English at Queen s University Belfast has been highly praised for the quality of its Research Methods teaching by independent and external assessors. These skills are taught in an explicit way in a series of three Research Methods symposia, and tested and developed throughout the course of MA study. Attendance at these Research Methods symposia is compulsory for all MA students. All of the symposia are held in the training rooms on the ground floor of the McClay library. Details are as follows: 1.) Friday, 23 rd September, 2011. 10am 4pm: Training Rooms 1 and 2 (am) and Auditorium (pm), McClay library Presenting Work at MA Level and Researching a MA level Bibliography 5pm- 7pm: Welcome Drinks for all new PG students (the Social Space, School of English) 2.) Friday 27 th January, 2012. (Friday of the inter- semester break) 10am 4pm: Auditorium, McClay library Archival Research for MA Work and Preparing for PhD level Work 3.) Friday 27 th April, 2012. (Friday of week 10) 10am 4pm: Auditorium, McClay library The dissertation (for all students excepting Creative Writing students, who will have a separate information session on their writing portfolio at a similar date). ================ Each MA course will also provide more specifically oriented research methods seminars. These three research methods symposia offer core information and advice about postgraduate study and research methods in general. They also serve to introduce MA students to our staff, and to each other. Recommended texts to purchase: A key text for literary studies postgraduate scholars is the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (New York: Modern Language Association, 2003), an essential guide to presenting a piece of scholarly writing. Alternatively, you may wish to purchase the second edition of the more advanced guide, Joseph Gibaldi s MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (New York: Modern Language Association, 1998), specifically designed for graduate students and academics. In addition, the second edition of Joseph Gibaldi (ed.), Introduction to Scholarship in Modern Languages and Literatures (New York: Modern Language Association, 1992), presents a collection of essays addressing the development and directions of modern study in English. Students might also acquire a copy of the second edition of the MHRA Style Guide: A Handbook for Authors, Editors, and Writers of Theses (London: MHRA, 2008). You can download a free copy of this from www.style.mhra.org or purchase a printed copy. Copies of these key texts are available for purchase in No Alibis bookshop, Botanic Avenue. 6

Studying for a MA course The taught Master s degree is usually considered attractive either as a top- up degree, which probes deeper into specialised areas of literary study than the BA, or as a bridge degree, which enables students to make the transition from taught undergraduate study to the independent research skills necessary for advanced postgraduate work. Whether or not you intend to pursue academic study beyond the Master s degree, the time you spend studying for the Master s is an opportunity to refine your skills as a literary scholar, language specialist or writer and to engage in critical discussion with a small group of committed students and staff who are interested in advanced study of various kinds. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of taking a Master s course is that there is very little time to settle in. It is important that you get to know your way around the resources available in the library, speak to your tutors about your taught courses, and begin to work on ideas for your dissertation in the first few weeks of term. Right from the start, you should look to read as widely as possible for your taught courses and come to every class prepared to engage in discussion with your peers. The skills and methods appropriate to Master s study MA courses are aimed primarily at students wishing to pursue further academic study, and to develop their expertise in literary study for professional careers in teaching, journalism, publishing, or research posts in both the private and public sectors. Beyond this, the profile of high level research and communication skills which a successful MA graduate in English could offer is always attractive to a wide range of employers. The taught Master s degree continues to develop some of the key skills of an undergraduate education in English, such as close textual analysis, contextual and conceptual understanding, writing and communication, working independently and in small groups, engaging critically with a diversity of arguments and opinions, and learning how to acquire and use knowledge effectively. It also invites students, often for the first time in their educational experience, to research and write a dissertation on a specialised area of literary study, and to introduce students therefore to key research skills. This is vital training for those students considering PhD research, and has a wider function in training students to manage their own research project, and motivate themselves to produce research and written work independently. How you should approach the taught courses The methods of study appropriate to the taught courses differ very little from those of undergraduate work. You will attend seminars which are longer and more intensive than BA seminars, write essays which are longer and more specialised, and read a more extensive range of literary and scholarly books and articles. But because postgraduate teaching is often more focused on a specialised area, and involves students who are very committed, and staff who are heavily involved in researching the topics they are teaching, participating in a MA course can seem to be a giant leap up from undergraduate study. Taking a MA course is a test of how well you can work as an independent scholar, and this is not just the case when you are preparing your dissertation, but is also a factor in how you undertake the work for your taught course units. Most MA course units are taught over a short period of time (some for as few as five or six weeks), and you should endeavour to get the most out of each class by preparing thoroughly in advance. Read as much of the course bibliography as you can, and prepare notes or questions in advance of the class. Be prepared to engage in discussion, and if there are points you wish to articulate, or questions you wish to ask, try to think of specific examples to which you might direct the attention of the class. You should also spend some time after the class writing up what you have learned, and use these notes to begin your preparations for the next class. If you are experiencing problems with understanding the course, or having difficulties with particular reading materials or essay topics, MA tutors always 7

publicise set times when they are available for consultation, and you should discuss your problems with the most relevant tutor or the MA convenor. First semester modules These may be comprised of full (12- week) or half (6- week) modules. In most instances, these are core modules which set up issues and methods which will underpin your studies throughout the year. These are usually team- taught modules, which draw on the expertise of different staff. Each module will have its own module convenor, however, who is responsible for the teaching and assessment of the module. (See following pages for 1 st semester modules for each MA pathway.) The deadline for first semester final assessments will be announced via e- mail early in the semester. Second Semester Modules Second semester modules are usually taught by a single tutor, due to the specialised nature of these options. (See following pages for 2nd semester modules for each MA pathway.) N.B Students may choose second semester elective modules outside of their chosen pathway. This is particularly common across the 3 pathways within modern literary studies (ie Irish Writing, Modern Literary Studies, Modern Poetry). If two modules are scheduled for the same time, contact Moyra or Ramona, as we will seek to ensure that your preferred choices can be made. Further information on all MA modules can be obtained by contacting the relevant module convenor. (For core modules, unless otherwise directed, you may contact the MA convenor.) The deadline for second semester final assessments will be announced via e- mail early in the first semester. The School of English prides itself on the excellence of its teaching. As part of on- going staff development, and the dissemination of good teaching practice, the School operates a system of regular peer- observation, in which colleagues sit in on each other s lectures, tutorials and seminars. The system operates across undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and in both semesters. 8

First semester modules, 2011-12: Broadcast Literacy ENG7201 Research Methods 1 Broadcast Literacy (Core) 6 x 4 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Monday 3-5 & Thursday 11-1 ENG7202 Research Methods 2 Broadcast Literacy (Core) 6 x 4 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Monday 1-3 & Thursday 2-4 First semester modules, 2011-12: Creative Writing ENG7090 Research Methods Creative Writing (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Thursday 2-4 ENG7091 Poetry Workshops 1 (M McGuckian) Thursday 10-12 ENG7093 Creative Writing Craft and Technique (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Thursday 2-4 Prose: I Sansom; Poetry: S Morrissey; Scriptwriting: T Loane ENG7097 Scriptwriting Workshops 1 (T Loane) Friday 10-12 ENG7292 Fiction Workshops 1 (I Sansom) Tuesday 10-12 9

First semester modules, 2011-12: English Language and Linguistics ENG7087 Research Methods 1 English Language (Core) 6 x 4 hour seminar (wks 1-6) 30 CATS Monday 3-5 and Thursday 11-1 ENG7088 Research Methods 2 English Language (Core) 6 x 4 hour seminar (wks 7-12) 30 CATS Monday 3-5 and Thursday 11-1 First semester modules, 2011-12: Irish Writing ENG7100 NI Since the 1960s (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Monday 4-6 ENG7010 Research Methods Irish Writing (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Monday 4-6 ENG7115 Irish Intellectual History (Core) Thursday 4-6 10

First semester modules, 2011-12: Medieval Studies ENG7040 Research Methods Medieval Studies (Core) 12 x 2 hours seminar (wks 1-12) Monday 4-6 ENG7246 Medieval Literatures and Cultures (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Tuesday 2-4 ENG7057 Inventing the Middle Ages (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Tuesday 2-4 First semester modules, 2011-12: Modern Literary Studies ENG7160 Theorising Modernity (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (weeks 1-6) Monday 3-5 ENG7060 Research Methods Modern Literary Studies (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 8-12) Monday 3-5 ENG7161 The Literature of Modernity (Core) Tuesday 3-5 11

First semester modules, 2011-12: Modern Poetry ENG7300 Structure and Serendipity (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Monday 3-5 ENG7301 Approaches to Poetry: Methods and Sources (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Monday 3-5 ENG7302 Poetry and Criticism 1880-2005 (Core) Wednesday 10-12 First semester modules, 2011-12: Reconceiving the Renaissance ENG7021 Material Worlds (Core) 2 x 3 hour seminars & 3 x 6 hour workshops Seminars Fri 10-1 weeks 1 & 12 Workshops Fri 11-5 weeks 4, 6 & 8 ENG7037 Literature, Religion and Politics (R Abraham) 12 x 2 hour seminars (wks 1-12) Monday 4-6 ENG7124 Literature and Mobility in early modern England (P Frazer) 12 x 2 hour seminars (wks 1-12) Tuesday 3-5 12

