Masters Degrees (Postcolonial Studies)

The MA Postcolonial Studies Programme offers a focus on the historical relationships of power, domination and practices of imperialism and colonialism in the modern period (late nineteenth-century to the present) through the study of literature and culture.

The core module will introduce a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the literature, film and media of these areas. A range of literary, filmic and theoretical texts from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Near and Middle East will normally be included in the reading list. These will address representations of colonialism and decolonisation, neo-colonialism, nationalism in postcolonial societies and diasporic experiences, allowing us to explore the heterogeneous meanings, intersections and strategies of analysis that have emerged with reference to postcolonial studies.

Attention will be paid to colonial and postcolonial constructs such as: the Oriental, the Global, the Cosmopolitan, the Third World and the multicultural. The core module of the programme introduces and analyses interdisciplinary theories and ideological practices around a set of historical and current issues from various regions of Asia and Africa. The range of minors offers students more opportunities to explore interdisciplinarity and regional specificities.

Why this programme is special at SOAS

Postcolonial MA Programmes offered in London and other UK institutions are located within the field of English Studies or the Social Sciences. The Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS) is uniquely positioned to offer an inter-disciplinary Postcolonial Studies MA programme which gives students an opportunity to understand and negotiate the field of postcolonial studies with recourse to interdisciplinarity and to theoretical explications from the regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. SOAS offers a unique range of regional expertise available amongst the CCLPS’s faculty membership. The Programme also offers a timely intervention at a time when there is a national and international crisis in the understanding of multiculturalism, race relations and religious and national affiliations.

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/degrees/mapostcolstud/

Programme Specification

MA Postcolonial Studies Programme Specifications 2012-13 (pdf; 39kb) - http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/degrees/mapostcolstud/file68679.pdf

Employment

MA Post Colonial Studies graduates gain competency in intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the subject wiill be developed through the study of literature, film and media of these areas. Graduates leave SOAS with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector. These include:written and oral communication skills; attention to detail; analytical and problem-solving skills; and the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website (http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/graduate-destinations/).

Faculty of Languages and Cultures

Six of the academic departments are devoted to teaching and research in the languages, literatures and cultures of Africa, China and Inner Asia, Japan and Korea, the Near and Middle East, South Asia, and South East Asia, with the seventh teaching and conducting research in Linguistics. The Language Centre caters to the needs of non-degree students and governmental and non-governmental organisations. It maintains a huge portfolio of courses, including year-long diploma programmes, weekly evening classes in about 40 different African and Asian languages, and tailored intensive one-to-one courses. The Language Centre also offers courses in French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Their teaching is in three main areas:
- language competence acquisition;
- textual and cultural studies - both comparative and language-specific, and covering not only 'literature' in a strict sense but also visual media, performance, folklore, translation etc.;
- language studies with linguistics at its core - including the prestigious Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project.

The Faculty is also home to the Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS) (http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/).

While SOAS as a whole represents the most substantial concentration in the Western world of expertise dedicated to African, Middle Eastern and Asian studies, the Faculty of Languages and Cultures is heavily committed to teaching and research grounded in a knowledge of the principal languages and cultures of two thirds of humankind.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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The aim of the programme is to offer grounding in the theories on Cultural Studies which draws on Marxism, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Post-Marxism, Feminism, and Post-Modernism and their use, application and adaption in the cross-cultural contexts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It provides an examination of the main historical concepts in Western culture such as ideology, power, class, identity, race, nation, subjectivity, representation, and memory and how these are challenged by scholars working in non-Western cultures of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The aim is to explore the different and plural cultural histories and memories of these contexts to which Cultural Studies must adapt.

Theoretical paradigms covered will reflect on issues of class, ‘race’, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, representation and religion. The course will investigate central questions of epistemology and methodology in relation to the application of Cultural Studies theories in non-Western contexts. The programme is theory and practice based and therefore, it draws on case studies from a diversity of cultural practices, genres and contexts to elucidate complex theoretical concepts and challenge their limitations and/or validity in the context of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The programme aims to equip students with sufficient knowledge to understand and evaluate the way in which Cultural Studies theories and methods are used in cross-cultural contexts and hence develop analytic skills for undertaking their own research projects.

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/degrees/macultstud/

Structure

The Programme will consist of modules valued at 3 units and a dissertation of 10,000 words.

Full-time students will be allowed to enrol for four units during term one (part-time students two or three), if one of the units is a language acquisition unit. At the end of term one they will have to withdraw from one unit, leaving units to the value of three (pro rata for part-time students) and a dissertation.

MA Cultural Studies Programme Specification 2012/2013 (pdf; 40kb) - http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/degrees/macultstud/file53952.pdf

Employment

A postgraduate degree in Cultural Studies from SOAS provides its students with expertise in non-European cultures, in-depth regional knowledge, and strong research and critical analysis skills. As well as subject expertise, Postgraduate students are equipped with the transferable skills needed to continue in research as well as the skills needed to enable them to find professional careers in the private and public sectors. These include familiarity with methods of research; the ability to absorb and analyse large quantities of information; organisational skills. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website (http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/graduate-destinations/).

