English and Management

English and management is a combination that brings together two disciplines which, at first glance, seem to inhabit very different intellectual worlds, but which share a deep commitment to understanding how people communicate, make sense of situations, and exercise influence. English develops your ability to read texts closely across a range of genres and historical eras, to consider the ideas and values that have shaped literature, and to write and argue with clarity and precision. Management provides the analytical and strategic frameworks for understanding how organisations work, how decisions are made, and how people are led.

Together, they produce a graduate with both humanistic depth and practical organisational intelligence.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year MA (Hons) programme gives you the opportunity to develop serious expertise in both disciplines. In English, you will engage with the full breadth of literary study, developing close reading skills and critical judgement across texts from different periods, traditions, and forms. In management, you will build your knowledge of strategy, organisational behaviour, marketing, finance, and the broader economic and social context in which organisations operate.

A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to pursue both strands of the degree at an international partner institution and add international experience to your academic record.

Graduates from English and management programmes are well placed for careers in business, management consultancy, the media, publishing, public relations, marketing, arts administration, and the cultural sector. The combination of communication skills and organisational understanding is valuable wherever organisations need people who can think clearly, write well, and understand both human behaviour and commercial realities. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in management, English, or an MBA, deepening their expertise in one direction or building on the combination that makes this degree distinctive.