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Broadcast Literacy ENG7180 Media Discourses of Crime and Deviance (A Mayr) Tuesday 2-4 ENG7194 Page to Stage (T Loane) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Thursday 11-1 ENG7195 The Radio Talk (M O Doherty) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Wednesday 10-12 ENG7002 Irish Writing 1920-1960 (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Thursday 4-6 13

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Creative Writing ENG7092 Poetic Form (L Flynn) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6): Monday 11-1 ENG7094 Poetry Workshops 2 (M McGuckian) : Thursday 11-1 ENG7095 Fiction Workshops 2 (I Sansom) : Friday 1-3 ENG7096 Scriptwriting Workshops 2 (T Loane) : Friday 10-12 ENG7192 Poetics of Translation (C Carson) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12): Monday 11-1 ENG7194 Page to Stage (T Loane) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12): Thursday 11-1 ENG7195 The Radio Talk (M O Doherty) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12): Wednesday 10-12 ENG7199 Special Topic Creative Writing (Fulbright Fellow) 12 x 2 hour seminar (weeks 1-9 & 10-12): Thursday 2-4 ENG7291 Life Writing (I Sansom) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12): Thursday 11-1 ENG7293 Seven Basic Plots (T Loane/I Sansom) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6): Thursday 11-1 14

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: English Language and Linguistics ENG7083 Irish English (J Kirk) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Wednesday 11-1 ENG7084 Scots (J Kirk) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Tuesday 4-6 ENG7085 Phonological Concepts (J Rahilly) Thursday 11-1 ENG7086 The Discourse of Humour (P Simpson) Tuesday 11-1 ENG7180 Media Discourses of Crime and Deviance (A Mayr) Tuesday 2-4 ENG7181 Corpus Linguistics (J Kirk) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Wednesday 11-1 ENG7187 Advanced Study in the History of English (J Kirk) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Tuesday 4-6 15

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Irish Writing ENG7001 Social Joyce (B Caraher) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Monday 3-5 ENG7002 Irish Writing 1920-1960 (Core) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Thursday 4-6 ENG7003 Modern Irish Drama 1 (M McAteer) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-6) Monday 4-6 ENG7007 Autobiography (E Hughes) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Thursday 4-6 ENG7012 Swift and Ireland (M Haslett) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Wednesday 11-1 ENG7109 Modern Irish Drama 2 (M McAteer) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Monday 4-6 ENG7110 Rhetoric, Revolution and Empire (D Dwan) 6 x 2 hour seminar (wks 7-12) Thu 2-4 ENG7119 Special Topic Irish Writing (Fulbright Fellow) 12 x 2 hour seminar (wks 1-12) Thursday 10-12 N.B Students may also choose second semester elective modules from Modern Literary Studies and Modern Poetry. 16

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Medieval Studies ENG7041 Cultures of Piety (S Kelly) Thursday 10-12 ENG7047 Chaucer, Gower and the Competitive Spirit (M Urban) Wednesday 10-12 ENG7049 Anglo Saxon Voices (M Cesario) Thursday 2-4 ENG7159 Special Research Topic (J Thompson) Friday 10-12 ENG7247 Forbidden Knowledge (I Herbison) Friday 2-4 17

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Modern Literary Studies ENG7063 Private, Public Women (M Haslett) Friday 12-2 ENG7067 Modern Indian Literature (D Roberts) Tuesday 1-3 ENG7068 Modernisms and the Postmodern in Anglophone Poetry (B Caraher) Thursday 2-4 ENG7071 Slavery, Empire and Abolition, 1660-1840 (S Regan) Tuesday 11-1 ENG7072 Subjectivity and Modernity (D Dwan) Thursday 10-12 ENG7075 Literary Culture at the Fin de Siecle (CG) 12 x 2 hour seminar (weeks 1-12) Wednesday 10-12 ENG7078 Contemporary American Fiction (A Pepper) Tuesday 10-12 ENG7162 Milton Among the Moderns (E Sheehan) Thursday 10-12 N.B Students may also choose second semester elective modules from the Irish Writing and Modern Poetry pathways. If two modules that you would like to take are scheduled to run at the same time, please contact Moyra or Ramona. 18

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Modern Poetry ENG7303 British Poetry (E Larrissy) Thursday 10-12 ENG7304 American Poetry (P McGowan) Tuesday 2-4 ENG7305 Irish Poetry (F Brearton) Thursday 2-4 ENG7306 Paul Muldoon (L Flynn) Monday 2-4 N.B Students may also choose second semester elective modules from other pathways (eg Modernism and the Postmodern in Anglophone poetry within Modern Literary Studies) 19

Second Semester Modules, 2011-12: Reconceiving the Renaissance ENG7036 Women and Autobiography in C17th England (R Wray) Tuesday 3-5 ENG7038 Shakespeare and World Cinema (M Burnett) Thursday 3-5 Modules in Writing Conflict in early modern Ireland and Poetry, Piety, Patronage, taught in University College Dublin, are also available to MA students in Reconceiving the Renaissance. Please contact Dr Ramona Wray (r.wray@qub.ac.uk) for details on how to register for modules delivered at UCD. 20

The dissertation The following notes apply to all MA students excepting Creative Writing students. Students who have attained a pass mark (50%) for the taught modules may proceed to a dissertation, which constitutes the last two modules of the MA programme, researched during the summer months of the MA year. Deadline: Friday, 14 th September, 2012 Word count: 15,000 words (inclusive of bibliography and notes) How you should prepare for the dissertation The MA dissertation is an independent research project, which offers you an exciting opportunity to choose what to study and write about in a dissertation which accounts for a third of the MA award. You are not entirely on your own, of course. You will be assigned a supervisor who will advise you about the scope of your topic, the organisation of your material, the list of books and articles you should consult, and who will read drafts of your dissertation prior to submission. The dissertation should test your skills in working independently on a research project, and the supervisor is there simply to advise on the direction of your studies. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your dissertation meets the required standards for submission, and for acting on the advice given to you by your supervisor. You will have a set number of meetings with your supervisor. Three or four meetings are common. The first will be an opportunity to discuss what topic you wish to research, the viability and scope of your research topic, and what problems you might anticipate in completing it. The last meeting will be a chance to review the draft which you will have submitted to your supervisor prior to the formal submission. Try to use the time with your supervisor wisely. Prepare in advance for the meeting, making a list of all the questions or problems you wish to discuss. Supervision takes place over the summer months when academics are frequently attending conferences, working on or writing up research and, at some point, taking some summer leave. In the first meeting with your supervisor you will agree a schedule for submitting draft chapters which can take these factors into consideration. Choice of topic: Scope and methodology, topics and approaches: these factors can vary widely. Past MA dissertations submitted as part of your MA programme give some indication of the potential variety. If you are uncertain how to shape your interests into a coherent, realistic dissertation topic, you should make contact with a relevant member of staff, who will be happy to advise. Supervisor: Usually a member of staff on the teaching team of your specific MA programme, and someone whose own research interests intersect to some degree with the topic of your dissertation. Meetings or correspondence with your supervisor will take place June- August, by arrangement on an individual basis. Format and layout (those in square brackets are optional): Title- page [Acknowledgements] Table of contents (keyed to page numbers at beginning of each chapter) Introduction Chapters (usually 3 or 4) Conclusion Bibliography [Appendices] 21

Structure: The introduction should present and explain the scope of the dissertation, survey existing work on the topic and explain how the dissertation represents an original response to such existing work (or its lack). It should also introduce each chapter briefly. Each chapter should have its own introductory and concluding sections, with the more general Introduction and Conclusion of the dissertation providing the opportunity to discuss issues of relevance across all of the individual chapters. Think about the overall pace of the dissertation, keeping an eye on the word- count of each chapter. A possible structure might be: Introduction, 1500 words approx 3 chapters, 4000 words approx each Conclusion, 1500 words approx The dissertation structure can vary, but this provides an indication of how you should think about the overall structure of the dissertation. It is quite common for the general introduction and conclusion to be written last. You must submit two soft bound / spiral bound copies of a typed version of the dissertation, and should observe the following features: 1.5 or double spacing. 2.5 cm margins all around except binding edge (left- hand margin) where it s 4cm. 12 point font. Typing on one- side of paginated (i.e. page numbers) A4 paper only. Quotes longer than 30 words indented in separate paragraph without inverted commas. Footnotes or endnotes (at bottom of each page or the end of each chapter, or after Conclusion). Sub- headings within chapters (if used) should be in bold or underlined on a separate line. 22