The Department

The SOAS Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS) exists to promote the disciplines of Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies in relation to Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Centre is housed in and administered by the Faculty of Languages and Cultures, but as a Centre dedicated to interdisciplinary study it is not subordinate to any single Department in the Faculty, either administratively or intellectually.

Many theorists and scholars in the different disciplines of Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies are stressing the need for a move toward the study of non-European literatures and non-European aesthetic and cultural practices. The range of expertise in non-European literatures and cultures offered at SOAS aims to respond and contribute to current critical and theoretical debates in these disciplines.

The mission of the CCLPS is therefore to promote research on non-European cultures and literatures in the disciplines of Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies, with the aim of having an impact on the debates and of eventually reinvigorating and pioneering certain dimensions of the disciplines. The SOAS CCLPS also aims to promote comparative critical thought and postgraduate research in critical methods derived from the study of non-European literatures and aesthetic and cultural practices, in addition to written literatures in European languages.

The SOAS CCLPS provides an administrative and intellectual home for the School’s MA Comparative Literature, MA in Cultural Studies and MA in Postcolonial Studies, as well as the MPhil/PhD programmes in these three disciplines. The Centre places its emphasis on the acquisition of critical theoretical skills and in-depth regional knowledge across disciplines. Members of the Centre and current research students work on an exceptionally wide range of topics, both theoretical and critical. Supervision for research students can be provided across this wide range. MPhil/PhD students may register for a degree in Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies or Postcolonial Studies while being supervised by an associate member based in a SOAS department.

The Centre organises a training programme in the three disciplines for research students, in coordination with the faculty wide Research Training Seminar, which is supported by regular Centre seminars. The Centre also liaises with other discipline-based centres and departments over the following MA degree programmes offered faculty wide: MA African Literature, MA Chinese Literature, MA Japanese Literature, MA Korean Literature, MA Arabic Literature, MA Gender Studies, MA Theory and Practice of Translation.

Membership of the SOAS Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies is open to all academic staff and students at SOAS as well as to individuals based in other higher education institutions in the UK with an academic interest in the disciplines of Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies. Membership will operate on an annually renewable basis. Members will be listed under the following headings: Steering Committee, SOAS Staff (listed by discipline), SOAS Postgraduates (listed by discipline), International Advisory Board (to be invited by Chair through Steering Committee), Visiting Scholars and Affiliated Scholars. An up-to-date list of current members will be maintained by the Centre and will be subject to the Data Protection Act.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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If you have an undergraduate degree in in French and Spanish languages, literature, culture or film disciplines the programme analysis social cultural, linguistic and political consequences of colonialism, migration, globalisation and transnationalism.

COURSES
First Semester
Compulsory
Migration and Postcolonial Theory in Context
Optional
Crosscurrents in Irish and Scottish Literature
MLitt Special Study in Language and Literature

Second Semester
Locations and Practices of the Postcolonial
Optional
Locations and Dislocations in the Role of Place in Literature
Diaspora and Migration in Contemporary Visual Culture
MLitt Special Study in Language and Literature

Third Semester
Dissertation: MLitt in Migration and Postcolonial Studies

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This is an innovative and interdisciplinary MA programme, combining taught modules and a dissertation, which allows you to share your year between Canterbury and Paris.

This programme develops your understanding of the politics of culture in relation to both the imperialist world’s interpretation of the colonial, and postcolonial assertions of autonomy. In this context, while ‘postcolonial’ refers primarily to societies of the so-called ‘Third World’, it also includes questions relevant to cultures such as those of Ireland and Australia.

This programme allows you to spend your first term at our Canterbury campus with full access to its excellent academic and recreational facilities, before relocating to our Paris centre for the spring term, studying in the heart of historic Montparnasse.

In Paris, you participate in the Paris-focused modules, taught in English. Then, in the the final term, you complete your MA by writing a 12,000-word dissertation on a research topic defined in collaboration with your academic supervisors.

Course structure

During the autumn term your core module, Colonial and Postcolonial Discourses, provides an introduction to the analysis of colonial discourse and to the most significant strands of postcolonial theory. Topics covered also include the role that culture plays in anti-colonial struggles and the role of the postcolonial intellectual in the contemporary world. Recommended reading for the module includes works by Frantz Fanon, Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak.

During the Spring term, spent in Paris, you develop your studies to include the cultural production of exiles, with particular focus on the role of Paris as a place of refuge and as a focus for multi-cultural encounters and creativity. Works studied may include texts by North American, Latin American and North African writers living in Paris, with focus on their diverse representations of the city and how the experiences of diaspora and exile inform and shape their writing.

You then complete your one-year MA by writing a dissertation on an aspect of postcolonial studies that you will defined in consultation with an appropriate tutor. All texts and teaching materials are in English, so this programme offers you a rare opportunity to spend part of your MA year living and studying in Paris without necessarily knowing any French.

Modules

You take two compulsory Postcolonial modules and two further optional modules (four in total) during the autumn and spring terms. You are also expected to attend the Faculty and School Research Methods Programmes. You then write the dissertation or editorial project between the start of the Summer Term and the end of August.

