MA American Studies and Film Studies

Why does the United States of America matter so much to us all?

Wealth, but world-wide credit crisis? Automobiles and highways? War on terror? First black president? International movie industry? The American dream? Patriotism and flag waving?

Whatever the reasons the United States matters to you, studying for one of our MA degrees [American History; American literature; American Studies; or American Studies and Film] will allow you to explore the events and forces that shaped the United States, and gain a deeper understanding of how this powerful nation moulds and influences the cultural, political, and economic lives of its own peoples and the world.

Why Study America at UEA?

The School of American Studies is rated one of the top research departments in the UK (Research Assessment Exercise 2008). It always receives the highest scores for quality of teaching and student satisfaction. Our vibrant research community ensures that faculty and graduate students meet regularly for research seminars and social events. The Arthur Miller Centre organises an annual Literary Festival, bringing major North American writers to the campus every year. All our MA programmes are interdisciplinary and are among the most established and prestigious in Britain.

Course Content and Structure:

MAs offered in the School of American Studies are one year, full time taught courses. Students build on their undergraduate training to develop exceptionally high levels of theoretical understanding and knowledge of American thought, culture, literature, history, politics and film. Faculty members and students in the School of American Studies work within and across traditional disciplinary boundaries. All teaching is in small seminar groups, which provides students with the opportunity to engage fully with their own ideas and those of others.

MA in American Studies and Film Studies

The MA in American Studies and Film Studies enables students to study American films within their historical and cultural context. On this course, all students take “Theories of American Culture” [team-taught by 8 faculty members] then choose one other module taught within the School of American Studies and one taught in the School of Film and Television Studies. The fourth module may be chosen from American Studies or Film and Television Studies modules, or from complementary MA programmes.

Final Dissertation

A dissertation of 12-15,000 words is prepared over the summer for submission at the start of September. Students are encouraged to select topics which have stimulated or grabbed their interest during the course of the year. Each student is allocated a supervisor whose expertise and interests match their chosen dissertation project. All students receive intensive one-on-one supervision and mentoring.

Course Assessment

There is no written examination. Assessment is on the basis of coursework (essays and sometimes class presentations) and the dissertation. The dissertation counts for half the marks of the course.

Research Community

MA students are valued members of the School of American Studies’ research community and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and interact intellectually and socially with faculty members and Ph.D students. As part of your training you will attend weekly research seminars, where distinguished scholars from the UK, USA and elsewhere present their research for discussion with the UEA American Studies research community. Postgraduate students are encouraged to present their work in this supportive environment, where they can critically engage in scholarly debates.

Transferable Skills:

Many transferable skills are developed through the MA programmes in American Studies, including: research and writing skills; ITC skills; presentational skills; practice in public speaking and academic debate; team-work; time and project management.

Course Organiser:Dr. Jonathan Mitchell

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Entry Requirements Degree Subject: Humanities or Social Sciences Degree Classification: UK BA (Hons) 2.1 or equivalent Students for whom English is a 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:

• IELTS: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in all components)
• TOEFL: Internet-based score of 92 (minimum 19 listening, 21 speaking, 19 writing and 20 in reading)
• PTE (Pearson): 62 (minimum 55 in all components)

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

Other tests such as TOEIC and the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English are also accepted by the university. Please check with the Admissions Office for further details including the scores or grades required.

INTO UEA and INTO UEA London 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 (INTO UEA Norwich) or pseuealondon@into.uk.com (INTO UEA London).

Intakes

The School's annual intake is in September of each year.

Alternative Qualifications

If you have alternative qualifications that have not been mentioned above then please contact university directly for further information.

Assessment

All applications for postgraduate study are processed through the Admissions Office and forwarded to the relevant School of Study for consideration. If you are currently completing your first degree or have not yet taken a required English language test, any offer of a place will be conditional upon you achieving this before you arrive.

The School of American Studies prides itself on its ethos of research-led teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Developing research-led teaching strategies ensures that postgraduate students are introduced to the most recent trends in research and scholarship, allowing them to engage intellectually with the material and develop a sense of themselves as research students. Due to the nature of its research profile over the last 5 years the school’s research expertise has coalesced around a number of shared themes.

The core module that all MA students take, Theories of American Culture, poses key questions concerned with notions of American identity and the “Americanness” of American culture, including critiques of this notion. The module problematises concepts such as ‘American exceptionalism,’ national identity, and transnational relations.

The concept of “race” has also been key to the development of the MA courses on offer in the school. While America is supposedly a post-racial society, with the presidential election of Barack Obama in 2008, its history, literary traditions, and cultural heritage reflect a number of diverse stories of racial assimilation, resistance, and oppression. Thus, the school offers a number of MA modules concerned with this particular topic including, Race and Resistance, The Black Atlantic, Native American History, Slave Life in the Antebellum South, American Empire, and Postcolonial Theory.

Fees and Funding Tuition fees

Tuition fees for Postgraduate students for the academic year 2013/14 are £5,000 for Home/EU students and £12,500 for International Students.

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/EU students).

We estimate living expenses at £600-650 per month.

Scholarships and Awards:

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities has a number of Scholarships and Awards. For further information relevant to the School of American Studies, please click here.