Submission of written assessments Essays and projects required for final assessment must be submitted to the School Office (House 2, University Square) on or before the deadline. TWO hard copies must be submitted in addition to an electronic copy, uploaded onto QOL. Assessed work submitted after the deadline will be penalised at a rate of 5% of the total marks available for each day of lateness up to a maximum of 5 days in accordance with University regulations. For example, if your assignment is worth 60% of the module marks and is submitted 5 days late, we are obliged to deduct 15 marks from the mark you are awarded. After 5 days a mark of zero will be awarded. Please note that essays not received by 12:00 noon on the day of submission will be considered a day late. Late penalties will be applied automatically unless an extension has been granted on the piece of work in question (see below). Where an extension has been granted, there will be no penalty so long as the new deadline is met. When calculating days of lateness, weekends will not be included. Extensions Extensions will be granted only to students who can produce documentary evidence of extenuating circumstances which they believe have led to late submission. In most cases, this would be a certificate signed by a medical practitioner. It is up to the student to ensure that evidence is provided. No extensions will be granted without documentary evidence. Extensions must be requested within three working days of the due date: i.e., if work is due on a Monday, an extension must have been sought by the following Thursday. After that, the work will be counted as late. Retrospective extensions will not be granted. Students wishing for apply for extensions must do so by contacting the relevant Co- Director of PG Education (Moyra Haslett or Ramona Wray). Plagiarism All assessed work must fully acknowledge the secondary sources used in the preparation of the submitted piece. These sources may be in print or electronic form: use of the words or ideas of others must be properly referenced in the form of parenthetical citation or footnote / endnote form and supplemented with full bibliographical details in the bibliography. Plagiarism the act of passing off the work of others as your own will be severely penalized. The University regulations on plagiarism can be accessed at http://www.qub.ac.uk/calendar. 23

Release of marks All assessment at MA level is double- marked and a high percentage of scripts are also sent to our external examiners for final confirmation. Marks for all modules are then ratified at the MA Exam Boards (January, June, September). The School adheres to the University publication of results deadlines and students receive an email from the University to alert them to these deadlines; results can be accessed via QSIS. The School also emails students (using qub addresses) one week in advance of each deadline. Receiving Feedback on Your Work In advance of receiving written feedback, all students must fill out a self- reflective statement, which can be downloaded from the module resources on QOL. This is designed to encourage you to reflect upon the development of your own work. Once this form is submitted to the module convenor, s/he will then provide written feedback on assessed work. All students MUST complete this process, as a key aspect of their ongoing skills development. Marking Criteria General Standards MA classifications The pass mark for the MA in English is 50%. A mark between 40% and 50% indicates a pass at Diploma level; a mark below 40% is a Fail. The MA degree at Queen s is classified as 50% and above Pass 60% and above Pass with Commendation 70% and above Pass with Distinction. For MA degrees, a Pass with distinction will only be awarded where an overall average of 70%+ is achieved, a mark of 70%+ is achieved in the dissertation, and the average mark for other modules (ie the taught modules) is 65% +. Marks for MA modules Marking at MA level in the School of English is conducted according to the Conceptual Equivalents Scales as set out in Appendix A of the General Regulations and as reproduced on the following page (p.25). 24

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How the School is run You are always free to ask at the School Office if you are in doubt about which staff member to consult on a particular issue that concerns you. But, in order to gain some preliminary impression of the way the School is administered, you may find it useful to consult the list of staff below (with a brief summary of their particular administrative responsibilities). These are all experienced staff who are prepared to assist all students in making the most of their time in the School. Key Administrators in the School you may need to consult The Head of the School is Professor Ed Larrissy. He is responsible for all aspects of the School s activities. He is also the Chair of the School Board. Students who are having problems that cannot be resolved by consultation with their tutors, MA convenors or PG DEs should make an appointment to see the Head by contacting the School Office. The Co- Directors of Postgraduate Education (Dr Moyra Haslett and Dr Ramona Wray) also chair the School Postgraduate Examining Board. They are responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of the School's teaching and learning strategy for Postgraduate Studies, in conjunction with the Head of School and the School Management Board. The School Manager (Ms Carmel Beaney) is responsible for contributing to the development and the delivery of the School's strategic and operational academic objectives and managing its financial resources, in conjunction with the Head of School and the School Management Board. Key committees in the School It may be helpful for you to know where major School issues are discussed and decisions made on matters that directly affect you. The following is a list of the key committees in the School and the types of work they do: The School Management Board meets regularly, and is chaired by the Head of School. It is made up of the Directors of Research, the Directors of Education, the Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, the Chair of Research Committee, the School Manager and an elected representative from the staff of the School. The School Board meets monthly and is also chaired by the Head of School. It comprises all permanent members of the teaching staff, the School Manager and other support staff. The School Board also includes SSCC student members (representing Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and postgraduate students) and circulates the unreserved minutes of its meetings to SSCC. Meetings of the School Board will usually have a reserved section (for business such as examining and confidential staffing matters) which is not attended by the student representatives. If you have business that you would like the School Board to discuss, you should approach your Student representative or consult with the Head of School at least one week in advance of the next stated Board meeting. The names of your MA student representatives will be distributed to you by e- mail at the beginning of each academic year. Nominations for these representatives will be sought at the beginning of each academic year. The Education Committee is chaired by the Director of Education and meets at least twice per semester in order to discuss curriculum provision, development and review. 26

The Postgraduate Committee The Postgraduate Committee is chaired by the Director of PG Education and meets at last three times per semester to discuss issues pertaining to PG students, both MA and PhD. Postgraduate student representatives attend for the unreserved section of the agenda of this meeting. Postgraduate Committee will meet on the following dates in 2011-12: Thursday, 15 th September, 2011 Wednesday 2 nd November, 2011 (week 6) Wednesday 7 th December, 2011 (week 11) Wednesday, 15 th February, 2012 (week 3) Wednesday, 28 th March, 2012 (week 9) Wednesday, 23 rd May, 2012 How can your views be heard in the School? Postgraduate student representatives sit on the following School committees: School Board, Education Committee, Postgraduate Committee (see above) and SSCC (see below). Becoming a MA rep means that you might become a member of one or two of these committees. The Staff/Student Consultative Committee (SSCC) is made up of a number of staff members and student representatives who have been elected by the student body at the beginning of each academic year. The Chair of the committee is chosen by the members. Since you can vote to elect the SSCC members from your year who you feel will best represent student opinion, you should ensure that you not only play a part in the election process but also that your representatives are kept informed of the School issues that are most important to you. The SSCC also provides student representation for the School Board. We take the work of the SSCC very seriously, firstly because this is one of the places where our students can make their collective voices clearly heard, and secondly, because this is where staff members in the School can test student opinion on important issues that may affect our teaching and administrative systems and your general well- being. For example, recommendations made by the SSCC play their part in the information contained in this Handbook. Some years ago, it was the SSCC who designed the Tutor Feedback document which has proved its worth for students and tutors alike. And, more recently, SSCC student representatives have played a crucial role in shaping the 10% assessment component for tutorial contribution and the current Module Evaluation Questionnaire. Your response questionnaires influence not only how we will teach the same module to other students next year, but also, perhaps, how we will teach you next semester. The SSCC also played a large part in the Quality Assessment exercise, in which the School was judged "Excellent", and commented on the School s self- appraisal document which is our blueprint for the future. These examples testify to the fact that today s SSCC is one of the most important committees in the School. Dates of SSCC meetings in 2011-12: Wednesday 19 th October, 1-2pm (week 4) Wednesday 30 th November, 1-2pm (week 10) 27

Wednesday 22 nd February, 1-2pm (week 4) Wednesday 21 st March, 1-2pm (week 8) Wednesday 9 th May, 1-2pm (week 12) We do like to hear from others when they have positive things to say about us, so please tell us when you feel that things are working well for you in the School. As part of our efforts to improve the quality of life in the School for yourself and others, we would also like to hear from you when you are aware of matters that may not otherwise get raised in the School. We list here a number of obvious ways in which you can make your views known: i. Talk to your tutors and other members of the School staff named in this Handbook. If you feel that something is wrong or malfunctioning, tell us directly! ii. Make sure you know who represents you on SSCC and make sure they know your views (why not stand for election yourself?). iii. Use the Module Evaluation Questionnaire to give Module Convenors feedback, both positive and negative. iv. Join the English Society (see below). 28

The Culture of the School Research Culture in the School: weekly seminars As postgraduate students in the School of English, you join a lively body of active researchers, of academic staff, postgraduate students, post- doctoral fellows, visiting scholars and teaching assistants. We are a relatively large School, in terms of numbers of permanent staff, and this allows us to provide breadth of research coverage, across all literary periods, aspects of English language study and in creative writing. Staff profiles below give an indication of this diversity (pp.29-35). One of the most important venues for the School s research culture are our weekly Research Seminars. Each Wednesday afternoon, in term time, the School hosts a research seminar paper or papers. This takes place on: Wednesdays, 4.15pm. Faculty (AHSS) PG Centre, College Green. Current staff and postgraduate students, in addition to visiting speakers, attend and participate in these seminars, which provide an important dimension to the introduction of research methods and potential areas of research topic to current MA students. All MA students are encourage to attend on a regular basis. In 2011-12, the School s Research Seminar series is organized by David Dwan. Staff and students from the School also participate in a range of research seminars hosted by fora across the Faculty, including: Medieval Cultures, the Centre for Eighteenth- Century Studies, Post- colonial studies, Women s History, and the Institute of Irish Studies. There are also regular conferences and symposia held throughout the year. Postgraduate Conferences, 2011-12: At least 5 Postgraduate student conferences will be held in 2011-12 (known to us at time of press): 1st Interdisciplinary Linguistics Conference, 14-15 October 2011. 'Collaboration, Authorship and the Renaissance: Early Modern and Post Modern Perspectives', 13-14 January 2012 The 5 th Annual International Joyce PG Conference, 2-4 February 2012 New Voices in Irish Criticism, 19-21 April 2012 Common Grounds III, 11-12 June 2012 (Faculty PG Centre, College Gardens) Reading Groups In past years, the School of English has seen its PG students establish a number of initiatives, such as regular reading groups, publications (such as the recently formed Yellow Nib, a magazine of creative writing) and conferences. PG students who wish to begin new initiatives should speak to a relevant member of staff, as the School would hope to facilitate such endeavours. 29