In 2015/16 the following core specialist modules are available: EN852 – Colonial and Postcolonial Discourses (Canterbury) and CP807 – Diaspora and Exile (Paris). These should be considered indicative of the types of modules available, which may vary from year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

EN852 - Colonial and Postcolonial Discourses (30 credits)
FR866 - Literature and Theory (30 credits)
FR820 - Paris: Reality and Representation (30 credits)
CP807 - Diaspora and Exile (30 credits)

Assessment

Assessment is by a 5-6,000-word essay for each module and a 12,000 word dissertation.

This programme is also available at Canterbury only or full-time at Paris.
https://www.kent.ac.uk/english/postgraduate/index.html?tab=taught-masters

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This is an innovative and interdisciplinary MA programme, combining taught modules and a dissertation. Following a similar path to our Postcolonial Studies MA, the Paris option allows you to spend your first term at our Canterbury campus with full access to its excellent academic and recreational facilities,before relocating to our Paris centre for the spring term, studying in the heart of historic Montparnasse.

In Paris, you participate in the Paris-focused modules, taught in English. Then, in the the final term, you complete your MA by writing a 12-15,000-word dissertation on a research topic defined in collaboration with your academic supervisors.

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Today's world has been shaped largely by the colonial experience: states, borders, languages, cultures and the imprint which empires, European and non-European, have left over centuries.

Colonial and postcolonial studies engage with the cultural and political history and legacy of colonialism, highlighting a variety of power relations, cultural dynamics and historical processes which had been previously ignored or under-played.

This programme will take an original, interdisciplinary approach, where you will be studying material from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and beyond. Working with World Literature, film and historical sources, you will explore major currents in cultural production and identity politics. You will be introduced to a range of authors, and have the opportunity to study works and critical texts which originated in languages other than English. Works will be taught in English translation, with the possibility to read them in the original modern languages.

The programme includes the following core modules:

World Literatures and Film I
World Literatures and Film II
Before Postcolonialism: Europe and its Empires
Postcolonial Theory
Research Methods

You will also choose an optional module chosen from a range of relevant disciplines such as History, African studies, Development or literature related to colonialism and postcolonialism.

You will complete the course with a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic which you will choose, refine and analyse with the help of your supervisor (who will be allocated to you depending upon your own research interests)

About the School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music

The School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music brings together a number of internationally renowned departments to offer an extensive portfolio of innovative and interdisciplinary programmes in an exciting and creative environment, underpinned by a vibrant research culture.

We received outstanding results across the School in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise, with at least 75% of our research judged to be ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ across all subject areas.

The Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies is located in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which houses the Barber Institute gallery and an exceptional Fine Art Library. The Department of Music is based in the Bramall Music Building, with state-of-the-art facilities including the 450-seat Elgar Concert Hall, a suite dedicated to the study and performance of early music, five electroacoustic studios and a large rehearsal room. We also have one of the best music libraries in the country, with special collections including materials on 20th-century English music, Baroque music and an extensive microfilm collection.

In addition to housing one of the UK’s largest groups of internationally renowned researchers in the national cultures of Europe, the Department of Modern Languages also hosts a Language and Media Resource Centre which specifically supports language learning through the latest interactive learning technology. We have a vibrant, international postgraduate community and offer excellent study and research opportunities in a supportive working environment.

Funding and Scholarships

There are many ways to finance your postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham. To see what funding and scholarships are available, please visit: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding

Open Days

Explore postgraduate study at Birmingham at our on-campus open days.
Register to attend at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/visit

Virtual Open Days

If you can’t make it to one of our on-campus open days, our virtual open days run regularly throughout the year. For more information, please visit: http://www.pg.bham.ac.uk

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This MA develops your understanding of the politics of culture in relation to both the imperialist world's interpretation of the colonial, and postcolonial assertions of autonomy. In this context, while ‘postcolonial' refers primarily to societies of the so-called ‘Third World', it also includes questions relevant to cultures such as those of Ireland and Australia.

*This course will be taught at the Canterbury campus*

Visit the website: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/225/postcolonial-studies

Course detail

The University of Kent was one of the first universities to establish postcolonial literary studies and has continued to play a significant part in the development of the field.

This programme can also be studied in Canterbury and Paris. This option allows you to spend your first term at our Canterbury campus, before relocating to our Paris centre for the spring term to study in the heart of historic Montparnasse.

Course format and assessment

You take a compulsory module, at least one more specialist Postcolonial module and two other modules (four in total) during the autumn and spring terms. You are also expected to attend the Faculty and School Research Methods Programmes.

You then write the dissertation or editorial project between the start of the Summer Term and the end of August.

Assessment is by a 5-6,000-word essay for each module and a 12,000 word dissertation.

Careers

Many career paths can benefit from the writing and analytical skills that you develop as a postgraduate student in the School of English. Our students have gone on to work in academia, journalism, broadcasting and media, publishing, writing and teaching; as well as more general areas such as banking, marketing analysis and project management.

