Masters Degrees in Swedish Society & Culture

UCL's Scandinavian Studies MA offers an intellectually exciting and flexible range of options focusing on Nordic culture in a global context. No prior knowledge of a Nordic language is required, though students can opt to consolidate their language or translation skills, or to start Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish from scratch.

Degree information

Option modules include advanced translation skills, Nordic cinema, Nordic literature in global perspective, the transnational politics of the region, and material cultures as well as modules on Viking and medieval Scandinavia. Assessed modules are supplemented with workshops and a summer school providing opportunities for networking and career development in publishing, translation, filmmaking, and the heritage and creative sectors.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme offers two pathways: taught and research. Taught: one core module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), dissertation (60 credits). Research: one core module (30 credits), two taught modules (60 credits), dissertation (90 credits).

A Postgraduate Diploma, one core module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits) full-time nine months or part-time two years, is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate, one core module (30 credits), one optional module (30 credits) full-time three months, part-time six months, is offered.

Core module - Language, Culture and History. This core module permits research into two areas of major contemporary interest; for example, topics explored during the current year include the following: Trauma; Memory; Visual Culture; Queer(y)ing Sexuality

Optional modules - students take a choice of optional modules on topics such as the following:
-Advanced Scandinavian Translation
-Nordic Cinema: Contextualising Dreyer, Bergman and Dogme 95
-Introduction to Old Norse
-Crime and Small Communities in Nordic Literature
-Advanced Old Icelandic Literature
-Sources for the Viking Age

Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a substantial dissertation.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of seminars, lectures and reading and language classes. Student performance is assessed through written examination, coursework, and the dissertation.

Careers

An MA in Scandinavian Studies offers prospects for employment in the private as well as in the public sector, whether in Scandinavia or in the English-speaking world. Former graduate students in the department are to be found in a range of challenging careers, which include work in IT and management, museums and university teaching.

Employability
In the UK and abroad, the Nordic countries are increasingly recognised for the success of their political and social model, and for their film, literature, food and design. Our MA graduates bring their deep understanding of Scandinavian culture to careers in which knowledge of the region is key: publishing, the arts, commerce and information management. Expertise in Nordic languages is rare in the UK, and employer demand is accordingly high. Our MA allows students to hone their Nordic language skills or to try a new language. Many of our graduates launch careers with translation companies and as freelancers.

Why study this degree at UCL?

UCL Scandinavian Studies is the largest independent Scandinavian department in the UK. Our research and teaching encompasses the languages, literatures, cultures, histories and politics of the entire Nordic region, ranging from the Viking Middle Ages to the present day.

Facilities are excellent: UCL boasts possibly the best Scandinavian Studies library outside Scandinavia, and students also have the outstanding collections of the British Library close at hand. Excellent links with universities in mainland Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland provide further benefits.

The department is home to the Viking Society for Northern Research, a leading publisher of Old Norse texts and monographs on medieval Scandinavia.

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Literature is produced in a market, in an economic as well as in a figurative sense - a marketplace in which points of view and values are negotiated and reflected upon.

The Master's profile European Literatures and Cultures examines this cultural process of production and reflection, and how literature functions in society.

As a continuation of your bachelor degree you specialise in English, French, Frisian, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish or Swedish literature and choose one of the three following pathways:
- Literature as Market
- The Uses of Literature
- Material Culture.

Why in Groningen?

- English, German, French, Frisian, Italian, Russian, Spanish or Swedish literature
- New, modern and unique programme with focus on Media, Markets and Communication
- Attractive specializations in: Literature as Market, the Uses of Literature, Material Culture

Job perspectives

The programme aims to provide you with academic skills and approaches that will prepare you to operate as a cultural expert in wherever texts are involved: in the private sphere, in the media, in institutions and networks. You learn to analyse these processes and functions, to solve problems and to communicate about them clearly and with flair.

Job examples

- Book editing and publishing
- Cultural functions
- Journalism
- Translation

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Research profile

As one of the few centres for the study of modern Scandinavian languages in the UK, we offer a programme that can cater to a wide range of research interests, covering all Scandinavian countries.

Our academic staff are able to offer supervision on a broad variety of subjects, including:

• 19th and 20th century literature
• cultural relations and transfer
• language history and dialectology
• literary translation
• onomastics
• place and identity
• Scottish–Scandinavian historical relations

In addition, you have the opportunity to undertake interdisciplinary research in areas such as comparative literature, film studies, translation studies, cultural studies and Scottish studies.

Thanks to our place in the diverse School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures, we are also able to cater for interdisciplinary research programmes.

Training and support

In order to encourage immersion in your research, we celebrate the major Scandinavian festivals, screen regular films and generally make the atmosphere as Scandinavian as possible. We are fortunate in being able to attract many Scandinavian visitors and speakers, including prominent authors and academics.

