Aims of the Programme and Areas of Specialization
The MA in English Studies: Literature and Culture of the Department of English Language and Literature offers a strong grounding in the fields of Anglophone literature, critical theory, and cultural studies. The programme fosters the interdisciplinary, comparative and critical analysis of Anglophone literature as well as the study of contemporary culture, with a strong emphasis on recent developments in critical, literary, and cultural theory. The students rigorously engage the constantly growing field of literary and cultural studies and are encouraged to develop innovative methodological approaches that correspond to the social, political and cultural issues, questions, and transformations in the past and in the present times. The possible careers available for the graduates of the program include, but are not limited to, teaching, doctoral and postdoctoral research, writing, editing, journalism, media, international relations and jobs in the arts and culture sector.
The programme offers the following areas of specialization, one of which is activated every two years:
1. The Greek Element in Anglophone Literature
2. Nineteenth & Twentieth-Century Anglophone Literature and Culture
3. Anglophone Theatre from the Renaissance to the Present
The offered area of specialization is announced online in the MA programme’s call for applications. The programme of studies is updated every two years following faculty assessment, which takes place throughout its duration and at the end of its two-year term.
The degree is awarded by the Department of English Language and Literature of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Studying in the MA Programme
The programme commences in the fall semester on a biannual basis.
The duration of study of the MA programme which leads to the acquisition of the MA degree is set at 3 academic semesters. The first two semesters consist of three taught courses (3 hours per week for 13 weeks in the fall and spring semesters), while the third semester is devoted to the completion of the MA Dissertation (research & writing). The maximum time allowed for completion of studies is set at 3 academic semesters.
The programme is taught entirely in English.
The Master’s degree in English Studies is awarded upon completion of a total of 90 ECTS.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Postgraduate Programme “English Studies: Literature and Culture”, the graduates:
• Will have acquired a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary literary and transcultural critical studies that are relevant to the examined literary periods and fields of anglophone literature.
• Will have enriched their understanding and knowledge of the historical and cultural frameworks of the examined literary periods.
• Will have further developed the critical and research skills that are involved in current methodological approaches.
• Will have successfully completed a satisfying number of essays and assignments that combine knowledges and skills and require the development of complex themes based on critical analyses that involve the examination of social, cultural and narratological issues that are relevant to the applied methodologies, knowledges and the developed arguments.
• Will have completed an MA thesis (18.000-20.000 words) that will illustrate their research and methodological skills and epistemological knowledges and will indicate their ability to continue their studies and research as independent and autonomous researchers.
MA Programme Assessment
The programme is evaluated during term-time and a final assessment is conducted after the completion of the programme. The assessment involves:
• MA instructors who (a) assess their students through a special questionnaire which is submitted to the MA office, and (b) convene regularly during the semester.
• students assess (a) the courses at the end of each semester, and (b) the programme as a whole after its completion. Student assessments are submitted to the MA office in printed or electronic form
• the members of the Department’s General Assembly.
For more information about the programme, course descriptions, assessment and student rights and responsibilities, please see the MA Study Guide 2023-2025.