How to apply: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

Why study at The University of Kent?

- Shortlisted for University of the Year 2015
- Kent has been ranked fifth out of 120 UK universities in a mock Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) exercise modelled by Times Higher Education (THE).
- In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, Kent was ranked 17th* for research output and research intensity, in the Times Higher Education, outperforming 11 of the 24 Russell Group universities
- Over 96% of our postgraduate students who graduated in 2014 found a job or further study opportunity within six months.
Find out more: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/why/

Postgraduate scholarships and funding

We have a scholarship fund of over £9 million to support our taught and research students with their tuition fees and living costs. Find out more: https://www.kent.ac.uk/scholarships/postgraduate/

English language learning

If you need to improve your English before and during your postgraduate studies, Kent offers a range of modules and programmes in English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Find out more here: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/international/english.html

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Staff supervise research in the following areas: African literature in English and in translation, Caribbean literature, African-American and Native American literatures, Australian literature, New Zealand and South Pacific literature since 1800, Indian and South-East Asian literature in English and in translation, middle-eastern literature and mediterranean literature, postcolonial women writers, theory, and travel writing.

Visit the website https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/236/postcolonial-studies

About the School of English

The School of English has a strong international reputation and global perspective, apparent both in the background of its staff and in the diversity of our teaching and research interests.

Our expertise ranges from the medieval to the postmodern, including British, American and Irish literature, postcolonial writing, 18th-century studies, Shakespeare, early modern literature and culture, Victorian studies, modern poetry, critical theory and cultural history. The international standing of the School ensures that we have a lively, confident research culture, sustained by a vibrant, ambitious intellectual community. We also count a number of distinguished creative writers among our staff, and we actively explore crossovers between critical and creative writing in all our areas of teaching and research.

The Research Excellence Framework 2014 has produced very strong results for the School of English at Kent. With 74% of our work graded as world-leading or internationally excellent, the School is ranked 10th out of 89 English departments in terms of Research Intensity (Times Higher Education). The School also received an outstanding assessment of the quality of its research environment and public impact work.

Course structure

As a research student, you meet regularly with your supervisor, and have the opportunity to take part in informal reading groups and research seminars to which students, staff and visiting speakers contribute papers. You also benefit from a series of research skills seminars that run in the spring term, which gives you a chance to share the research expertise of staff and postdoctoral members of the department.

As a basis for advanced research, you must take the School and Faculty research methods programmes.

Study support

- Postgraduate resources

The Templeman Library is well stocked with excellent research resources, as are Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library. There are a number of special collections: the John Crow Collection of Elizabethan and other early printed texts; the Reading/Raynor Collection of theatre history (over 7,000 texts or manuscripts); ECCO (Eighteenth-Century Collections Online); the Melville manuscripts relating to popular culture in the 19th and early 20th centuries; the Pettingell Collection (over 7,500 items) of 19th-century drama; the Eliot Collection; children’s literature; and popular literature. A gift from Mrs Valerie Eliot has increased the Library’s already extensive holdings in modern poetry. The British Library in London is also within easy reach.

Besides the Templeman Library, School resources include photocopying, fax and telephone access, support for attending and organising conferences, and a dedicated postgraduate study space equipped with computer terminals and a printer.

- Conferences and seminars

Our research centres organise many international conferences, symposia and workshops. The School also plays a pivotal role in the Kent Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, of which all graduates are associate members. The Institute hosts interdisciplinary conferences, colloquia, and other events, and establishes international links for all Kent graduates through its network with other advanced institutes worldwide.

School of English postgraduate students are encouraged to organise and participate in a conference which takes place in the summer term. This provides students with the invaluable experience of presenting their work to their peers.

The School runs several series of seminars, lectures and readings throughout the academic year. Our weekly research seminars are organised collaboratively by staff and graduates in the School. Speakers range from our own postgraduate students, to members of staff, to distinguished lecturers who are at the forefront of contemporary research nationally and internationally.

The Centre for Creative Writing hosts a very popular and successful weekly reading series; guests have included poets Katherine Pierpoint, Tony Lopez, Christopher Reid and George Szirtes, and novelists Abdulrazak Gurnah, Ali Smith, Marina Warner and Will Self.

The University of Kent is now in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). Benefits from this affiliation include free membership for incoming students; embedded seminar opportunities at the ICA and a small number of internships for our students. The School of English also runs an interdisciplinary MA programme in the Contemporary which offers students an internship at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

- Dynamic publishing culture

Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. They also edit several periodicals including: Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities; The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: 600-1500; The Dickensian; Literature Compass; Oxford Literary Review; Theatre Notebook and Wasafiri.

- Researcher Development Programme

Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme (http://www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool/skills/programmes/tstindex.html) for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subjectspecific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.

Careers

Many career paths can benefit from the writing and analytical skills that you develop as a postgraduate student in the School of English. Our students have gone on to work in academia, journalism, broadcasting and media, publishing, writing and teaching; as well as more general areas such as banking, marketing analysis and project management.

