How can we understand the EU’s response to the financial crisis or to the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia? How do we account for the EU’s reaction to the refugee crisis provoked by conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa? What is Europe’s peacekeeping role and capacity? The master's programme in European Studies trains you to answer these complex questions. Because you cannot study Europe from just one angle, the programme examines global developments and multi-level governance in a broader context, combining political science, history, international relations, economics and cultural studies. This student-centred, interdisciplinary programme is among the largest, and certainly the most international, in Europe and has an excellent reputation. You will study the internal and external dimensions of European policy, governance and administration. The focus is on the underlying issues of power and influence, governance and culture within the European milieu and between Europe and the wider world.
Why this programme?
The Master of Arts in European Studies focuses on the international dimensions of policy, governance and administration. The programme looks beyond the institutions of the European Union and the mechanics of European integration to examine global developments and multi-level governance in a broader context. The programme employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining political science, history, international relations, economics and cultural studies. The focus is on the underlying issues of power and influence, governance and culture.
The programme offers three specialisations:
Do you want to broaden your knowledge of European politics and policies in a programme that combines the study of political science with international relations, history and sociology? Are you ambitious, with a keen motivation to pursue a career that requires strong research competences, such as in a think tank or in academia, or jobs in politics and journalism? And are you interested in being part of a small, close-knit community of students and researchers? If so, the two-year interdisciplinary European Studies programme is the right choice for you.
Unique features
Why this programme?
The research-intensive master’s in European Studies is an interdisciplinary programme that combines political science and international relations with history and sociology. Research plays a primary role from the outset, with research projects integrated into each core module. You will gain in-depth training in methods such as quantitative and qualitative techniques, comparative methods and discourse analysis. You will also develop skills in designing research, writing research proposals, publishing your work and applying for funding and research positions. For the elective component, you can choose to take specialised courses, complete a research internship or do an exchange abroad. The master’s programme culminates with a thesis and the development of a PhD research proposal.
In this programme, you will:
Are you a socially conscious, critical thinker? Are you interested in politics and technology? And does the connection between innovation and society intrigue you? Then the master’s European Studies on Society, Sciences and Technology (ESST) might be what you are looking for. As an ESST student, you will investigate the relationship between science, technology, and society, from a cultural, political, economic, and historical point of view.
This programme is offered together with 15 partner universities across Europe. You will spend your first semester taking courses at Maastricht University. During the second semester, you will select a specialisation and write your thesis either at Maastricht University or at one of the programme’s partner universities abroad.
Why this programme?
The emergence of new technology - such as smart phones, social networking, nanotechnology, robotics, sustainable energy, and disability and technology - opens up both opportunities and threats to modern societies and economies. Citizens, governments, businesses and universities face great challenges when trying to take advantage of the seemingly infinite opportunities of scientific and technological innovations, not least because of the unintended consequences that may accompany them.
Convinced that 'innovation' cannot be captured by economics alone and that a purely technical approach is not enough to understand today’s knowledge society, ESST focuses on governance, sustainability and cultures of innovation from a multidisciplinary approach. The ESST programme explores the interrelated worlds of the scientist, engineer, politician, and citizen by examining the values, language, history, politics, and economics of our modern cultures of innovation. Furthermore, the global, multicultural, and environmentally conscious perspective of the programme develops ethical awareness and public responsibility.
Comparative Literary Studies involves the transnational study of literature from a theoretically informed perspective. The Utrecht programme is distinguished by its comparative approach and its concern with the relations between literature and other forms of culture. The main focus is on literature written in West-European languages in the modern period, but attention is also paid to world literature in translation.
This Research Master’s programme offers you an excellent balance between linguistic variety and general theoretical perspectives on the nature of literature, its past and its future. As a student in this programme, you will learn to analyse the ways in which literature interacts with (and reflects on) its cultural and social environment against the background of globalisation and new media technologies.
The ‘comparative’ approach characteristic for Utrecht is understood to involve comparison between literary phenomena along three principal axes:
As a graduate of this programme, you will have:
After successfully completing the Research Master’s programme in Comparative Literary Studies, you will be able to formulate a research proposal for a PhD project in your specialism within the field of literary studies. Read more about possible career prospects.
Judged best in the field
The highly regarded Keuzegids Master’s Selection Guide 2017 ranked Utrecht University’s Literature programme as the best in the field in the Netherlands.
Do you wonder how a literary work becomes a classic or bestseller in the Digital Age? Would you like to learn about the steps taken between publishing a manuscript and the media reviews, talk shows, or blogs in which the work is discussed? Then this Master's programme might be for you.
Literature today continues to inspire as a laboratory of ideas, dreams, and narratives, even while facing new challenges. Novels, poems, and short stories now reach their audiences through printed books, e-books, and audiobooks, and through the Internet. Literary texts, including the classics, are being adapted to games and TV dramas, yet a growing numbers of visitors to book fairs shows that literature itself remains a powerful medium.
