The general admission requirement is a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent education of a minimum of three years duration (180 ECTS credits).
According to the admission criteria, the major must include a minimum of 80 ECST credits in English. At least 20 credits must be in linguistic courses, and at least 20 credits must be in literature. At least 20 credits must be on the supplementary level (Level 2).
Students must have obtained a weighted average grade of C or better for their English major.
Ranking will be based on the average grade in the major.
Furthermore, admission is granted in accordance with the regulations concerning admission to study programmes and courses at the University of Agder, https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2021-11-24-3370?q=uia.
The programme is aimed at students who have taken English literature and linguistics courses at undergraduate level and are interested in deepening their studies of English. It offers the possibility of taking courses in English literature/culture and/or linguistics and specialising in one of those two areas.
A specialisation in English literature will give you insight into important literary works and literary theory. You will learn about different strategies of how to critically approach, interpret and understand literary texts which will help you develop self-confidence and reflection on issues of interpretation. You will also learn about the different kinds of texts, genres, epochs and literary traditions. Topics for a master’s thesis in English literature could be on literary works from North America, Great Britain or literary works written in English from other parts of the world.
The linguistic courses build on what you already have learned about English language structure (e.g. phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax) in your previous studies. Master’s level courses will introduce you to theoretical work that supports proposals about language structure as well as introduce you to new linguistic areas, e.g. pragmatics, discourse analysis, bilingualism. In addition, the programme includes courses on experimental linguistics which investigate language processing: how it is acquired and used for both monolinguals and bilinguals and provides evidence for or against linguistic theories. You will also learn about methodologies used to test linguistic theories and about data-collection methods that could be useful to you in your thesis project.
The programme totals 120 ECTS credits and students have a choice of two alternative paths:
Specialisation: Students choose to specialise in either literature or linguistics. A minimum of 30 credits in one of the areas is needed to write a master's thesis in that particular area. Teacher-training students are required to have a minimum of 20 credits in the same area of specialisation as topic of their master’s thesis (literature/culture or linguistics). Teacher-training students who would like to write a thesis on a culture/area studies topic are required to take a course offered in this area.
The master's thesis: The master's thesis is an independent project on a topic in either English literature or linguistics. Two master's thesis alternatives are offered. Alternative 1, is a 60-credit thesis (approximately 30,000 words) in the third and fourth semesters of the programme. For alternative 2, students complete two courses in the third semester of the second cycle and hand in a 40-credit thesis (approximately 20,000 words) by the end of the fourth semester. Teacher-training students also have the option to write a thesis on a cultural topic.
A master thesis writing seminar is offered for all second year students. This consists of an obligatory poster session in the autumn and a feedback seminar in the spring. These events serve to give students a jump start on their project and to help with the thesis writing process.
The English Master’s programme promotes dialogue and critical thinking about the 17 sustainable developmental goals set forth by the United Nations and, in particular, in relevance to the goals of:
• Good health and well-being (3)
• Quality education (4)
• Peace, justice and strong institutions (16)
These goals are woven into our teaching in a number of ways. Both the goals of quality education (4) and peace, justice and strong institutions (16) are integrally a part of our literature and culture courses which provide insight into our sense of reality, identity and value systems promoting critical thinking. Our linguistic courses, for example, Discourse Analysis, through its instruction in critical discourse analysis, encourage students to think critically about the language used to create and sustain institutions and/or discourses. Students become aware how language often works to exclude members of society from full participation or marginalizes their contributions. The goal of good health and well-being forms part of the Bilingualism course which investigates the relationship between speaking more than one language on cognitive function across the lifespan
1. sem | Master's Programme in English, Year 1 | |||||||||||
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3. sem | Master's Programme in English, Year 2 | |||||||||||
4. sem |
Knowledge: Upon successful completion of the programme, graduates, depending on their specialty will have acquired
Skills: Upon successful completion of the programme, graduates have acquired
General competence: Upon completion of the programme, graduates can
Students are encouraged to spend their third semester at a university with which the University of Agder has an exchange agreement, either in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. Credits earned at courses abroad may count towards the home degree. Please note that the programme coordinator must approve of all courses taken as part of a study abroad exchange in advance. For more information on exchanges, please consult the faculty website for student exchange possibilities
(https://www.uia.no/en/about-uia/faculties/faculty-of-humanities-and-education/student-exchange).
Incoming exchange students can study the entire programme in English.
120
Full time
Kristiansand
Faculty of Humanities and Education