Staff Profiles BREARTON, Dr Fran *Modern British and Irish literature Fran s research interests are in modern British and Irish poetry, with particular interests in war literature, literary modernism, the work of Robert Graves, and contemporary poetry. She is author of The Great War in Irish Poetry (OUP 2000) and Reading Michael Longley (Bloodaxe 2006). She is co- editor of Last before America: Irish and American Writing (Blackstaff 2001), Modern Irish and Scottish Poetry (Cambridge UP, 2011) and Incorrigibly Plural: Louis MacNeice and His Legacy, which will be published by Carcanet Press in 2012. She is currently working on a study of Seamus Heaney and America, and is co- editing the Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Poetry. BURNETT, Professor Mark *Renaissance literature and culture Mark teaches and researches on early modern literature and culture, on Shakespeare and film, and on adaptation and appropriation. He is the author of Masters and Servants in English Renaissance Drama and Culture: Authority and Obedience (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997), Constructing Monsters in Shakespearean Drama and Early Modern Culture (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002) and Filming Shakespeare in the Global Marketplace (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007), the editor of The Complete Plays of Christopher Marlowe (London: Dent, 1999) and The Complete Poems of Christopher Marlowe (London: Everyman, 2000), and the co- editor of New Essays on Hamlet (New York: AMS Press, 1994), Shakespeare and Ireland: History, Politics, Culture (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997), Shakespeare, Film, Fin de Siècle (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000), Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty- First Century (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006), Filming and Performing Renaissance History (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2011) and The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012). CARAHER, Professor Brian *Modern literature and literary theory Brian s teaching and research dwell on literary theory and modern literature - - especially poetics, cultural modernity and literary modernism. He has edited several books, including On Contradiction, Empiricism and Hermeneutics and Intimate Conflict and authored work on Wordsworth, Joyce and theories of reading. His new book, with Palgrave, is called Trespassing Tragedy: Melodramas of Horror: Intertextual Studies in the Ideology of Literary Form, and he is preparing The Joyce of Reading and Joycean Negotiations for publication. CARSON, Professor Ciaran *Director, Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry An internationally distinguished, multi- prize winning poet and prose stylist, Ciaran is the author of Belfast Confetti, The Irish for No, First Language, Opera et Cetera, The Alexandrine Plan, The Twelfth of Never, Breaking News, For All We Know, and On The Night Watch as well as the brilliantly innovative fictions Last Night s Fun, The Star Factory, Fishing for Amber and Shamrock Tea. He assumed the directorship of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry in October 2003. CESARIO, DR Marilina *Old English Language and Literature and Historical Linguistics Marilina teaches Old English Language and Literature and Historical Linguistics and her research interests focus on prognostication, magic, science, and weather- lore in Medieval England. She has published articles on Anglo- Saxon Prognostics in Anglo- Saxon England and English Studies and is the author, with Gale Owen- Crocker, of Handling Anglo- Saxon Manuscripts, in the textbook Working with Anglo- Saxon Manuscripts (Exeter, 2009). She is also interested in the reception of Greek and Latin mythology (particularly Ovid s Metamorphoses) in Anglo- Saxon England. She is currently researching the role and significance of natural phenomena in Anglo- Saxon prose. 30

DOUGLAS- COWIE, Professor Ellen *Speech analysis & speech pathology Ellen s teaching interests cover a range of topics in the study of language- - such as patterns of spoken English, phonetics and sociolinguistics- - while her research is focused in speech analysis, especially prosody and speech pathology. Her publications include co- authorship of Postlingually Acquired Deafness: Speech Deterioration and the Wider Consequences, the editing of a special volume of Speech Communication, and numerous journal articles. DWAN, Dr David *Twentieth- century literature and intellectual history David s research and teaching interests are in modernist- era Anglophone writing and literary culture, especially Yeats and Woolf. He has published a set of essays on Yeats and the cultural politics of modernity and The Great Community: Culture and Nationalism in Ireland (Dublin: Field Day/NotreDame) was published in 2008. The Cambridge Companion to Edmund Burke, which he has co- edited with Chris Insole, will appear in 2012. FLYNN, DR Leontia *Modern Poetry/Creative Writing (Poetry) Currently Research Fellow in the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Leontia is preparing a monograph on the work of Medbh McGuckian for publication. To date she has authored three collections with Jonathan Cape: the Forward Prize winning These Days (2004), which was also shortlisted for the Whitbread Poetry Award; Drives (2008), when she was awarded the 2008 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature; and Profit and Loss (2011), which has recently been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. HASLETT, Dr Moyra *Eighteenth- century and Romantic literature Moyra s publications include Byron s Don Juan and the Don Juan Legend (Clarendon, 1997), Marxist literary and cultural theories (Macmillan, 1999) and Pope to Burney, Scriblerians to Bluestockings (Palgrave, 2003). More recently, she has published articles on friendships between women and on literary representations of the bluestockings as part of a larger project on ideas of female community in the long eighteenth century. She is also one of the general editors of the Early Irish Fiction, 1680-1820 series, a collaborative research project between the School of English, QUB and Trinity College Dublin, and has co- edited a special issue of the Irish University Review, 41.1 (2011) and completed a critical edition of Thomas Amory s The Life of John Buncle, Esq (1756; Four Courts Press, 2011) for this series. HERBISON, Dr Ivan *Old English literature Ivan s teaching interests encompass Medieval English literature and research interests include the history of Old English scholarship, OE biblical narrative poetry and hagiography, and Ulster- Scots language and culture. HUGHES, Dr Eamonn *Irish literature in English Eamonn s teaching interests include Irish writing and culture, critical theory, and cultural studies. He has edited Northern Ireland: Culture and Politics 1960-1990 and co- edited with Fran Brearton Last before America: Irish and American Writing (Blackstaff Press, 2001). He is the author of various articles on modern and contemporary Irish writing in English. His current major projects are a book on Irish autobiography from the seventeenth century to the present and a book on ideas of place in contemporary Northern Irish poetry. KELLY, Dr Stephen *Late Medieval literature and culture Stephen's interests span late medieval religious cultural practices, including literary, theological and philosophical writings, visual and material culture, historiography and performance. Current projects include Imagining History in Medieval Britain (Continuum, 2012), an account of the ideological 31

interests and literary strategies of English historiography from Bede to the English Reformation and Tears and Saints, an investigation of 'religious enthusiasm' both in later medieval English culture and among contemporary scholars of the medieval past. With David Griffith (Birmingham), Stephen is co- editing the second edition of Chaucer to Spenser (Wiley- Blackwell, 2013). He is also preparing 'Meke Reverence and Devocyon': A Reader in Late Medieval English Religious Writing (Exeter), co- edited by Ryan Perry, which will be the first anthology of Middle English devotional texts since Horstmann's Yorkshire Writers (1895-6). He is co- director of the Queen's Research Forum on Translation and Cultural Encounter and is director of the Medieval Forum. KIRK, Dr John *English and Scottish language John specialises in corpus linguistics and dialectology (especially Scots and Hiberno- English), with interests in the history of English, syntax, pragmatics, and register and text- type variation. He is a compiler of the AHRB- funded Ireland component of the International Corpus of English (ICE- Ireland, 2007- ); a developer of the AHRB- funded annotation system for SPICE- Ireland ( Systems of Pragmatic Annotation in ICE- Ireland, completed 2011); and author of the User s Guide for each of these. He co- organised annual symposia for the AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies on the language and politics of the Gaeltacht and Scotstacht (2000-2010), and edited eight proceedings volumes, in the series Belfast Studies in Language, Culture and Politics. In 2008 09, he held an AHRC research network grant for a project on multi- lingual, pan- British political poetry and song in the Age of Revolution. His editing of two volumes of proceedings has led to a general editorship of a new series on political poetry and song (Pickering & Chatto). LAMB, Dr Edel *Renaissance literature and culture Edel s research and teaching focuses on Renaissance literature (including Shakespeare, Jonson, Marston, Beaumont, Chapman and Field), Renaissance performance cultures and theatre practices and childhood studies. She has published essays on boy actors and early children s literature in Ben Jonson Journal (2008), Literature Compass (2010) and The New Companion to Renaissance Literature and Culture (2010) and is the author of Performing Childhood in the Early Modern Theatre: The Children s Playing Companies (1599-1613) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). She is currently writing a monograph on early modern books for children, Reading Children in Early Modern Culture. LARRISSY, Professor Edward *Romantic and Modern Poetry Ed s work centres on two areas: Romantic poetry and twentieth- century poetry (British, Irish and American). Irish writing of both periods is a special interest. He is also fascinated by the relationship between the two periods - in twentieth- century constructions of Romanticism, and in the influence of Romantic writing in the twentieth century. Yeats, the subject of a 1994 monograph Yeats the Poet: The Measures of Difference, is only the most obvious case. His edited CUP volume, Romanticism and Postmodernism (1999), addresses the most recent form of this relationship, and contains the only substantial body of work on this subject. His monograph Blake and Modern Literature (2006), looks at the influence of Blake on writers from Yeats, Joyce and Auden to Allen Ginsberg, Robert Duncan, Salman Rushdie and Angela Carter. A further monograph from Edinburgh University Press, The Blind and Blindness in Literature of the Romantic Period, was published in 2007. LITVACK, Dr Leon *Nineteenth- century and Canadian literature Leon teaches 19th and 20th century literature, especially Victorian and Canadian writing, and current research includes cultural studies and post- colonial theory. He has authored John Mason Neale and the Quest for Sobornost, Dombey and Son: An Annotated Bibliography and Literatures of the Nineteenth Century: Romanticism to Victorianism and has edited Ireland in the Nineteenth Century: Regional Identity. He has completed a book- length critical guide to Dickens for Routledge and is preparing the Clarenden Press edition of Our Mutual Friend. 32

