Information for Prospective Students
Request a prospectusRegister your interestDownload a prospectus
YouTube iconSoundcloudFlickr iconiTunes badge
A A A

e-Brochure

PDF version of Dutch Studies: Language, Culture and History MA
Apply now

Contact details

Mrs Patrizia Oliver

Email: patrizia.oliver@ucl.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 7024

Fees and funding

UK/EU 2013/14:

£8,250 (FT)

Overseas 2013/14:

£16,250 (FT)

UK/EU students can normally apply for AHRC studentships.

Full details of funding opportunities can be found on the UCL Scholarships website

More information

Prospectus Entry

European Languages, Culture and Society

Key facts

Research Assessment Rating

Not Applicable
(What is the RAE?)

Dutch Studies: Language, Culture and History MA

This flexible programme is a pathway in the faculty-wide MA in Language, Culture and History. It combines in-depth study of the contemporary society and culture of the Low Countries with language training and a range of specialisations in translation, modern literature, contemporary history or social, cultural and political topics of Belgium, the Netherlands, and any other aspect of 'Global Dutch'.

Degree summary

What will I learn?

The Dutch Studies pathway allows students to devote three quarters of their programme to Dutch language, culture and history, from early modern times to the present. It offers the opportunity to improve Dutch language skills as part of its regular programme, along with the skills, methods, concepts and theories essential for most fields of Dutch studies and history.

Why should I study this degree at UCL?

UCL Dutch is the only department of Dutch in the UK and is the largest in the English-speaking world. It is a recognised centre of excellence in both teaching and research.

UCL Dutch possesses an impressive array of electronic learning resources, hosts an annual Writer-in-Residence programme, provides the editorial base for the internationally recognised interdisciplinary journal Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, and offers the largest collection of Dutch books and periodicals in a university library in this country.

Students benefit from London's extraordinary resources, including major collections of Dutch and Flemish Art in the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the Warburg Institute, among others. The British Library, within walking distance to UCL, houses the largest collection of Dutch books and prints anywhere outside the Low Countries.

See subject website for more information:

Degree structure

Availability: Full-time 1 year; Part-time 2 years

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme offers two pathways: standard and research. Standard: taught modules (120 credits), dissertation (60 credits). Research: taught modules (90 credits), dissertation (90 credits).

Core Module

  • Language, Culture and History. This core module permits research into two of the following fields:
  • Postcolonialism
  • Visual culture
  • Trauma
  • Memory
  • Collective identities
  • Subjectivity and the self

Options

  • Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age Literature
  • Contemporary History, Culture and Society of the Low Countries
  • Making the Dutch Literary Canon: Major Authors
  • Advanced Translation (Dutch into English)
  • Dutch Language III
  • Project in Dutch
  • Modern Literary Theory
  • Practice and Methodology of Comparative Literature
  • Translation Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • European Society and Culture 1500 to the Present
  • Theoretical Issues in History and Literature

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project in the broad area of Modern Dutch Studies, which culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words (research pathway 18,000 words).

Teaching and Learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, presentations, class discussions and individual tutorials. Assessment is through a variety of methods including coursework, essays, oral presentation, unseen examination and project work.

Further details available on subject website:

Entry and application

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

How to apply

You may choose to apply online or download application materials; for details visit www.ucl.ac.uk/gradapps

The deadline for applications is 2 August 2013. Owing to the competition for places, applicants are advised to apply as early as they are able; the number of places on the programme is limited. International applicants should note that if accepted by UCL, entry clearance to the UK can take a considerable amount of time and therefore applications should be made as early as possible.

Who can apply?

The programme is suitable for students with a first degree or equivalent with an interest in Dutch language, history, culture and society. Reading knowledge of Dutch is desirable but can also be acquired as part of the programme.

What are we looking for?

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Dutch Studies at graduate level
  • why you want to study Dutch Studies at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your personal, academic and professional background meets the demands of a challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree
Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Career

Dutch graduates have gone on to all kinds of careers. A significant number use their Dutch in a variety of contexts such as banking, insurance, public relations or teaching and translating. In an English-speaking context, a university graduate with a good command of Dutch is rare indeed giving the Dutch graduate a major asset.

There is demand for graduates who can help overcome the shortage of teachers of Dutch and translators from Dutch into English. The demand for teachers is from adult education institutes and increasingly from higher and secondary education; in the case of translators it comes from Dutch, Belgian and European institutions, from translation agencies and from business.

Find out more about London graduates' careers by visiting the Careers Group (University of London) website:

Request content update l Request printed information l Disclaimer
Page maintained by Publications and Marketing Services