M.A. British and American Studies

The application documents must be submitted in due time to the student secretariat of Bielefeld University and contain:

The final certificate of a previous qualified degree and the associated documents (transcript, transcript of records, diploma supplement or similar) that provide information about the individual course of study, the modules completed, the achievements during the course and their assessments and about the individual professional profile of the completed course. If the university or professional academy at which the applicant obtained the previous degree does not issue such documents for the applicant, correspondingly meaningful documents must be submitted (e.g. performance records).

If there is no diploma from a previous qualified degree, a provisional final document and/or a current transcript of records or correspondingly meaningful documents within the meaning of point 1 will be submitted.

German language skills are beneficial for the course; however, proof of this is waived for enrollment.

Proof of knowledge of the English language for applicants who do not speak English as their mother tongue (see language requirements).

Essay of motivation in English.

Study-related, English-language written work sample of 10 to 15 pages.

Admission to the MA British and American Studies programme is based on an online application consisting of:

an undergraduate university degree certificate (minimum 6 semesters; grade 2,5 or above),

evidence of proficiency in English (IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL [ibt: 94 or above; paper-based: 570 or above] or Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English)

15-page sample essay in English

Reflection on your previous academic experience in English*

In case you have not yet received your Bachelor certificate, you can still apply for the M.A. program with a transcript of your records (i.e. a summary of your preliminary results). If your certificate is acceptable, you will then be admitted on the grounds that you submit your certificate as soon as you have received it.

The sample essay gives the Admissions Committee an impression of the quality of your academic work and achievements in the field of British and American studies. It could, for example, be the first 15 pages of your BA thesis.

On the basis of the applications received by the deadline the admissions committee will decide on the suitability of individual applicants according to a point system. Only online applications will be considered. Please go to the application portal of the Studierendensekretariat (https://uni-bielefeld.de/studium/studieninteressierte/bew... (opens in a new tab)) and upload your files there.

Studienberatung

Course registration

Funding opportunities

Study Regulations

*In the upload area of the application website you will be asked to upload the following:

Skill A: Here you are asked to upload a work sample in English which shows that you can work independently on a problem in the area of English literature, culture, or linguistics using the conventions of academic writing in this area. You may upload, for example, parts of or the entirety of your bachelor thesis, a term paper, or something comparable. Please make sure that it is clear from your document what it is you uploaded (f. ex. parts of your BA thesis, a module/term paper, an article you published,…). Should you not have a work sample, please contact the study advisors (Dr. Vivian Gramley and Dr. Julia Andres) for a task to work on. In this case, please upload a statement that says that you are working on this task.

Skill B: Here you are asked to upload your own reflection of your academic experience in literary-cultural production and phenomena as well as the ability to analyze, interpret, and contextualize practices of the past and present historically, socially, politically, etc. (see literary studies module 23-ANG-Profil4). Please sketch in about 300-400 words your academic experience in this area. You may refer to papers your read or wrote, classes you took, and topics you found especially interesting. Please also include how your own experience relates to our Master’s program in Bielefeld and why you think you are a suitable candidate for us.

Skill C: Here you are asked to upload your own reflection of your academic experience in the understanding of cultural products, phenomena, and practices beyond national borders. You can find more on what students in our bachelor program at Bielefeld University work on in this area here: cultural studies module 23-ANG-Profil5. Please sketch in about 300-400 words your academic experience in this area. You may refer to papers your read or wrote, classes you took, and topics you found especially interesting. Please also include how your own experience relates to our Master’s program in Bielefeld and why you think you are a suitable candidate for us.

Skill D: Here you are asked to upload your own reflection of your academic experience in and the ability to identify and characterize different regional, social, situational, and historical varieties of English as well the ability to understand and describe those conditions of language use (see linguistics module 23-ANG-Profil3). Please sketch in about 300-400 words your academic experience in this area. You may refer to papers your read or wrote, classes you took, and topics you found especially interesting. Please also include how your own experience relates to our Master’s program in Bielefeld and why you think you are a suitable candidate for us.

Skill A is mandatory and of Skills B, C, and D, you please choose at least two.

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