Find out how to apply here - https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

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The Master’s programme in English Studies helps you develop your expertise in areas that are often separated in other programmes: English language and linguistics, literature in English, and the teaching of English. Upon graduation, you will have excellent command of the English language. By working in a stimulating environment with accomplished researchers and teachers, you will also develop other skills needed in your future career, such as skills in presentation, independent and group work, and project management.

An MA in English Studies prepares you for a variety of jobs, and our graduates have been successful in finding employment. If combined with mandatory pedagogical studies, the Master’s degree in English Studies qualifies you to be a language teacher. Alternatively, you can find employment in media or publishing, business, or international organisations where language skills are required. English is used globally as the language of science, culture, business and tourism, and experts in English are required in all of these fields.

The University of Helsinki will introduce annual tuition fees to foreign-language Master’s programmes starting on August 1, 2017 or later. The fee ranges from 13 000-18 000 euros. Citizens of non-EU/EEA countries, who do not have a permanent residence status in the area, are liable to these fees. You can check this FAQ at the Studyinfo website whether or not you are required to pay tuition fees: https://studyinfo.fi/wp2/en/higher-education/higher-education-institutions-will-introduce-tuition-fees-in-autumn-2017/am-i-required-to-pay-tuition-fees/

Programme Contents

Courses in English Studies focus on several topics relating to the English language, literatures in English, and teaching English. You can choose to combine courses from one or more lines according to your interests. In Linguistics courses you will focus on the structure and uses of English as well as on language variation and change, sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics. In the Literature courses you will study several areas of the various literatures in English from narrative, cognitive, postcolonial and ecocritical perspectives. Courses in Applied Linguistics are tailored especially for future language teachers.

As a student in English Studies, you will attend lectures but also work in collaboration with other students, partly in digital learning environments. To assess your learning progress, several methods are used, such as examinations, essays and learning diaries. In English Studies you will also practice your spoken and presentation skills.

During your Master’s studies, you can:
-Progress further in your linguistic or literary studies and choose the most interesting courses.
-Strengthen your understanding of theory in your chosen field.
-Strengthen your language skills, academic writing skills and presentation skills.
-Participate in research projects.
-Participate in the Master’s thesis seminar, during which you will write your thesis.
-Complete studies abroad as an exchange student (if you have not done so already).
-Complete practical training, by working as a trainee or a substitute teacher, for instance.

Selection of the Major

You can choose between two specialisations, Teacher Training and General. For the teacher’s specialisation, pedagogical studies are mandatory, and there is a separate selection process for these studies. If you choose the General specialisation, you can combine English Studies with other studies according to your interests.

Programme Structure

The scope of the Master’s degree is 120 credits (ECTS). The degree contains the following studies:
-Advanced studies in the discipline (60–120 credits) and
-If needed, you can take other courses to achieve the minimum credit requirement for the degree (a total of 120 credits).

With full-time studies you should be able to complete the Master’s degree in two years.

During your Master’s studies, you will focus mainly on your major subject, deepening your knowledge through coursework and writing your Master’s thesis. The advanced studies in your major subject include professional skills courses, which are typically completed as practical training.

Depending on your interests, you can also include minor subjects and other supporting studies.

To help you complete your studies systematically, you will prepare a personal study plan (PSP) at the beginning of your Master’s studies, with support especially from the programme staff and from the Faculty and University administrators.

Career Prospects

English Studies will prepare you for several careers in business and culture, as well as in public administration and education:
-With careful selection of supporting studies, you can find employment in government, the media, libraries and other cultural institutions, national and international organisations, or tourism.
-If you complete pedagogical studies for subject teachers, you will be qualified to teach English at comprehensive and upper secondary schools as well as in adult education.
-After successfully completing your Master’s degree, you can also apply to continue your studies as a postgraduate student and later build a career as a university researcher or teacher.

The University of Helsinki has the most comprehensive selection of disciplines in Finland, making it easier for you to plan your major and supporting studies to benefit your future career. Feel free to include the ones you find most interesting and useful in your degree.

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This multidisciplinary Master's programme explores debates on 'race' and racism, multiculture and postcoloniality. It explores connections between histories of empire and contemporary social formations and inequalities in the UK, and considers how local debates on 'race' and racism are shaped by the global geopolitics of the twenty-first century.

The programme explores debates on empire and the formation of modern Britain and contemporary transnational political communities, social identities and urban cultures. The MA aims to draw connections between interlocking colonial histories across the globe and our ordinary, local, everyday life here in contemporary Britain.

The programme focuses on subjects such as histories of colonisation, systems of slavery, the concept of 'race' and the invention of 'the West'; colonial cultures, class, nationalisms, 'respectability' and the invention of 'whiteness'; histories of criminalisation and imprisonment; human rights; 'the war on terror'; diaspora, place and belonging; psychoanalysis and 'race', 'hybridity', 'mixedness', 'whiteness', 'race' and 'beauty' and 'race', gender, sexuality and desire. It offers the opportunity to study a wide range of different subjects in this broad multidisciplinary area.

