MA American Studies
Course options
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 1 year
- Course Start Date
- September 2023
Course Overview
Understanding America in the 21st century is more essential than ever. Studying one of the world’s most significant superpowers at this fascinating moment of flux and change opens a wide range of pathways.
The programme is organised thematically, covering topics such as race, gender and civil liberties; power and protest; and American popular culture and the avant-garde. Your studies will equip you with the critical skills and methodological training needed to pursue your interest in America from multiple disciplinary perspectives. It is excellent preparation for future employment in several fields, as well as the platform for doctoral research.
This MA is equally well suited to American Studies graduates wishing to deepen their expertise, and to graduates of literature, history, or other disciplines wishing to discover new perspectives.
UEA has been a pioneering centre of American Studies for over 50 years. We are one of the most well established and highly regarded departments in the UK, with a long heritage of researching and teaching all aspects of life and culture in the United States. We continue to be at the forefront of the field today.
American Studies allows you to understand the United States from literary, cultural, and historical perspectives. On this course, you’ll study landmark historical events, novels, films, comic books, photographs and paintings. You’ll gain in-depth knowledge of key moments and debates that have animated the history and culture of the United States.
You’ll discover the events and forces that have shaped the modern-day United States, deepening your understanding of how the country influences the cultural, political and economic lives of its own peoples and the world.
You’ll explore the subject through a mixture of seminar classes and academic tutorials. You’ll engage in debate and creative discussion, while choosing your own specialist pathway though the subject.
If your background is in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary American studies, we can support you as you continue to specialise in this vibrant field and find exciting new areas to pursue.
If you’re a graduate of literature or history, or another discipline, we’ll not only provide a place to explore the United States in depth but offer new theoretical and conceptual perspectives that can enliven your existing learning.
Entry Requirements
- Degree Classification
- Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.1 or equivalent
- Degree Subject
- All subject areas considered
- English Foreign Language
We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:
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IELTS: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in two components only, with 6.0 in the other two)
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PTE (Pearson): 64 (minimum 59 in only two components with 64 in the others)
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests
INTO UEA also run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk.
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- Intakes
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. This course's annual intake is in September of each year.
Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2023/24 are:
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UK Students: £9,500 (full time)
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International Students: £19,800 (full time)
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
We estimate living expenses at £1,023 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships; please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.
Employability
After the Course
You’ll graduate with expert communication skills and a well-honed ability to evaluate and organise large amounts of information. As a graduate of this MA, you will be able to put your skills and knowledge to a huge range of uses, including further study at doctoral level; commercial and policy-related research; editing and content writing; and marketing and social media communications, to name just a few. You’ll be particularly good at working independently and initiating, developing and successfully completing projects, and will be an invaluable part of any team.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
Examples of careers you could enter include:
- NGOs
- Civil service
- Marketing and advertising
- Creative and cultural industries
- Teaching/lecturing
- Commercial/policy research