LOANE, Tim *Creative Writing (Script- writing) Tim has worked extensively as a writer, director and actor in film, television, theatre and radio. He co- founded Tinderbox Theatre Company in 1988, Northern Ireland s leading independent company dedicated to developing and producing new writing, of which he was joint Artistic Director until 1996. For the stage he has written the political satires Caught Red Handed and To Be Sure and for BBC radio, the inner- city thriller The Tunnel and the post- ceasefire ensemble comedy I can see clearly. Screenwriting includes the comedy films Out of The Deep Pan (BBC), Reversals (ITV) and he was creator and lead writer of Bafta- nominated Teachers for Channel 4, the format adapted by NBC (US) in 2006. He wrote the four- part conspiracy thriller Proof 2 (RTE), the three- part family drama serial Little Devil (ITV) and the 2009 updating of 80 s television classic Minder (Channel 5). In addition to numerous theatre productions, he directed the short film Dance Lexie Dance which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1997. MAGENNIS, Professor Hugh *Old English literature and culture Hugh s teaching and research interests are in Old English, particularly focusing on traditions of hagiographical writing and the history of literary ideas and images. His publications include editions of The Anonymous Old English Legend of the Seven Sleepers, The Old English Lives of St Margaret and The Old English Life of St Mary of Egypt. He has authored the books, Images of Community in Old English Poetry and Anglo- Saxon Appetites: Eating and Drinking in Old English and Related Literature. MAYR, Dr Andrea *Sociolinguistics Andrea s teaching and research interests cover Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis with a focus on the media, and in particular media representations of crime and deviance, and True Crime. Her publications include Prison Discourse (2004), Language and Power: an Introduction to Institutional Discourse (2008)), and Language and Power: A Resource book for Students (2010, co- written with Paul Simpson). Her forthcoming books are The Language of Crime and Deviance (2012) and How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis: A Multimodal Introduction (2012). MCATEER, Dr Michael *Irish writing in English Michael s teaching and research interests include late nineteenth Irish literature in political and historical contexts, twentieth- century Irish drama and the European avant- garde, modern literature, existentialism and social theory. He is the author of Standish O'Grady, Æ and Yeats: History, Politics, Culture (Irish Academic Press, 2002) and Yeats and European Drama (Cambridge University Press, 2010), and is currently in the process of developing a comparative research project on Irish and Hungarian cultural history, as well as the question of Ireland and Europe in the drama of George Bernard Shaw. MCGOWAN, Dr Philip *American literature Philip offers an American Poetry module at MA level, and researches nineteenth- and twentieth- century US poetry, fiction and film. His publications include American Carnival: Seeing & Reading American Culture (2001), Anne Sexton and Middle Generation Poetry: The Geography of Grief (2004), and the co- edited collection After Thirty Falls: New Essays on John Berryman (Rodopi, 2006). He is currently completing a literary and cultural study, Reading Las Vegas (Berg). MCGUCKIAN, Ms Medbh *Creative writing (Poetry) Medbh s collections of poetry include: The Flower Master (1982), Venus and the Rain (1984), On Ballycastle Beach (1988), Marconi s Cottage (1992), Captain Lavender (1995), Shelmalier (1998), Drawing Ballerinas (2001), The Face of the Earth (2002) and The Book of the Angel (2004). Her Selected Poems 1978-1994 was published in 1997. 33

MORRISSEY, Dr Sinéad * Creative writing (Poetry) Sinéad is the author of four poetry collections: There Was Fire in Vancouver (1996), Between Here and There (2002); The State of the Prisons (2005) and Through the Square Window (2009), all of which are published by Carcanet Press. Her awards include the Patrick Kavanagh Award, an Eric Gregory Award, the Rupert and Eithne Strong Award, and the Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize. Her last three collections have all been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. In 2007 she received a Lannan Literary Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation, U.S.A. Her poem Through the Square Window took first place in the UK National Poetry Competition the same year. Her collection Through the Square Window was shortlisted for the Forward Prize and was the winner of the Irish Times/Poetry Now Award. She is currently working on a fifth collection, due in 2013. O DOHERTY, Malachi. Creative Writing (Prose) Malachi is currently the Louis MacNeice Writer in Residence at Queens University. His specialisms are journalism, broadcast journalism and the writing of memoir. To date he has authored five works of non fiction, including appraisals of the strategy of the Provisional IRA (The Trouble With Guns 1998) and an assessment of the decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland (Empty Pulpits 2008). Three of his books are themed memoirs dealing with religion, journalism and his father, and a fourth, due for publication in Spring 2012, is a reflection on the bicycle. Malachi has done over a thousand radio talks on varied themes and writes often in the local media. PATTERSON, Dr Glenn *Creative writing (Fiction) Glenn is the author of seven acclaimed novels: Burning Your Own (1988), for which he was awarded the Rooney Prize and a Betty Trask first novel prize; Fat Lad (1992); Black Night at Big Thunder Moutntain (1995), The International (1999); Number 5 (2003), That Which Was (2004), The Third Party (2007). He is also the author of the essay collection Lapsed Protestant (2006), and the family memoir, Once upon a Hill: Love in Troubled Times (2009). His short stories have been broadcast on Radio 3 and Radio 4, and he has also presented a number of television documentaries on literary and cultural subjects. PEPPER, Dr Andrew *Twentieth- century American literature Andrew s research and teaching interests cover various aspects of 20th century American prose, film and cultural studies, and crime fiction in particular. He has published a book entitled The Contemporary American Crime Novel: Race, Ethnicity, Gender (Edinburgh, 2000) and is co- author of American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film (Edinburgh, 2005). He is also the author of four (to date) crime novels set in London between the 1820s and 1840s: The Last Days of Newgate (2006), The Revenge of Captain Paine (2007), Kill- Devil and Water (2008), and Bloody Winter (2011) all published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. RAHILLY, Dr Joan Speech Analysis Joan s primary research and teaching interest is in the phonetics of normal and disordered speech, with particular emphasis on the contribution of speech analysis to interaction and literacy issues. Recent published work includes a study of the communicative consequences of errors in phonetic perception and categorisation, an analysis of vowel systems among hearing- impaired speakers, a critical account of techniques for speech imaging, and reflections on interfaces between current transcription practices and clinical speech profiling. REGAN, Dr Shaun Eighteenth- century and Romantic literature Shaun s research and teaching interests include prose fiction, comic discourse, the culture of politeness, and the early Black Atlantic. With Professor Brean Hammond (University of Nottingham), 34

