European Cultural Studies (M.A.)

The programme "Europäische Kulturstudien" is designed to be taken as a subsidiary subject by students on Master's programmes who wish to complement their main subject of study with additional academic modules that focus on selected aspects of European history, literature, languages and culture and that provide them with a fundamental grounding in their chosen specialist field.

Description

Students select two of the following three areas of special interest:

  • The specialist area 'European Languages' enables students to acquire greater proficiency in the main European languages, to become acquainted with the cultures of the countries whose languages are being studied and to acquire linguistic insight into the structure and function of the relevant European languages.
  • The specialist area 'Literature and Culture' introduces students to the theories and methodologies employed in literature and cultural studies. Students gain both a general overview and a more selected advanced understanding of the various European cultures and the historical and contemporary texts associated with them.
  • The specialist area 'History and Culture' has been designed to provide students with an understanding and appreciation of European history, to teach them about the fundamental underlying questions and the methods used to address them, and to provide them with the tools and skills necessary to assess different cultural domains based on the historical records.

The subsidiary subject 'European Cultural Studies' is highly interdisciplinary in nature and the very broad range of fields covered allows students to develop and sharpen their personal academic profile. Depending on the choice of specialist areas, students can follow a more practical, applications-based approach or choose to take a more academic and theoretical path, whichever better complements their main subject.

Structure

Das Studium des Masternebenfachs "Europäische Kulturstudien" umfasst 27 CP und gliedert sich in drei Wahlpflichtbereiche:

Sprachen in Europa
In diesem Bereich werden grundlegende und vertiefende Sprachkenntnisse in zentralen europäischen Sprachen, Einblicke in die Kultur der Zielländer sowie sprachwissenschaftliche Kompetenzen in Struktur und Funktion der relevanten europäischen Sprachen vermittelt.

Literatur und Kultur
Dieser Bereich bietet eine Einführung in die Theorien und Methoden der Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft und vermittelt Überblickswissen und vertiefende Kenntnisse über diverse Zielkulturen und deren grundlegende historische und aktuelle Textsorten. Dies umfasst literarische Texte aber auch kulturelle Textsorten wie digitale und visuelle Texte, Filme und Musik.

Geschichte und Kultur
Kulturen und kulturelle Phänomene können ohne Kenntnis der Geschichte, in der sie ihre Gestalt gewonnen haben, nicht angemessen verstanden werden. In diesem Bereich werden daher geschichtliche Kenntnisse, grundlegende wissenschaftliche Fragestellungen und Methoden sowie historisch gestützte Urteilskompetenzen in Bezug auf unterschiedliche Kulturbereiche vermittelt.

Einzelheiten zu Wahlpflichtbereichen und Modulen entnehmen Sie bitte der Studienordnung.

Requirements

Sie können zum Studium des Nebenfachs "Europäische Kulturstudien" zugelassen werden, wenn

  • das von Ihnen gewählte Hauptfach eine Kombination mit dem Nebenfach "Europäische Kulturstudien" erlaubt,
  • Sie im Besitz eines in Deutschland anerkannten Bachelorabschlusses sind und
  • (für ausländische Studienbewerber) Sie Deutschkenntnisse der Niveaustufe C1 nach dem Europäischen Referenzrahmen nachweisen, entweder durch TestDaF-Zeugnis mit mindestens der Niveaustufe 4 in allen Prüfungsteilen, DSH-Zeugnis mit mindestes der Stufe 2 oder Goethe Zertifikat C2.
Regulations

How to apply

Students can begin this programme at the beginning of the winter or summer semester. The application period runs from the beginning of June to 31 August if you plan to begin studying in the winter semester and from the beginning of December to the last day in February if you want to start in the summer semester.

International applicants who do not have certified proof of proficiency in German must apply before 15 July if they plan to begin studying in the winter semester and by 15 January if they plan to start in the summer semester.

Applications for admission are submitted online via Saarland University's student information management (SIM) portals. If you have any questions about using the SIM portals, please check out our SIM Saarland help pages.

Applicants whose pre-university education credentials were obtained in a country other than Germany

Applicants who do not have adequate proof of proficiency in German at the application deadline can apply as an external candidate to take the DSH language exam (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang), which is the German language proficiency test for foreign applicants seeking admission to higher education, or they can apply for a place on the preparatory German course at Saarland University (ISZ Saar – International Study Centre Saar).

Please note that to pass the DSH exam for the purposes of admission to a Master's study programme, you will need to demonstrate an advanced level of German (equivalent to CEFR level C1). Applicants whose proficiency in German is lower than C1 can apply to join the preparatory German course.

Please also note that different deadlines apply for applicants who do not yet have the required level of proficiency in German (15 January for a summer semester start, 15 July for a winter semester start). Applications for admission to the Master’s programme will only be processed if they are submitted before the relevant deadline.

At a glance

Standard period of study4 semesters
Possible combinationsFächerkombinationen im Masterstudium
Language of instructionGerman
German language requirements

GER: C1, TestDaF: 4 in all parts of the examination, DSH: 2, Goethe-Zertifikat:C2

Restricted entryNo
Application periodWinter semester: beginning of June to 31 August
Summer semester: beginning of Dezember to the last day of February
Application deadline
for applicants without proof of German language proficiency
Winter semester: 15 July
Summer semester: 15 January
Tuition feesNot applicable
Semester feeSee current fee structure

Contact

Course adviser

Dr. Stephanie Blum
Saarbrücken Campus
Building A 5.4, Room 320
Phone: +49 681 302 2203
stephanie.blum(at)uni-saarland.de

Central Student Advisory Service

Saarbrücken Campus
Building A4 4, Ground floor
Phone: +49 681 302-3513
studienberatung(at)uni-saarland.de
www.uni-saarland.de/studienberatung

Central Student Advisory Service

Saarbrücken Campus
Building A4 4, Ground floor
Phone: +49 681 302-3513
studienberatung(at)uni-saarland.de

Central Student Advisory Service

Accredited study programmes

Saarland University was one of the first universities in Germany to achieve Quality Assurance Accreditation and has held the Accreditation Council’s official quality mark continuously since 2012.

Quality management