The MA is convened by academics who have interests in racialisation, postcoloniality, urban multiculture and psychoanalysis. You can also choose from a range of option modules convened by other academics in other departments across the College.

This innovative, interdisciplinary postgraduate programme will be of interest to those who want to develop careers in social research, education, law, journalism, youth and community work, urban planning, housing, politics, the arts and cultural industries, health and social care, and numerous other areas. It will also be of interest to those who wish to pursue an academic career in sociology, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, urban studies, psychosocial studies, or in the social sciences or humanities more generally and to those who simply wish to develop an advanced understanding of 'race' and racism, multiculture and postcoloniality.

Why study this course at Birkbeck?

The programme introduces you to different historical and political debates and theoretical perspectives in the broad multidisciplinary area of 'race' and racism, multiculture and postcoloniality.
You will participate in a vibrant, stimulating and diverse intellectual environment. There is a Race Forum and several other research institutes at Birkbeck that focus on relevant subject areas.
The programme is flexibly designed for students from all backgrounds to pursue their own particular research and professional interests.
The MA draws from sociology, cultural studies, history, urban studies, literary studies, psychosocial studies, philosophy and politics.
The Department of Psychosocial Studies has a formal link with the University of São Paulo, Brazil. This link enables students on this programme to undertake an optional module at the University of São Paulo as part of their programme of study at Birkbeck.
You will join a flourishing and diverse postgraduate student community and a growing research culture. Birkbeck Library has an extensive teaching collection of books, journals and learning resources in sociology, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, psychosocial studies and related disciplines. You will also be able to use the rich research resources nearby including Senate House Library, the British Library of Political and Economic Science (the LSE Library), the SOAS Library and the British Library.
There are also research institutes which focus on relevant subject areas such as the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Birkbeck Law School Centre for Law and the Humanities and the Centre for Media, Culture and Creative Practice and reading groups such as the Postcolonial Studies Reading Group.

Our research

Birkbeck is one of the world’s leading research-intensive institutions. Our cutting-edge scholarship informs public policy, achieves scientific advances, supports the economy, promotes culture and the arts, and makes a positive difference to society.

Birkbeck’s research excellence was confirmed in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, which placed Birkbeck 30th in the UK for research, with 73% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Sociology at Birkbeck was ranked 13th in the UK.

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Overview

Discover the richness and diversity of new writings in English with this distinctive degree, which focuses on literature from across the Commonwealth and the theoretical issues that emerge from colonial and postcolonial literatures.

You’ll develop your understanding of research in literary studies through a core module, but then choose from optional modules which look at the histories, contexts, structures and language that give postcolonial and colonial texts their uniqueness.

We focus on literature, but the programme also introduces you to other forms of cultural production such as music and cinema – and you’ll think about the relationships between literary studies and disciplines such as geography, anthropology and history. Supported by our Institute for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, you’ll gain a cross-disciplinary insight into how writers from around the world have engaged with issues such as identity, place, independence, development and race among many others.

The University of Leeds was the first UK university to establish ‘Commonwealth Literature’ as an academic discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We’re still leading the way in research and teaching, supported by the expertise of staff within and outside of the cross-disciplinary Institute for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies.

You’ll study in a supportive environment with access to extensive resources for your research and placing literature and culture in their historical and political context. Microfilm collections of American, Indian and South African newspapers, parliamentary papers relating to the British Empire, US government and presidential files, the Church Missionary Society Archives, the Black Power Movement archive and British documents on the end of empire, foreign affairs and policy overseas are just some of the resources at your fingertips. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to explore your interests and gain key skills.

The degree is also available to study part-time over 24 months. The part-time MA may be of special interest to those who are working in related fields as part of their career development.

Course Content

You’ll take one core module in your first semester, introducing you to the challenges, methods and approaches used in researching literature and allowing you to develop your skills. You’ll also choose one of our optional modules, before studying another two in your second semester.

You can choose all of your modules from within postcolonial literary and cultural studies, but you also have the option to expand your studies by choosing one from those available across the School of English, from the early medieval period to contemporary literature.

By the end of the programme, you’ll demonstrate the skills and knowledge you’ve developed when you submit your dissertation or research project on a postcolonial literary or cultural topic of your choice.

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Psychosocial Studies is a leading department in this interdisciplinary field that brings together social, cultural and psychosocial researchers. The department has developed a distinctive approach to research and teaching that draws on a range of critical frameworks including psychoanalytic theory, social theory, feminist and queer theory, cultural and postcolonial studies, and qualitative psychosocial methodologies. In our research we aim to connect discussions of our precarious and increasingly interconnected collective fates with our most intimate personal and psychic life.

This research degree offers an exciting research environment in which to pursue psychosocial research, as well as supervisory expertise across a number of disciplines, including psychoanalytic theory, social theory, philosophy, social anthropology, literature, postcolonial studies, gender and sexuality studies, and media and cultural studies. Our programme aims to provide an excellent forum for students to carry out theoretical or applied research in the broad area of psychosocial studies, focusing particularly on innovative interdisciplinary work. We actively promote interactive graduate life, with multiple resources for fostering a rich postgraduate community at Birkbeck.