he is the author of Making the Novel: Fiction and Society in Britain, 1660-1789 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). He has published articles on Sterne, satire, print culture and the novel, and on Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative. He is currently writing a monograph titled Comic Writing and the Culture of Politeness in Britain, 1690-1789, and editing essay collections on 1759 and the Seven Years' War. ROBERTS, Dr Daniel Romantic literature Daniel s teaching interests range from eighteenth- century literature to contemporary Indian literature and postcolonial theory, though his research is focussed largely in the Romantic period. He has produced definitive scholarly editions of Thomas De Quincey s Autobiographic Sketches (volume 19 of The Works of Thomas De Quincey) and Robert Southey s The Curse of Kehama (volume 4 of Robert Southey: Poetical Works 1793-1810). His most recent book is Thomas De Quincey: New Theoretical and Critical Approaches edited with Robert Morrison. He is currently editing Charles Johnstone s Oriental novel, The History of Arsaces, Prince of Betlis (1774) for the Early Irish Fiction series from Four Courts Press. SANSOM, Dr Ian *Creative Writing Ian is the author of eight books, including The Truth About Babies (2002), Ring Road (2004), the Mobile Library detective series, The Enthusiast Almanack (2006) and The Enthusiast Field Guide to Poetry (2007). He writes for The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Irish Times, and The Spectator, and his essays have appeared in numerous books, magazines and journals. He is a regular broadcaster on Radio 3 and Radio 4. SHEEHAN, Professor Estelle Haan *Seventeenth- and eighteenth- century literature & literary culture Estelle specialises in classical and later Latin literary cultures and their influence on writers in seventeenth- and eighteenth- century England. In addition to her stream of articles on Milton she has authored/edited eleven books, including From Academia to Amicitia: Milton s Latin Writings and the Italian Academies (1998), Thomas Gray s Latin Poetry: Some Classical, Neo- Latin and Vernacular Contexts (2000), Andrew Marvell s Latin Poetry: From Text to Context (2003), Vergilius Redivivus: Studies in Joseph Addison s Latin Poetry (2005), Classical Romantic: Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne (2007), Sporting with the Classics: The Latin Poetry of William Dillingham (2010), a full- scale edition of Milton s Latin Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2012), and Both English and Latin: Bilingualism and Biculturalism in Milton s Neo- Latin Writings (American Philosophical Society, 2012). She is currently working on an authored monograph on Georgic transformations in eighteenth- century poetry and culture. SIMPSON, Professor Paul *Sociolinguistics and stylistics Paul s teaching and research involve study of the English language, with specific interests in stylistics, discourse pragmatics and critical linguistics. He is the new general editor of the journal Language and Literature and has published Language, Ideology and Point of View and Language through Literature, both with Routledge. He has recently published On the Discourse of Satire: Towards a Stylistic Model of Satirical Humour (2003) and Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students (Routledge) appeared in 2004. STREETE, Dr Adrian *Renaissance literature Adrian researches and teaches on early modern literature, with a focus on Calvinism, Puritanism, Catholicism, apocalypticism, early modern politics and the history of ideas. He has published articles in journals such as Textual Practice, The Review of English Studies, Literature and History, Shakespeare, and Literature and Theology, and is the author of Protestantism and Drama in Early Modern England (CUP, 2009), and co- editor of Re- Figuring Mimesis: Representation in Early Modern 35

Literature (UHP, 2005). He is currently working on The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts (EUP, 2010, with Mark Burnett and Ramona Wray), a collection of essays called Early Modern Drama and the Politics of Biblical Reading and a book on early modern drama and apocalypse. STURGEON, Dr Sinéad *Irish writing in English Sinéad teaches nineteenth- century Irish writing in English, and has particular research interests in popular culture and the literary representation of law. She has published on the cultural and literary life of illegal Irish whiskey, and is a contributor to the Dictionary of Irish Biography (Cambridge University Press). She is currently working on a monograph exploring the significance of legal discourse and tropes in early nineteenth- century Irish writing. SUMPTER, Dr Caroline *Nineteenth- century literature Caroline s research interests include the nineteenth- century press, Victorian literature and science, and political appropriations of fantasy (including the fairy tale and science fiction). She is the author of The Victorian Press and the Fairy Tale (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and has published on late Victorian politics and culture in journals including Victorian Studies, Literature and History, Nineteenth- Century Contexts and Cultural and Social History. She is currently working on a book which explores links between literature and debates over moral evolution in the late nineteenth century. THOMPSON, Professor John *Later Medieval literature John teaches Medieval literature, especially Chaucer and post- Chaucerian romance and lyric poetry, and researches the production and circulation of ME manuscripts and early prints, most recently through the AHRB- funded Traditions of the Book project. He has authored two monographs: Robert Thornton & the London Thornton Manuscript, and The Middle English Cursor Mundi: poem, text and context, and many articles on the sociology of medieval literature and medieval textual cultures; He has co- edited two books: The Court and Cultural Diversity (with Evelyn Mullally) and Imagining the Book (with Stephen Kelly). With Stephen Kelly and Ryan Perry he has published Making Histories: the Middle English Prose Brut and the Bibliographical Imagination (2007). A monograph on Anglophone textual cultures in Ireland is also under way. URBAN, Dr Malte *Medieval literature Malte s research interests focus on late- medieval English literature, especially Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. He is particularly interested in the ways in which medieval writers appropriate older texts, manipulating their cultural past for poetical and political purposes in their immediate present. Malte s work also queries the current position of post- medieval, twenty- first- century readers of medieval texts and the usability and validity of poststructuralist theories for our understanding of the medieval past in the present. WRAY, Dr Ramona *Renaissance literature Ramona teaches and researches on Renaissance literature in English, specializing in Shakespeare and women s writing of the period. She is the editor of the Arden Early Modern Drama edition of Elizabeth Cary s The Tragedy of Mariam (2012) and the author of Women Writers in the Seventeenth Century (Northcote House, 2004). She is also the co- editor of The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts (Edinburgh University Press, 2011), Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty- First Century (Edinburgh University Press, 2006), Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader (Oxford University Press, 2004), Shakespeare, Film, Fin de Siècle (Macmillan, 2000) and Shakespeare and Ireland: History, Politics, Culture (Macmillan, 1997). Her articles on Shakespeare appropriation, Shakespeare on film and early modern women s writing have appeared in Shakespeare Bulletin, Shakespeare Quarterly, Women s Writing and elsewhere. 36

Fulbright Distinguished Scholars (2012) The School of English, QUB, has secured three UK/US Fulbright Commission Distinguished Scholar Awards. These scholars will be attached to the School from January June 2012. Jeffrey THOMSON is the author of four major collections of poems, including Birdwatching in Wartime, winner of the 2010 Maine Book Award, and Renovation (2005), both published by Carnegie Mellon University Press in Pittsburgh. He is also the author of The Country of Lost Sons (2004) and The Halo Brace (1998), as well as various chapbooks and limited edition art books and translations. He has also co- edited an anthology of emerging poets, From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great (2009). Jeff Thomson has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Arts Commission, and, most recently, was named the 2008 Individual Arts Fellow in the Literary Arts by the Maine Arts Commission. He is currently Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Maine, Farmington. At the Seamus Heaney Centre he will be working on a new collection of poems engaging his ancestor William Thomson s emigration experience from Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as recording emerging Irish poets for his popular website and online archive, From the Fishouse, including liaising locally with staff and poets involved in the new Seamus Heaney Centre Digital Archive. Connie VOISINE is the author of Rare High Meadow of Which I Might Dream, published by University of Chicago Press in 2008, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Her first book, Cathedral of the North, won the Associated Writing Program s Award in Poetry and was published by University of Pittsburgh Press in 2001. Her work was recently featured at The Lab at Belmar, Colorado, a museum show pairing prehistoric stone tools with poems. Educated at Yale University, University of California at Irvine, and University of Utah, Voisine directs the creative writing programme at New Mexico State University and also coordinates La Sociedad para las Artes, its outreach organization. She is also a well regarded critic and reviewer of poetry, poetics and politics Stateside. During her time as a Fulbright Scholar at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Connie Voisine looks forward to furthering her research into contemporary Anglophone Irish poetry, especially in terms of assisting her to research and write a series of essays on poetic borderlands and regions where history and identity are contested. Her work to date has examined creatively and critically culturally contested regions involving the Canadian/ Maine border as well as the Mexican/New Mexico border. Scott BOLTWOOD will work cross- disciplinarily among English, Drama and the Institute of Irish Studies. Scott received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. He is currently an Associate Professor of English at Emory & Henry College, Virginia, where he teaches courses in both the history of Irish literature and Twentieth- Century Anglophone literature. His first book, Brian Friel, Ireland, and the North (Cambridge UP, 2007) sought to map ways in which the Northern Irish Troubles resonate through the work of this major Irish playwright. As a Fulbright Scholar at Queen's, Scott will research the history of the Ulster Group Theatre, which was arguably Ireland's most influential acting company throughout the 1940s and 1950s. This research will examine ways in which the company's plays staged nuanced negotiations of the region's sectarian tensions. In association with his project, the Lagan Press has agreed to publish several volumes of Group plays, almost all of which have not been in print for over fifty years. 37

