Master of Arts in North American Studies (NAS)

The North American Studies (NAS) programme involves the interdisciplinary study of the history, culture, art, literature, language, film, philosophy, media theory, politics and society of the North American region, i.e., Canada and the United States as well as the Caribbean and Latin America. This geographical expansion results from the diverse political, historical, cultural and economic interlocking of nation-states on the American continental shelf. NAS is organised straightforwardly. Students attend courses in the following modules: AM 1 Literary and Cultural Studies, AM 2 History and Society, AM 3 Postcolonial Studies, and AM 4 Research. As their end-of-module exam in AM 1 and 2, students submit research papers. In order to complete AM 3, students take an oral exam. For AM 4, students present the Master's thesis project in a research colloquium and turn in an exposé afterwards. In order to receive credits for the specialised module 1, students complete a six-week internship and submit an internship report. To finish their studies, students submit a Master’s thesis. The standard period of study is four semesters. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, students take one module’s worth of coursework per semester (one module is comprised of five courses and an end-of-module exam). In all the modules, students attend lectures and actively participate in seminars. Students are expected to prepare the assigned reading material for each course, to write research papers and do an oral exam. They have four different forms of instruction: The lecture-seminar introduces students to a particular field (North American History, North American Literature, Theories and Concepts in Postcolonial Studies). It consists of a lecture and an additional reading course (tutorial). The lecture focuses on one particular topic or perspective within American Studies, conveying more detailed knowledge of a particular area of study. The seminars have a thematic focus; students discuss specific issues and practice basic techniques of scholarly research. In the colloquium, students focus on methods of transdisciplinary research. They will learn how to plan, conceptualise, and conduct their own research project for the MA thesis. In order to earn credits for the modules AM 1, AM 2, and AM 3, students need to pass a final exam (research papers, oral exam, exposé etc.). In addition to participating actively in their courses, students will also do in-class presentations and write essays, reviews, or short papers. Finally, students will collaborate closely with one of the lecturers in the North American Studies programme for the MA thesis project. The last semester is exclusively dedicated to the writing of a MA thesis of max. 150,000 characters (approximately 60 pages of text, excluding bibliography or additional material). The Master's programme consists of four advanced modules ("Aufbaumodule", AM), one specialisation module ("Schwerpunktmodul", SM), and one module pertaining to the Master's thesis.  With the exception of the Master's thesis module ("Masterarbeitsmodul"), these modules consist of different courses (lectures and seminars), and an exam.  In AM 1 and 2, students write a research paper as their module exam. In AM 3, students do an oral exam. In AM 4, students do a combination exam ("Kombinatorische Prüfung"), which means that they present the MA thesis project in a research colloquium and turn in an exposé of their thesis afterwards. In SM 1, students write a report on their internship. The exams of AMs 1, 2, 3 and 4 factor into students’ overall grade, whereas the exam of SM 1 does not. The MA NAS is highly interdisciplinary; the Institute of North American History cooperates with the English Department, the Instituto de Historia Ibérica y Latinoamericana, the Institute for Art History, and the Institute for Media Studies, all at the University of Cologne. PDF Download