Recent research topics include:

Real fathers and Huffy Henrys: searching for the symbol in Lacan and Berryman
Mothering and the emergence of hate
Helping adolescents: a discursive analysis of young adults' talk of prosocial behaviour
Intimate autonomy: gender as ethical possibility
Being good at maths: a precarious occupation
Living with ADHD diagnosis: a disordering of family life
How are the existing biological relationships with families affected by fostering?
Turkish migrant experiences
The role of national identification in mental structure.

Why study this course at Birkbeck?

The Department of Psychosocial Studies has an active and vigorous research culture. This includes regular workshops, many visiting speakers, and numerous collaborative projects both within London, and at national and international levels.
The MPhil/PhD programme provides an excellent forum for you to develop and enhance your specialist, as well as more general transferable, research skills. The programme allows you to gain insight into different research methods and acquire valuable experience both in carrying out large-scale research projects and teaching.
The Department of Psychosocial Studies has a formal link with the University of São Paulo, Brazil. This link enables you to undertake an optional module at the university as part of your programme of study at Birkbeck.

Our research

Birkbeck is one of the world’s leading research-intensive institutions. Our cutting-edge scholarship informs public policy, achieves scientific advances, supports the economy, promotes culture and the arts, and makes a positive difference to society.

Birkbeck’s research excellence was confirmed in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, which placed Birkbeck 30th in the UK for research, with 73% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Sociology at Birkbeck was ranked 13th in the UK.

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This course offers a flexible, challenging Master’s programme, delivered by a team of tutors with internationally recognised academic expertise in specialist areas.

There are three routes: you can choose a specialised pathway in Contemporary Literature, Film & Theory or The Gothic, and a general English Studies route where students can build their own bespoke programme, choosing units from either pathways to create a Master's level experience reflecting your own interests in the further study of English.

Features and benefits of the course

Taught in small groups, you will benefit from the expertise of research active staff, rapidly developing your specialist subject knowledge and acquiring professional levels of research skills and conference presentation skills.

Research in the department has been rated highly in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise with some rated as world leading.

You will benefit from regular seminars by visiting speakers as well as a thriving conference schedule.

A personal tutoring system is in place, ensuring that all students have a tutor with whom they can discuss any aspect of their academic developments.

The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies was launched in 2013 to capitalise on the expertise of a high number of internationally renowned Gothic scholars housed in the Department of English. Founding Centre Head, Linnie Blake along with Xavier Aldana Reyes and Sorcha Ni Fhlainn form the Centre’s core members.

About the Course

There are three routes: you can choose a specialised pathway (MA English Studies: Contemporary Literature, Film and Theory or MA English Studies: The Gothic) or a general route (MA English Studies), selecting from the range of units to construct a Master's level experience reflecting your interests in the further study of English.

MA English Studies: Contemporary Literature, Film and Theory focuses on contemporary cultural practices and critical theoretical interventions. This pathway reflects research strengths in contemporary literary and film studies, critical and cultural theory, memory and trauma studies, the critical medical humanities and queer, postcolonial and cultural disability studies.

MA English Studies: The Gothic begins with the pre-history of the Gothic mode in the seventeenth century, explores its eighteenth and nineteenth-century incarnations and concludes with contemporary manifestations of the mode. Students study plays and novels, films and television, framed by socio-cultural perspectives and critical and theoretical analyses.

MA English Studies (general pathway) allows students to freely select units from the full range on offer.

Assessment details

The programme is examined mainly through written work, with an essay of around 6000 words (or equivalent) in each unit usually forming the basis of that assessment. All MA students submit a Dissertation of around 15,000 words. Each year, we run an MA Day when you will present your dissertation proposals to the teaching team and the rest of the group.

MA English Studies students submit all their written coursework online, and the Programme makes extensive use of easily accessible online provision of teaching and learning support materials.

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Overview

A multidisciplinary perspective on the most relevant local and global issues regarding solidarity, including citizenship, poverty, sustainability, migration, welfare reform, social movements and private initiatives.
Solidarity is one of today’s main challenges. Highly volatile flows of people, goods and ideas, as well as the restructuring of markets and governing institutions have led to a high degree of globalization. Global links crisscross national borders and challenge established conceptions and structures. In addition, neoliberal reforms of state and society across the globe rewrite social contracts between people and states. How is solidarity imagined and practiced in this contemporary context?
The Master’s programme in Anthropology and Development Studies – with the theme of Shifting Solidarities – is at the cutting-edge of both social and cultural anthropology and development studies. The issue of solidarity in a neoliberal, postcolonial world encompasses a wide array of anthropological and development questions. By developing your own research questions, you'll be encouraged to delve deeper into the most relevant local and global challenges of solidarity.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ads

Why study Anthropology and Development Studies at Radboud University?