All three Fulbright Scholars will also contribute to the postgraduate and undergraduate teaching profiles of the School of English, offering various specialist seminars and workshops. The English Society The English Society organises readings and social events during the academic year. It is run by a committee of students and new committee members are always welcome. Society events feature new writing by students in the university. It is responsible for organising the annual School of English formal dinner and arranges occasional trips to conferences and theatres outside Belfast. Details of events and further information can be found on the English Society noticeboard on the ground floor of 2 University Square, and on the website: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/schoolofenglish/aboutus/theenglishsociety/ Creative writing in the School The School is renowned for its vibrant and highly successful community of creative writers: Ciaran Carson, Leontia Flynn, Glenn Patterson, Tim Loane, Medbh McGuckian, Sinéad Morrissey, Malachi O Doherty and Ian Sansom. Details of their work can be found in the Staff Profiles section. The School also hosts an on- line poetry magazine, POETRY PROPER: http://poetryproper.blogspot.com/ and publishes Yellow Nib, the annual journal of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry and edited by Leontia Flynn. The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry Poetry is one of the activities for which Queen s has always been best known. Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney was a student and later a lecturer in the School of English at Queen s, one of a number of internationally renowned poets and writers who have worked or studied at the University over the last forty years. The Centre for Poetry is located in 46-48 University Road, connected to the School through 1 University Square. Its director is the internationally- renowned poet, Professor Ciaran Carson. The creative writing staff are located in the Centre, along with the Heaney Centre Research Fellow. The Centre promotes the study and practice of poetry. It contains a library of contemporary poetry, and runs various events for example, readings, seminars, creative writing workshops which complement the activities of the School of English. In the last few years visitors to the School of English have included Allen Ginsberg, James Fenton, Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, Seamus Heaney, Graham Swift, Alasdair Gray, Simon Callow, Seamus Deane, Edwin Morgan, Paul Durcan, Doris Lessing, Simon Armitage, and Trevor Griffiths. There is a lively and ever- increasing interactive traffic through the Centre: poets, academics, research students, creative writing students, members of the public, visitors from outside Northern Ireland. The Centre provides a focal point for poetry as a living art, and for criticism of/research into modern poetry: http://www.qub.ac.uk/heaneycentre Queen s Writers Group The Queen s Writers Group has been in existence since the first appointment of a Writer- in- Residence at the University in the 1970s. The ethos of the group, however, stretches back still further than that, to the 60s, when the famous Belfast Group - Heaney, Mahon, Longley et al - gathered in the University to read and discuss their work. The Writers Group still follows roughly the same format. It is an open forum for anyone interested in writing, from published writers through to absolute beginners, to share their work and discuss it with their peers. The Group meets once a week, on Wednesday afternoons (4.00-6.00pm) in the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry. The atmosphere is open, friendly and inclusive. 38

For further information contact the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, on (028) 90971070. School- based Social Events for PG students 2011/2012 Friday 23 September Thursday 3 November December (date tba) Monday 11 Tuesday 12 June Welcome Reception for new PG students (5pm, Social Space, School of English) Annual Postgraduate Party for all PG students (6pm, AHSS PG Centre, College Green) PGT Graduation Event for all those graduating Common Ground III: The Annual PG Conference All PG students should attend the Staff and PG Student Research Seminar. This weekly seminar is an opportunity to hear more about the research that is going on in your School and to meet up with staff and peers in a relaxed and informal setting. The seminars take place every Wednesday in semester at 4:15 in the AHSS PG Centre, College Green. For more information on any of the above events, contact Ramona Wray (r.wray@qub.ac.uk) 39

Information on Facilities for Postgraduate Taught Students The McClay Library Library opening hours are available on the library s home- page: www.qub.ac.uk/lib. These vary across the year, according to teaching and assessment schedules. In assessment weeks (weeks 13-15 of semesters 1 and 2), 24- hour opening is usually available. Details of books and journals held in the library can be accessed through the electronic Library catalogue (QCat). PCs and printing facilities are available on the ground and first floors and the wireless network is fully operational throughout the building, apart from the cafe area. Laptops may also be borrowed from the main enquiries desk on the ground floor. Self issue facilities (for borrowing and returning books) are available on all floors. The following services are in operation in the McClay library: Borrower Services Desk Information and Enquiry Desks Special Collections Law and Official Publications Computer Help Desk There are other important research resources within Belfast. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is located in the Titanic Quarter ; the Newspaper Library, the Belfast Public Library and the Linen Hall Library are all in the City Centre. Queen's has reciprocal borrowing rights with the University of Ulster. Further afield, the Robinson Library in Armagh and the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan library in Derry / Londonderry contain a number of early printed books and are particularly valuable resources for people working on early literature. Trinity College, Dublin and the National Library of Ireland can also be easily visited from Belfast. Theses and Dissertations The School has archived copies of dissertations and theses written over the last forty years under research supervision in the School in the Exams Office and external examiners consultation room. A comprehensive list of past PhD theses (since 1990) is available on- line: see http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/schoolofenglish/research/completedphdsintheschoolofenglishsince19 90/. Most of these theses are available for consultation in the McClay library. 40

Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry: Reading Room The School has a resources room affiliated with the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry: The Reading Room. Room 1002 is located on the first floor of 46/48 University Road. It contains a number of essential reference works, as well as an ample and growing selection of several thousand books related to modern and contemporary poetry, poetics and criticism. It also has a web- linked computer to expedite cross- checking and cross- searching for materials. You need to get the permission of the Heaney Centre secretary, Gerry Hellawell, in order to gain admission to this locked room. The Heaney Centre is an important resource for postgraduate students not only on the MA and PhD programmes in Creative Writing but also across the board. Many of its rooms, especially on the ground and first floors, provide important workplaces and social space for the literary research and creative writing cultures of the School. The International and Postgraduate Student Centre (IPSC) Located close to The McClay Library, the Centre provides dedicated support to, and is a hub for many aspects of information, advice and guidance for international and postgraduate students. Students have the opportunity to meet and socialise with their peers from other Schools and disciplines and wireless access to the University network is provided throughout the Centre. The Postgraduate Student Centre located on the first and second floors serves as a focal point for the postgraduate community, where all postgraduate students can access tailored information and advice on a range of postgraduate issues. The second floor of the building provides dedicated study and social space for postgraduates. This includes a computer facility offering 50 networked computers with black and white and colour printing, scanning and photocopying facilities. The second floor also houses the Postgraduate Students Association (PGSA), which represents the interests of all postgraduate students in the University and co- ordinates a number of research- related and social events throughout the year. Opening hours for postgraduate students are 9:00am 10:00pm Monday Friday. Postgraduate Centre International and Postgraduate Student Centre T: 028 9097 2585 E: pg.office@qub.ac.uk http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/aboutus/ipsc 41

GENERAL INFORMATION School of English contact details: The School Office is located on the Ground Floor of 2 University Square. Office hours are: Monday to Friday, 9 am 1 pm and 2 pm 4.15 pm. Tel.: 028 9097 3320. Fax: 028 9097 3334. Email: english@qub.ac.uk Postal address: School of English, Queen s University, Belfast, BT7 1NN Postgraduate students should also consult the Postgraduate Students webpages at: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/schoolofenglish/education/postgraduates/ Semester dates for 2011-2012: Autumn Semester Teaching Christmas vacation Assessment Inter- Semester Break Spring Semester Teaching Easter Vacation Teaching Revision Period Assessment Monday 28 September Friday 18 December 2011 Monday 21 December 2011 Friday 8 January 2012 Monday 11 January Tuesday 26 January 2012 Wednesday 27 January Friday 29 January 2012 Monday 1 February Friday 26 March 2012 Monday 29 March Friday 16 April 2012 Monday 19 April Friday 14 May 2012 Monday 17 May Wednesday 19 May 2012 Thursday 20 May Saturday 5 June 2012 Holidays and Key dates when University closure applies: Christmas/New Year: Friday 23 December 2011 - Tuesday 3 January 2012 (inclusive) St Patrick's Day: Monday 19 March Easter: Friday 6 April - Friday 13 April (inclusive) May Day: Monday 7 May July Holidays: Thursday 12 and Friday 13 July 42

SUPPORT FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS It is important that you maintain contact with your tutors and immediately inform them of any difficulties or problems you are having with your work. Although we are a large School, we do the best we can to support our students who are having genuine difficulties. Student Support Staff in the School If you feel that you would rather talk to someone else in the School other than your tutor or the convenor of your MA pathway, you are invited to contact either Dr Moyra Haslett or Dr Ramona Wray, Co- Directors of Postgraduate Education. Academic Problems and Issues There are some academic problems and issues that can only be dealt with by consulting particular members of staff. We list here a number of staff and the procedures you should follow in each case. As always, however, if you have any doubts about who you should see or what you should do in certain circumstances, you should consider asking a member of the academic staff or the Postgraduate secretary, all of whose advice will usually be worth following. Have you medical or other problems that are affecting your academic progress? These can be discussed confidentially with the Director of Postgraduate Education or with the Head of School. If you have medical or other certification to explain absences from the University, you should ensure that you deliver this to the School Office, Ground Floor, 2 University Square. You may well want to explain to your tutors that such certification exists. Don't hesitate to tell them, if you have been ill. Are you unhappy with the way the School has dealt with your academic problems? We hope that we always deal fairly with our students. If you are not satisfied with the way we have dealt with your academic problem or complaint, you may want to discuss the matter further with the Director of Postgraduate Education. As a last resort, if you wish to proceed with a formal complaint against the School, you should do so either by writing to the Dean of the Faculty or making an appointment to see the Dean through the Faculty Office. 43

Further Support for students at Queen s Introduction The School works closely with both the Student Guidance Centre and the Students Union to provide a full set of support services during your time at Queen s: The University takes the view that all aspects of student life offer opportunities for learning and development. This is reflected in the range of services to both support you and help you develop your skills as you study. University Support The University takes the view that all aspects of student life offer opportunities for learning and development. This is reflected in the range of services we offer both to support you and to help you develop your skills as you study. Specialist support services are offered through both the University s Student Guidance Centre and the Students Union. The Student Guidance Centre and the Students Union work closely together to provide comprehensive services. The Students Union is located on University Road, opposite the Lanyon Building. The Student Guidance Centre is also on University Road, above the Ulster Bank, Post Office and the University Bookshop. 44

