Program Overview

MA Publishing

Overview

The MA Publishing programme at the University of Exeter is designed to equip students with the critical contexts and practical skills required to engage with global publishing models across print and digital environments. The programme aims to develop analytical and creative tools for innovation within and beyond existing publishing structures, with a focus on professional practice and the cultural management aspects of Creative Industries and Humanities.

Entry Requirements

• 2:2 Honours degree or above, or an international equivalent, from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate a passion for developing a career in the publishing industry.
• Applications are encouraged from industry professionals or those with relevant experience in publishing, bookselling, or the literary and cultural industries, seeking to enhance skills or knowledge in this field.
• Personal statement explaining interest in the programme and how it fits with earlier studies (not mandatory).

Course Content

• The programme is divided into units of study called modules, which are assigned 'credits'. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with 1 credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work.
• Stage 1: 120 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of optional modules.

Compulsory Modules

• EASM175: Dissertation (Research-Based or Practical Publishing Project) (60 credits)
• EASM176: Editorial Processes and Practices: Creating Products (30 credits)
• EASM205: The Contemporary Publishing Industry (30 credits)

Optional Modules

• DRAM143: Cultures of Creativity (30 credits)
• EASM151: Modernism and Material Culture (30 credits)
• EASM167: World Cinema / World Literature (30 credits)
• EASM171: Expanding Queerness: Critical Debates in Theory, Literature, Film and Television (30 credits)
• EASM178: Publishing Work Placement (30 credits)
• EASM200: Writing Interactively (30 credits)
• EASM193: Publishing and Production (30 credits)
• EASM179: Translation and Publishing: New Approaches to Literary Activism (30 credits)

Fees

• 2025/26 entry:
  • UK fees per year: £12,500 full-time; £6,250 part-time
  • International fees per year: £25,300 full-time; £12,650 part-time

Scholarships

• The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year.
• Exeter Excellence Scholarships
• University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship (20% of the first year tuition fee for students enrolling on a postgraduate taught or research programme in 2025/26)

Teaching and Research

• Drawing on the teaching expertise of industry professionals and researchers, as well as providing the opportunity to undertake a work placement module and pursue either a practical publishing project or research-based dissertation.
• Established by the University of Exeter’s Department of English and Film, currently fourth in the UK for research power.
• Research expertise and Special Collections in publishing practices and histories across the Victorian, Modernist and contemporary periods.

Facilities

• Alexander Building: custom-designed for Drama and was opened in 2007 to great acclaim.
• White House: a mansion building containing many original architectural features, and now contains 3 large airy rehearsal spaces and staff offices.
• Roborough: provides three large fully-equipped adaptable studio spaces along with a seminar room and technical facilities.

Careers

• Exeter has a strong track record in supporting its graduates into work.
• The programme prepares graduates to build careers with major publishing houses and small presses.
• Graduates will be equipped to take on roles in the industry from editorial to marketing to sales to production, and to work across print and digital, literary and popular, trade and academic, book and journal, fiction and non-fiction, children and adult publishing.
• The programme explores entrepreneurial skills in the context of the publishing industry and therefore equips graduates with the skills to set up their own publishing companies or literary initiatives or to take on publishing roles within charities, government bodies or other cultural organisations.