- This programme is at the cutting edge of both social and cultural anthropology and development studies. Joint classes with students from anthropology and development studies will give you a great opportunity to see all the global challenges from the other discipline as well as your own.
- Using a multidisciplinary perspective this programme also draws on knowledge from other disciplines including sociology, political sciences, economics and geography.
- This programme will prepare you for a wide array of jobs. From policy officer in the public sector or at (international) aid organisations to consultant at an engineering or consultancy firm.
- You can choose to go abroad for the research for your Master's programme.
- The Master's programme is run by the chair of Anthropology and the chair of Development Studies, both of whom have a wide network of international contacts that extends from China to Chile and from South Africa to the Pacific . This means you’ll have plenty of opportunities for arranging internships internationally.
- Radboud University offers a unique one-year Advanced Master in International Development (AMID) that you could apply for after completing your Master's. During this postgraduate programme, you'll combine real-life work at an aid organisation or a government department with practice-based instruction at the university.

Quality label

This programme was recently rated number one in the Netherlands in the Keuzegids Masters 2015 (Guide to Master's programmes).

Current programme (2015-2016)

The programme (including courses, reading requirements and course schedule) for the current academic year 2015-2016 can be found in the online prospectus http://www.studiegids.science.ru.nl/2015/en/socsci/prospectus/caos2

Career prospects

Studying Anthropology and Development Studies constitutes excellent preparation for a wide range of jobs. You're not limited to the career-path of becoming an aid worker, but are also trained for research and policy-making jobs. Many of our students therefore find work in the public sector or at international organisations, as well as in in education. After studying Anthropology and Development Studies at Radboud University, you'll have a broad array of options in the job market.

- Entering the labour market as an ADS graduate
As an Anthropology and Development Studies graduate from Radboud University, you'll have excellent prospects on today's job market. Former student, Margriet Tolsma, found work as a regional coordinator at Amnesty International. Anoeshka Gehring continued in the field of research and commenced her PhD in legal anthropology and migration in February 2011. Other graduates found work as:
- a policy maker or executive at cultural institutions;
- an advisor at aid and welfare organisations such as the UN, Oxfam NOVIB, Cordaid or the Dutch Council for Refugees;
- a researcher at a university or NGO, trade union, consultancy firm or private institution;
- a policy officer, advisor or researcher at the central government (diplomat training, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Justice Department) and local government (provincial and municipal level) or non-profit organisations;
- a social studies teacher in secondary or vocational education;
- a journalist.

- Want to boost your chances of landing a job? Take the postgraduate course!
After completing your Master's you will have the option of doing the Advanced Master in International Development (AMID). This one-year postgraduate programme is offered by the chair of Development Studies and is unique in the Netherlands. During this programme, you will combine real-life work at an aid organisation or a government department with practice-based instruction at the university. This programme will significantly boost your chances on the labour market.

Meet Radboud University

- Information for international students
Radboud University would love to meet you in your country (http://www.ru.nl/english/education/masters/behavioural-science/meet-radboud/information-for) in order to give all the information you need and to answer any questions you might have about studying in the Netherlands. In the next few months, an advisor of Radboud University will be attending fairs in various countries, always accompanied by a current or former student.
Furthermore, we understand if you would like to see the Radboud Campus and the city of Nijmegen, which is why we organise an Master's Open Day for international students (http://www.ru.nl/english/education/masters/behavioural-science/meet-radboud/open-day-0/open-day) which will take place on 5 March 2016.

- Information for Dutch students
Radboud University offers students in the Netherlands plenty of opportunities to get more information on your programme of choice, or get answers to any questions you might have. Apart from a Master's Evening and a Master's Day, we also organise Orientation Days and a Master’s Afternoon for HBO students.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ads

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Learning outcomes

This Second Cycle Degree Programme provides advanced knowledge of the languages, literatures and cultures of European, American and postcolonial countries, promoting cross-cultural perspectives within a solid background in humanities.

Languages available:

Albanian, Anglo-American, Czech, English, French, German, modern Greek, Polish, Portuguese and Brazilian, Romenian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish.

Curricula available

English and American Literary and Cultural Studies

The sub-curricula available are:

• Literary Studies
• Cultural Studies (Joint degree)
Literatures and Cultures
The sub-curricula available are:
• Anglo-American Studies
• English Studies
• French Studies
• German Studies
• Iberian Studies
• Slavic and Balkan Studies

Estudios Ibéricos e Iberoamericanos (Double degree)

Master européen en Etudes Françaises et Francophones (Double degree)

Occupational profiles

Second-cycle graduates, thanks to the skills acquired and their possession of critical knowledge giving them independent judgment in carrying out their activities, will be able to pursue their studies in the research field and to hold leading positions in national and international businesses and within public and private institutions and organisations.

Attendance

Attendance is open, but strongly recommended.

Examination assessment and graduation

Educational activities include classroom teaching, workshops and internships, in order to acquire wide-ranging skills that can be readily transferable into the world of work.

Knowledge gained by students will be assessed through written and oral exams during their entire university career.

The final exam consists in writing a thesis, which must possess the characters of originality, exhaustive documentation and scientific investigation [IT] and which will be discussed with a committee of university professors and experts.

Access to further studies - Specialist Master’s Programmes (1st and 2nd level) and Research Doctorates

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