In the Master’s programme Literature Today, you will learn to identify and critically evaluate the most recent national and international developments in literature, and to situate these from a historical perspective. You will be equipped with the tools to identify and explain the quality of literary works in times of increasing commercialisation. You will learn how literature circulates within the market as part of a creative industry sustained by centuries-old tradition, and you will investigate from theoretical and practical angles how to help to spread literature, explain it to a broader public, and translate academic insights for the reading public.
Critical reflection, building up a repertoire, the consolidation of writing skills, and an understanding of how literary institutions operate in an era of globalisation are central to your studies during this programme. You can also complete an internship with publishing houses, media corporations, libraries, literary foundations, or cultural institutions – the job market and professional field for which this Master’s programme prepares you.
You can choose from among the following tracks to tailor the programme to your interests and desired career path:
1. English and Comparative Literature (entirely in English)
2. Dutch Literature (in Dutch and English)
3a. French Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages)
3b. German Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages)
3d. Hispanic Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages)
3d. Italian Literature (Modern Literature in European Languages)
Read more about these tracks.
As a graduate of the Master in Literature Today, you will be trained to critically engage with the challenges that confront literature in our globalised, digitalised, and commercialised world. The programme content approaches these challenges from both a theoretical and practical perspective so that you will be fully prepared for the job market.
During your studies, the programme will:
During your studies, you will become acquainted with different literary institutions that operate in the field of literature and culture. After finishing the programme, you can use the academic and practical skills acquired during your year of study and begin working at one of these institutions. Read more about possible career prospects.
In the Master’s programme in Cultural History of Modern Europe, you will study Europe’s position in the world from a cultural-historical perspective, with an emphasis on modern history. Our programme offers you profound insight into the history of ideas and practices that form the identities of individuals, groups, and societies, including heritage and public history in international frameworks.
The programme content focuses on theories of modern cultural history, global perspectives on European civilisation, the politics of heritage and cultural memory, aspects of transnational history and postcolonial culture, global practices of citizenship, and the development of career-oriented academic competencies. We begin by looking at contemporary problems and discussions.
This programme offers an English track and a Dutch track. The modules offered in these tracks are the same – only the language of instruction differs.
The part-time option allows you to complete the full-time programme over two years instead of one.
After graduating from the Master’s programme in Cultural History of Modern Europe, you will:
Graduates from our programme have found jobs in museums and heritage organisations, as well as in the field of (secondary) education. Read more about possible career prospects.
At first sight, the arts and sciences appear to be worlds apart. While sciences draw on strict procedures, the arts seem to be exempted from such rules. Yet both practices are governed by conventions - such as a consistent focus on innovation - that help to explain their cultural impact.
Moreover, the arts, science and technology mix and mingle in interesting ways. The arts provide scientists with metaphors to describe their work. The sciences are objects of cultural critique in the arts. The arts continuously incorporate new technologies. And both the arts and sciences “imagine” our culture’s future. That is why it is so important to study the contributions of the arts, science and technology to modern culture. And it is why we study all of these in one programme. CAST has roots in the internationally known field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and is at the same time uniquely embedded in empirical cultural research.
The Research Master in Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology is an intense and highly reputed programme. The programme is designed to give you the best possible preparation for a professional research position. During your master’s, you will therefore not only study theories from history, sociology, philosophy, the arts and the qualitative social sciences, but you will also follow a number of courses that specifically focus on research methods such as qualitative interviewing, conceptual analysis, archival research, ethnographic observations and rhetorical, narrative and discourse analysis. Most importantly, you will actually learn to work with these methods by writing review papers, research papers and proposals. You will work closely with faculty research staff on their projects and gain a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at how academic research is actually done.
The master's programme in European Public Affairs is designed to meet the growing need for professionals who have a solid understanding of the multifaceted dimensions of policy-making in Europe. As policy problems transcend national borders and national problem-solving capacities, there is a need for individuals who are familiar with the complexities of Europe and the European Union, and who can reformulate intricate problems in manageable and achievable terms.
From the perspectives of political science, law, economics, cultural science and public administration, the programme delves into contemporary policy problems. You will be encouraged to become familiar with national and regional differences within the European territory, and to search out commonalities and paths for integration.
The programme is organised in close cooperation with the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). EIPA is a professional organisation that provides training, research and consultancy within the field of European affairs. The many lectures and workshops by EIPA professionals underline the practice-oriented approach of the programme and allow you to become familiar with the complexities of transnational policy-making. You will be equipped not only with academic skills, but also the tools that you will need in professional practice.
Why this programme?
The master's programme in European Public Affairs (EPA) provides advanced professional training in both the theoretical and practical aspects of European policy-making. The policy context in the European Union is complex, and contemporary policy problems transcend national and disciplinary borders. You will therefore learn various academic concepts, theories and research methods from disciplines such as political science, law, economics, cultural science and public administration. You will use this knowledge to research, analyse and critically evaluate EU policy problems. You will also be encouraged to become familiar with national and regional differences within the European territory, and to search out commonalities and paths for integration. You will put this knowledge and these skills to work by teaming up with your fellow students to develop concrete solutions to real policy problems.
