NEWS! Approval of new M.A. Programs in European Thought and Culture!

Department: European Studies

Post Date: April 11, 2018

News Details


The Department of European Languages and Studies is pleased to begin accepting applications for two new Masters Programs in European Thought and Culture.

1. A “4+1” M.A. program allows UC Irvine undergraduates in good academic standing to apply in their final year for formal admission, begin with the program’s three Core Seminars during their senior year, and spend a fifth year at UCI completing their nine courses, plus either a comprehensive examination or a thesis.

2. Students with a B.A. degree from UCI or another institution can apply to the “stand-alone” program and pursue a one-year degree consisting of nine courses, plus either a comprehensive examination or a thesis.

The objective of this program is to train students in interpreting and writing about cultural products (literature and the arts) and philosophical texts (broadly speaking, including works in political theory, the history of science, and theology) from the European tradition. This training has three goals: (1) attentiveness to the formal structures and languages in which ideas are expressed; (2) location of ideas in   larger historical contexts, be they social, economic, or political institutions, cultural developments, or in conversation with other ideas; (3) exploration of ideas and texts that are crucial for understanding the formation of modern critical theory. The program will also emphasize the legacy and transformation of this tradition, in both recent developments in the broad area of “literary and critical theory” and in colonial, postcolonial, and other non-European contexts.

This postgraduate degree is intended for students interested in pursuing careers in international business, government service, education, or other global professions. Furthermore, the rigorous and critical study of European thought and culture can provide a strong foundation for students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in such fields as European Studies, Critical Theory, Comparative Literature, or one of the national languages of Europe.

For more general information, click HERE.

UCI students interested in additional information on the 4+1 program, click HERE.

Students with a bachelors degree interested in the “stand-alone” program, click HERE.