English Studies, MA

Objectives and Perspectives

The goal of the MA in English Studies is the training of experts who, besides a full mastery of the English language, possess an extensive and in-depth knowledge of the language, culture and history of English-speaking countries. Rather than mere passive receivers of information, students graduating from this MA programme will be specialists fully capable of undertaking independent and original investigations in a wide range of topics: as highly educated experts, they will become players in the social and cultural field occupying positions where their views will in fact influence a number of people; it is, therefore, indispensible that they be capable of applying and developing the skills acquired here in areas as diverse as international relations, tourism, the press and the media, business, publishing, municipal and national administration, the political and diplomatic spheres (several of our ex-students found jobs in the administrative centres of the EU), in cultural life (taken in its broadest sense) and, of course, in the academic field. The fact that the UK is one of the leading nations in the EU further increases the significance of training programmes of this kind. The diversity of the positions taken by our students in the past few years (students graduating from the five-year programme), as described in their testimonials, might serve as a useful pointer regarding the kinds of fields open for our graduates.

Admission requirements

• Certificate of English proficiency (international B2 level, 4 skills)
• Admission into the MA program is possible on condition that the applicant has completed at least 50 credits in the field of English Studies
• In case the latter condition is not met, the student must have a record of at least 38 completed credits in the field of English Studies; the missing credits can be completed parallel with the MA training within two terms from the date of admission
• An oral entrance examination: discussion of the candidate’s research interests, testing her/his general familiarity with some basic aspects of English studies and her/his ability to complete successfully the MA program. The topic of the entrance interview will be any kind of subject within the field of British or American Studies (such as linguistics, literary studies, cultural studies, or history) as specified by the candidate. The starting point of the interview will be a text formerly written by the candidate (e.g. a take-home essay or a chapter from her/his thesis), which s/he can choose freely. The candidate should be able to give a summary of her/his ideas in the text, speak about the sources used in it, and take part in a professional conversation following the summary.
• Candidates must submit their texts at least 7 days in advance of the entrance interview, in electronic form.