MA Computing Science/English Literature

About this course

Computing science and English literature is an unusual combination, but one that reflects a growing recognition that the most important problems of the digital age require people who can think both analytically and humanistically. Computing science develops your ability to design and reason about complex systems, algorithms and software; English literature develops your ability to read with depth, write with precision and understand how language, narrative and culture shape human experience. Together, they produce graduates who are equally at home in technical and humanistic contexts, a combination that is increasingly valued in technology companies, digital humanities research, content and communications roles and any organisation navigating the cultural dimensions of technological change. At the University of Glasgow, this part-time programme includes a year abroad, and Glasgow's computing science department covers a genuinely broad range of subfields from AI and big data to human-computer interaction. In the computing science strand, you will study programming, algorithms, software engineering, databases, computer networks and the theory of computing, developing the technical skills and systematic thinking that the discipline demands. The English literature component spans the full range of the subject from early modern to contemporary writing, developing your skills in close reading, literary analysis and critical argument. The year abroad broadens both disciplines with an international perspective. The part-time mode allows you to fit your studies around other commitments. Graduates from this combination pursue careers in software development, technical writing, content strategy, digital humanities, UX research, technology journalism, education and academic research. The ability to bridge technical and humanistic thinking is valued wherever digital tools and human communication interact, which in the contemporary world means almost everywhere. Many graduates proceed to postgraduate study in computing, digital humanities or literature, drawing on whichever strand of the degree they find most compelling.

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