What follows is a brief summary of support that is available and how to access them. If you are not sure which service is most appropriate, call the Student Guidance Centre on 028 9097 2727 and one of the Information Assistants will point you in the right direction. Accommodation The University has a range of accommodations for students, based mainly at the Elms Village which is a 15 minute walk from the main campus. If you would like to be considered for a place in University accommodation or need assistance in searching for private accommodation, or if you are a resident and have any queries, please contact: Accommodation Office Elms Village 78 Malone Road, BT9 5BW Tel: 028 9097 4403 Email: accommodation@qub.ac.uk http://www.stayatqueens.com If you are living in the private sector and need advice on tenancy issues or any other matter related to your accommodation contact, please contact: Brian Slevin Education & Welfare Adviser Student Advice Centre 2 nd Floor, Students Union University Road Tel: 028 9097 1135 / 028 9097 3106 b.slevin@qub.ac.uk Careers and Employability The School s Career Liaison Officer is Sinead Morrissey (semester 1); Carmel Beaney (semester 2). The Careers Service has a range of facilities including a drop- in service, appointments, workshops, careers fairs and other events to help students map their career path. It is never too early to visit the Careers Service and talk about how you can use your time at Queen s to enhance you employability: Student Guidance Centre University Terrace Belfast BT7 1NN Tel: 028 9097 2727 Email: careers@qub.ac.uk www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/ Chaplaincy The University Chaplaincy is available to support students regardless of their own personal convictions. The Chaplaincy website is the best source of information: www.qub.ac.uk/chaps The four main chaplaincy centres and points of contact are: 45

Roman Catholic 28 Elmwood Avenue Rev Fr Gary Toman Presbyterian 12 Elmwood Avenue Rev Karen Mbayo Church of Ireland 22 Elmwood Avenue Rev Barry Forde Methodist 24 Elmwood Avenue Rev John Alderdice Counselling Whilst we hope your time at Queen s is trouble- free, there may be times when you find things difficult for a range of reasons. If that is the case then please speak to the Counselling Service. Staff are friendly, approachable and experienced in dealing with issues that University students have to cope with. Don t leave things until the problem escalates; speak to them at the earliest opportunity. Counselling is free and confidential to any student of the University: Student Guidance Centre University Terrace Belfast BT7 1NN Tel: 028 9097 2727 Email: counsellor@qub.ac.uk http://www.qub.ac.uk/counselling Disability The School s Disability Officer is Carmel Beaney (semester 1); Caroline Sumpter (semester 2). The Disability Service assists students with disabilities in arranging study- related support. This includes specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. If you have a disability or have become disabled since studying at Queen s staff are happy to help you get the support that you need: Linda Maguire, Disability Co- ordinator Student Guidance Centre University Terrace Belfast BT7 1NN Tel: 028 9097 2727 Email: disability.office@qub.ac.uk http://www.qub.ac.uk/disability Finance The Student Income and Finance Office deals with all the administration in relation to fee payments for your course. If you have any concerns about your fee assessment speak to staff in the office, who have experience in advising students on these matters. They also administrate a range of bursaries and hardship funds to help students in financial difficulty, and which do not need to be repaid: Student Guidance Centre University Terrace Belfast BT7 1NN Tel: 028 9097 2727 Email: IncomeOffice@qub.ac.uk www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/finance 46

The Students Union Advice Centre also has two members of staff who provide advice and guidance on personal finance, debt management, income maximisation and applying for bursaries. They are usually free to see students from 9.30am 4.30pm, Monday Thursday and 9.00am 3pm on Friday: Connie Craig Financial Adviser: advises on grants, loans, fees, Support/Hardship Funds, the financial aspects of repeating years and course changes, Social Security Benefits and other financial issues. Student Advice Centre 2 nd Floor, Students Union University Road Tel: 028 9027 1049 Email: connie.craig@qub.ac.uk Debbie Forsey Money Management Adviser: advises on debt, including overdrafts, credit cards, loan agreements, arrears of rents, negotiating with creditors. Also offers guidance on budgeting and money management and students do not need to be in a crisis situation in order to seek advice. Student Advice Centre 2 nd Floor, Students Union University Road Tel: 028 9097 1166 Email: d.forsey@qub.ac.uk Health Centre The University Health Centre at Queen s is a General Practice that provides both general National Health services and University- funded, non- NHS services for students at Queen s. We strongly recommend that you register with the Centre even if you come from Northern Ireland. This is so that they can provide you with care should you become unwell at University. International Students in the UK for 6 months or more on a student visa are entitled to free NHS care and can also register with the practice: University Health Centre 5 Lennoxvale Belfast BT9 5BY 028 9097 5551 reception.157@uhcq.gp.n- i.nhs.uk www.universityhealthcentreatqueens.co.uk Queen s Sport (Physical Education Centre) The PEC is a unique facility for students at Queen s. Its recently renovated facilities offer a state- of- the- art gym, a range of indoor facilities for team sports, a climbing wall, exercise studios, a comprehensive class timetable, an outdoor training area and much more. The PEC is located in Botanic Park, a five- minute walk from the main Queen s campus. All fully enrolled Queen s students are automatic members of the PEC and are entitled to subsidised, All Inclusive memberships. Some 47

students may also qualify for a bursary for heavily subsidised membership please contact the Income and Finance Office: Physical Education Centre Botanic Park, Belfast BT9 5EX Tel: 028 9068 1126 Email: sport@qub.ac.uk www.queenssport.com Student Guidance Centre The Student Guidance Centre is a co- location of a number of support services for students, including Student Administration (Exams, Records and Graduation), Admissions and Access Services, the Widening Participation Unit, Disability Services, Counselling Services and Student Affairs. The Centre has a reception desk with trained Information Assistants who will be your first point of contact and will happily help you or refer you to someone who can help with your query: Student Guidance Centre University Terrace Belfast BT7 1NN Tel: 028 9097 2727 sgc@qub.ac.uk www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/ Students Union The Students Union offers a range of membership services including entertainment venues, food and other retail outlets, non- alcoholic study space in the SPACE, a student enterprise centre, a Welfare Advice Service, clubs and societies, student volunteering, campaigns and representative work and much more. There is something for every student in the Students Union. The Sabbatical Officers, elected from the student body for a year to run the Union, as well as the full- time members of staff, work with the student body to ensure the improvement of facilities and support services for students of Queen s: http://www.qubsu.org/ International Students (non- EU) The School s International Students Officer is Dr Andrea Mayr. All the services listed in this Handbook are equally applicable to international students, and staff are happy to support you during your time at Queen s. In addition, the International Students Support Office (ISSO) has staff specifically trained to provide advice, support and guidance for international students. The staff in the ISSO are the only staff in the University who are permitted to provide advice or guidance on immigration/visa matters. The ISSO is located in the International and Postgraduate Student Centre (IPSC). We offer a wide range of services including confidential advice on immigration, problems affecting your studies or personal concerns. We provide information on matters relating to arriving in the UK, opening a bank account, police registration, healthcare and 48

doctors, safety and security, working in the UK, driving in the UK, activities in the University, local activities and events, travel, British culture, local shops and services, facilities for families. More general support is provided to help with settling in the UK, life in Belfast, academic life and study methods, homesickness and culture shock and schools and childcare. It is very important that international students meet the conditions of their visa while they live in the UK. This means that if you have a job you must not work more hours than you are permitted. If you want to work (paid or unpaid) you should make an appointment with the ISSO to discuss what you are allowed to do in the UK. The UK has introduced new immigration rules called the Points Based System. This affects both you and the University. The University has a number of obligations to meet for the UK Border Agency, which include (but are not restricted to) keeping copies of your immigration documents, monitoring your arrival/enrolment and you attendance. The International Student Handbook contains a list of the recording and reporting obligations which must be carried out by the University. If you have any questions about these please contact the ISSO. You can contact the ISSO at internationalstudentsupport@qub.ac.uk with any questions, enquiries or to make an appointment. Alternatively you can drop into the IPSC where we will be delighted to meet you and help with any problems you may be having. When you attend an appointment at the ISSO you should always bring your passport with you. International Student Support Office International and Postgraduate Centre Ground Floor T: +44 (0)28 9097 3899 E: internationalstudentsupport@qub.ac.uk Paid Employment and Part- time Work A high percentage of students work part- time whilst completing their degree. There are a number of good reasons for doing this as part- time work can help you: Develop valuable employability skills that will impress future employers Gain experience and a greater understanding of the workplace Access and develop networking opportunities Help financially during your studies Register with the Student Jobshop to access a range of opportunities and fairly paid part- time jobs at http://www.qub.ac.uk/careers > Vacancies. Please note: the University strongly recommends that students do not exceed 15 hours part- time work per week as there is strong evidence to show that significant levels of part- time work can affect degree outcomes. Paid Employment and Part- time Work for International Students International Students may have prohibitions or restrictions on working in the UK. It is very important that you confirm you have a legal right to work and if you do have the right to work, that you don t exceed the permitted hours. If you want to work, you must bring your visa to the 49

International Student Support Office where your visa will be checked to confirm whether or not you can work and if you can, how many hours you are allowed to work. T: +44 (0)28 9097 3899 E: internationalstudentsupport@qub.ac.uk http://www.qub.ac.uk/isso 50