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Application Requirements
University Degree
- a Bachelor of Arts in Anglophone Studies, awarded by Philipps-Universität Marburg
OR
- a university degree in a study program in Literary and Cultural Studies (or other programs focused on the study of languge, literature, and/or culture) acquired at a German university or an equivalent university degree acquired abroad with at least 30 credit points (or equivalent achievements) in the field of Anglophone Studies with a focus on North America of 15 credit points (or equivalent achievements)
If your transcript of records does not clearly state which modules / classes were in the fields of Anglophone and North American Studies, please provide a document listing the respective modules/ classes, with a short note on the specific topic, signed and stamped by a representative of your university, either in English or German. Example: A module is titled “Country Studies.” In such a case, you would need to briefly describe how it relates to Anglophone or American Studies, e.g., “This module included the study of Native American cultures.”
If you do not meet these requirements, the examination board will decide on a case-by-case basis after your application has been processed by UNI-ASSIST. The examination board can require the completion of additional subject-specific modules of up to 12 credit points at Philipps-Universität Marburg.
If a degree featuring all grades is not given before the deadline, proof of all credits achieved, encompassing at least 150 credit points needs to be provided if the application is based on a Bachelor's program with a total of 180 credit points. In this case, enrollment can only be carried out provided that proof of completion can be given before the last day of classes in the first semester.
Language Skills
Certificate of English language skills: level C1 of the “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages by the council of Europe”: TOEFL certificate (min. score: 95 points, internet based, or IELTS (score 7.0), or official documentation that you BA program was taught in English.
Our program is taught entirely in English, which means that students are expected to read original literary and academic texts (17th century to 21st century) and write two to three academic term papers in literary and cultural studies (each 6,000 to 7,000 words) during each semester break in academic (complex and sophisticated) English. We advise students who are not familiar with the CEFR to take one of the above mentioned tests for self-assessment.
German language skills (e.g., DSH or similar tests) are not required to register for the M.A. North American Studies, since it is an English-language program. However, German language skills are highly recommended for organizational matters and everyday life, as official documents and the website might only be available in German.
Requirements
Here you will find an overview of characteristics and interests, as well as prior knowledge, that you should bring with you for the Master's program in North American Studies.
Characteristics
Are you curious and inquisitive?
Do you approach content and methods with curiosity and an inquisitive mind? For example, would you like to know why the pirates of the 18th century are still relevant today? Why do we still talk about the great influence of Puritanism in the USA today? What is the City upon a Hill all about?
Do you like languages and are you communicative?
Would you like to use the English language creatively and communicatively? Would you like to create your own presentations on literature, films, photography, music, painting, history, politics and economics?
You welcome new challenges?
You can read two books a week without losing interest? And you like to write a lot yourself? And when the desire is not so great you can still motivate yourself to work? Reading and written analysis are the most important study techniques. If you do not like to do one or the other, you will certainly have a hard time studying the M.A. North American Studies.
Do you like to analyze and are you able to recognize classifications and connections?
Are you open to intercultural issues? Would you like to work out, for example, why North American immigration history is closely connected to present (and past) Europe? Would you like to see connections between Canadian First Nations People, U.S. Native Americans, and the Australian Stolen Generation?
Interests
Literature is much more than just entertainment for you?
Do you believe in the social relevance of literature? Do you enjoy reading higher level English language texts? Would you like to discuss how trauma is translated and processed in literature? In this context, what connects Puritan Mary Rowlandson to cartoonist Art Spiegelman, author Siri Hustvedt, or even soldier Jessica Lynch? Why do cultures of memory play such a big role today?
Would you love to know everything about North America?
Do you have an interest in North American literature and culture? The M.A. North American Studies program analyzes contexts from linguistic, social-cultural, economic, and historical perspectives.
Do you enjoy exploring a country and culture?
Have you always wanted to experience the Caribbean - at least virtually? Travel with Edwidge Danticat, Dionne Brand, Michelle Cliff, Esmeralda Santiago and others from the Caribbean islands to the U.S. and Canada! Experience immigration from a whole new perspective!
Are you interested in the role of gender?
Would you like to know how gender relations manifest themselves literarily-culturally and socio-politically? Would you like to find out what the conversation cultures of women and men are all about? Or why there was a women's Declaration of Independence in the U.S. in 1848? Or why Abigail Adams wrote in a letter in 1776, "Remember the Ladies"?
Would you like to study popular culture in a scholarly way?
Interested in how Edgar Allan Poe connects to The Simpsons? Or what 1950s pop and rock music links to 1960s pop art or even 1990s El Vez? Are you curious about how American road movies tell history?
Prerequisites
In order to study MA North American Studies successfully, you should have the following prior knowledge at the beginning of your studies:
· You must be able to handle literary texts in an academically correct and adequate manner.
· You must have a fluency in English that is at C1 level according to the European Framework of Reference. This means, for example, that you can understand television programs and feature films without much effort, that your expression is fluent, and that you rarely look up words.
· You should be prepared to read a lot.
If you possess these basic prerequisites, you can look forward to working with the faculty in the M.A. North American Studies program and to tackling many exciting questions, develop methods of analysis, make interpretations, and gain incredible insights.