MSc in CULTURAL STUDIES MSc by RESEARCH
TAUGHT PROGRAMME
LENGTH
1 year full-time or 2 years part-time.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
SEMESTER 1 (September- December)
CORE COURSES (2 x 20 credits)
Culture and Criticism I: City, Visuality, Memory.
Researching Cultures
OPTION COURSE 1 (20 credits)
SEMESTER 2 (January- April)
CORE COURSES (2 x 20 credits)
Culture and Criticism 2: Thinking in Movement: Body, Place, Gesture.
Research Modalities
OPTION COURSE 2 (20 credits)
SUMMER RESEARCH PROJECT (May-August)
DISSERTATION (60 credits)
Total number of credits required for MSc Degree is 180.
You can opt for a Diploma if you successfully complete 120 credits of coursework.
OPTION COURSES WITHIN THE PROGRAMME:
Text and Context (Architecture)
Text and the City (Architecture)
Everyday Cultures: From Everyday Life to Radical Democracy (Architecture)
OPTION COURSES FROM ELSEWHERE:
Decadence in European Art and Literature (French)
Art and Society in the Contemporary World: China (Art History)
Cinema and Society in Britain (History)
Borges and Calvino (Spanish and Italian)
The Holocaust in Visual Culture (Religious Studies)
Historiography and Theory of Social and Cultural History (History)
Orientalism in European Art in Architecture (Art History)
NOTE: availability of Option Courses is subject to change.
With a permission from the Programme Director, you can take an option from outside this list.
DISSERTATION
Approximately 15,000 words dissertation presenting original research. After completing the coursework and having received approval to proceed, students research and write the dissertation (to be submitted late August). Preparation for the dissertation takes place throughout Semester 2, and consideration of research scope and topic should begin as early as possible.
LEARNING PROCESS
The programme offers a unique learning context of theoretically grounded courses in which the traditional seminar format is challenged by an experimental interdisciplinary studio-style learning and critical reviews. Students in Cultural Studies may work alongside graduate students from other subjects (architecture, art history, literature, design) and thus benefit from discussions of their work in a variety of representational contexts (written papers, exhibitions, visual essays, installations).
In each semester, a thematically organised, research-led Culture & Criticism course is coordinated with a programme-specific research methods course. Culture & Criticism courses may be taken as electives by other students across a number of disciplines at the College (subject to the approval by the Programme Director). Research methods courses are dedicated to the specific research needs and interests of the students on Cultural Studies programme and aim at a gradual development of individual research proposals and relevant skills and competencies. In Semester 1, Researching Cultures course includes a week-long field trip to a European city. Semester 2 Research Modalities course culminates with a submission of a dissertation proposal.
Throughout the programme, students's learning is supported by guest seminars, film screenings, exhibitions, workshops, and events. Students are also directed towards public lectures, seminars, conferences, events hosted by the University and other cultural institutions within the city.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will gain competence in key themes and theories framing the study of the urban visual cultures in both local and global contexts. They will learn to draw links between diverse spatial, visual, linguistic and cultural practices and traditions. They will acquire skills for researching interrelationships between visual practices, cultural products and phenomena, discourses and environments, and learn a critical appreciation of current cultural debates framing the understanding of the urban and the visual, and the relationshipo between place and memory. Ultimately, a graduate of the programme will gain critical, analytical, interpretative and representational skills that are transferable to both academic and other professional settings.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
You should normally have, or expect to gain, a good undergraduate (BA Hons), equivalent to UK 2.1 or higher, in a relevant subject in humanities or social science discipline.
If your first language is not English you normally need a minimum score of 7.0 in IELTS or equivalent.
ONLY COMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED
YOUR APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE:
• University transcripts and degree certificates.
• non-native speakers must provide required evidence of English language proficiency
• two letters of reference of which one must be academic
• detailed CV
• statement of interest related to this specific programme and its focus
Your statement could be accompanied by a portfolio of work (in an electronic format) that supports your claim on the fit into our programme and its specific academic profile.
• writing sample of 3000-4000 words on the topic showcasing your interest (writing sample may form part of your portfolio)
This could be, for example, an essay written for a course in your undergraduate studies, two shorter essays, or a chapter from your dissertation. You need to identify the text's original purpose, or clearly reference publication details.
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