MA Global Intercultural Communication (Part Time)
Course options
Key Details
- Attendance
- Part Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 2 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2023
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Course Overview
How do we successfully communicate with people when we come from different cultures or do not share a language? How can our linguistic choices create different effects on different audiences? And what effects do new digital media that characterise global networks have on intercultural relationships?
On this MA, you’ll address such issues critically, studying different aspects of language and intercultural communication from a range of perspectives. You’ll come to view language both as a cultural resource and as a cultural practice, and understand the impact that language and communication has on our intercultural, interpersonal relationships.
In a world where most professions routinely operate across linguistic and cultural barriers, our MA in Global Intercultural Communication will provide you with the key knowledge and skills that will enable you to take on a wide range of key roles in a host of professions where an understanding of intercultural communication is critical.
Intercultural communication is crucial to comprehending the world of today and participating in the world of tomorrow. Globalisation has led to greater centrality of knowledge and information. Different linguistic communities have ever-increasing contact – through migration, tourism, education, and information and media flows – yet linguistic and cultural barriers persist.
As language and intercultural exchanges become more frequent and diverse, and the media that carry these exchanges proliferate, keen intercultural communication skills are now more crucial than ever.
In this course, you’ll explore how the linguistic forms and patterns within a language give expression to a culture’s worldview, sociocultural norms and values. You’ll approach linguistic communication as a cultural practice, used to both create and sustain our sense of personal, cultural and national identities. You’ll use a variety of different analytic approaches, ranging from discourse analysis and anthropological linguistics to semiotics and cross-cultural pragmatics. You will also study digital technologies which increasingly mediate international human communication, and constitute one of the key infrastructures that enable and inflect global cultural interchange. Our students come from across the globe, and this makes our seminars particularly engaging – you’ll take part in fascinating cross-cultural exchanges both with your peers and your tutors.
To succeed on this course, you do not need to have any pre-existing theoretical knowledge as our students come from a range of linguistic, academic and vocational backgrounds. For example, you might already have studied or worked in sectors such as business, development studies, education, hospitality and tourism, law, management, marketing, psychology, or medicine, and you want to develop the intercultural communication skills that will help you in your future working life. You might have previously studied for an undergraduate degree in English, history, geography, media, or politics, and you now want to combine your previous studies to develop an interdisciplinary view of language, culture and communication. You might speak several languages, or you might have lived abroad, and you now want to explore the academic underpinnings of your experiences.
Whatever your motivation, completing this course will equip you with the theoretical and empirical understanding necessary to understand global cultural communications today, bringing significant added value to succeed in your chosen profession.
Study and Modules
Structure
This is a part-time, two-year course, and there is an option to take it as a one-year full-time course. You’ll take a combination of compulsory and optional modules, giving you a solid foundation in the discipline, with room to specialise in areas that particularly interest you.
In your first year, you’ll build a strong base of disciplinary knowledge with a set of two complementary compulsory modules, Language, Culture and Thought, and Understanding Digital Media. You will also specialise by selecting one module from a range of options, which will help you build your skills and experience. Topics typically include: intercultural communication in practice; conflict and conflict resolution in intercultural communication; language issues in a global multilingual context; and intercultural education and training.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
The department of Language and Communication Studies at UEA is small enough that you’ll receive personal staff-student contact and individual academic support, whilst also benefiting from the buzz of the larger, interdisciplinary School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies. We are at the cutting edge of research, ensuring that when you graduate you are well informed and highly employable.
In your first year, you’ll learn from experts in intercultural communication, intercultural pragmatics, (critical) discourse analysis, and applied linguistics. We also have specialist expertise in translation, including translation quality and ethics, technological tools for translators, and audiovisual translation.
The Academic and Research Skills programme will help you make the most of your studies and prepare you for your subsequent career. This programme also provides a great foundation for further postgraduate studies at PhD level.
You’ll receive regular feedback on your assignments from your tutors, as a platform for improving your work before your formal or ‘summative’ assessment, and we encourage you to discuss this feedback with your tutors.
As well as seminar work, you’ll benefit from numerous events and talks to support you in your learning as you work towards your career goals. These include a series of regular talks from visiting professionals and academics, addressing translation, intercultural communication, and language and culture-related topics of global, cultural and social significance. You can also attend a wealth of talks, screenings and exhibitions across the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and we are affiliated to the prestigious British Centre for Literary Translation.
Assessment
In your first year, you’ll be assessed via coursework, which may include case studies, oral and written presentations, and essays.
Structure
In your second year, you’ll take the compulsory module, The Power of Discourse: Representation and Interaction, and select a further two optional modules.
In both years of your degree, you will also take academic and research skills modules, and your studies will culminate with a dissertation on a subject of your choice. You’ll choose a topic based on your own interests or career plans in consultation with your dissertation supervisor. You’ll begin work on this in the Spring semester of your second year, to be submitted in September of the same year.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 40)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
In your second year, you’ll be able to continue to take advantage of our vibrant community of staff and students as you complete the taught part of your degree. You will work with our experts in intercultural communication and related fields, and have the opportunity to attend research talks and public lectures on topics of interest to you. You’ll finish your degree by writing a dissertation on a topic of your choice, engaging in an extended research project in collaboration with a supervisor who will oversee your progress.
Assessment
In your second year, you’ll be assessed via coursework and individual project work, and at the end of the year you will write an 8,000-word dissertation.
Entry Requirements
- Degree Classification
- Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.2 or equivalent
- Degree Subject
- Humanities or Social Sciences
- 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. The annual intake for this course is in September 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 excellent employment prospects, boosted by our strong links with our past graduates and valuable contacts in the language professions.
You could go on to work in communication, language consultancy, PR, translation, interpreting, mediation and training, publishing, teaching, administration for government organisations, diplomatic services, marketing, human resources, quality control, language consultancy, translation and localisation project management, or information services.
Translation agencies, and other international and national organisations from around the world, regularly approach us with employment opportunities, which we promote via our graduate LinkedIn network. As a postgraduate student, you will also benefit from a variety of workshops and sessions focused on improving your career development.
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 after this degree include:
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Intercultural brand management
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Human resources
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Project management in international finance
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Mediation
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Education
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Translation and localisation