We encourage you to participate in our very active social and cultural life. We collaborate closely with the many Scandinavian bodies active in Edinburgh, such as the Danish Cultural Institute, the Norwegian Consulate General, the Scottish-Swedish Society and the Scottish-Finnish Society.

In addition, we have a partnership with the Georg Brandes International PhD School for Scandinavian Literature, Art and Linguistics, which is affiliated to the Department of Scandinavian Studies and Linguistics at the University of Copenhagen. This collaboration provides funding for our staff and students to attend and contribute to international workshops and seminars at the University of Copenhagen.

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Understanding Europe today requires much more than understanding the process of European integration. The tensions, challenges and possibilities that are manifesting themselves today have their roots in a longer political, social and cultural history.

This programme takes you to these roots. A multidisciplinary study path introduces you to various aspects of European society, culture and politics. Along the way, it draws from the strengths of Nordic research on Europe, with its strong focus on regional cooperation, diversity, identities, institutions, culture and the politics of history and memory. You will get to know the Nordic countries from a European perspective and Europe from a Nordic perspective.

Studying the ways in which Europeans cooperate, how European states and societies are interconnected, and how they are governed, forms an important part of the programme. Besides looking at the processes of integration and the evolution and functioning of the European Union, the programme highlights the significance of regional cooperation in the Nordic context, the EU’s relations with its neighbours and its place in the global system.

At the end of your studies, you will have gained a broad understanding of European issues and acquired advanced research skills. You will be ready to work in a wide range of expert positions that require independent and creative thinking, in both the public and private sectors.

The programme consists of joint courses and specialisation studies. One of the available options is to specialise in Nordic Studies. ENS is the only Nordic Studies programme taught in English in the Nordic countries.

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

The programme consists of a multidisciplinary selection of courses that introduce you to various aspects of Europe, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic Sea Region.

The topics addressed in the joint courses include, for example, contemporary European politics, cooperation and conflict in European history, Nordic societies and cultures, and institutions, ideologies and identities in Europe. You will also learn about nations and nationalism, political and social protest, (Nordic) welfare models, the European Union and Nordic cooperation, European legal traditions, and the politics of memory.

The programme involves substantial interaction between you and your teachers. You will complete several writing assignments and research papers along the way, culminating in a Master’s thesis in your second year. Some courses use active learning or flipped classroom pedagogy.

The content of your studies also depends on your own choices. In addition to core courses that provide you with a deep multidisciplinary understanding of Europe, the degree includes specialisation studies of your own choosing.

If you specialise in Nordic studies, you will have access to some courses taught at the programme for Nordic Literature and the Kultur och Kommunikation Master’s programme.

You also have plenty of other options. The University of Helsinki is a large research university. As a student in ENS you will have access to a rich variety of specialised courses in many faculties and schools. Check the section on research focus to see what we are particularly good at in Helsinki.

Selection of the Major

The programme has two tracks (see the structure of studies below for more information):
Humanities track – This study track emphases regional and cultural studies, and history. Upon completion of the programme, you will receive the Master of Arts degree.
Political science track – This study track is oriented towards political science, political history and the European legal tradition. At the end of the programme, you have earned the Master of Social Sciences degree.

Programme Structure

The extent of the Master´s programme is 120 credits (ECTS) to be completed in two academic years. The studies are divided into four main parts:
-Joint courses (core courses that are common to all students in this programme).
-Track-specific studies (core courses that are separate for the humanities and political sciences tracks).
-Specialisation studies (that you choose yourself).
-Master’s thesis and supporting seminars.

Career Prospects

The programme will train you as an independent and critical thinker who is well informed about European issues, trained to do independent and creative analytical projects, and experienced in working in a multicultural English-speaking environment.

There is currently a great need for professionals like this within the public and private sectors. The programme will provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue a career in higher education, local and national administrations, the media, the European Union, Nordic Regional and international institutions, non-governmental organisations, and the business sector.

European studies graduates from the University of Helsinki have begun careers for example in the European Commission, European Parliament, Committee of Regions, Pro-European NGOs, College of Europe, communication offices, and associations promoting Nordic cooperation. You will meet some potential future employees, as well as alumni from our university, in the career course we organise for you. You will also have the opportunity to complete an internship during your studies.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in academic research, the programme provides you with high quality research training.

Research Focus

The European studies programme covers a wide spectrum of research projects in various faculties and research institutes. In recent years, the focus has been especially on studying boundaries, regions and identities in Europe, different narratives of Europe, European legal traditions, the construction of post-Cold War Europe, the politics of memory, and political violence in post-war Europe. The university also offers a wide selection of teaching in English in Central and Eastern European studies.

Many of these themes are also strongly present in the field of Nordic studies. This field has traditionally had a distinctly European flavour. Research projects in recent years have, for example, focused on imagology of the European North and South, Nordic welfare state/ism, the politics of neutrality, and Nordic cooperation in a global comparative perspective.

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