Master's Degree Programme in English Language and Culture

The Master's degree programme in English Language and Culture, taught entirely in English and directed to international applicants, provides an opportunity to study English from a variety of literary and linguistic perspectives.

The objectives of the programme include in-depth understanding of the multifacetedness of contemporary English studies, increased awareness of key debates in contemporary linguistics and ability to carry out independent research.

Key information

Level of degree: Master's degree
Programme duration: 2 years / 120 ECTS credits
Language of instruction: English
Application period: 1.12.2021 - 19.1.2022
Programme start: September 2022
Tuition fee: EU/EEA nationals no tuition fee; non-EU/EEA nationals 8,000 €/academic year
Tuition waivers available for everyone
Study campus: Joensuu

Why study with us?

This programme gives you an opportunity to study English language and culture in an international environment, at a small, safe and modern campus.

Studies

The degree consists of coursework and a research thesis. During their studies, students will specialize in linguistics or literary and cultural studies. The linguistics studies include dialectology, language contact, language variation and change, pragmatics and bilingualism. As for the literary and cultural studies, the Department's areas of strength include - among others - postcolonial and ethnic literatures, American literature, popular fiction, and contemporary fiction, among others.

Structure of studies

The Master's degree (120 ECTS) consist of Advanced Studies in English Language and Culture (80 ECTS) and Other Studies (40 ECTS).

Advanced Studies in English Language and Culture 80 ECTS

Research Studies 15 ECTS: Research seminar and methodology.
Master's thesis 30 ECTS
Optional Studies 35 ECTS: Advanced level courses according to students' personal interests. The selection of courses offered varies annually.

Other Studies 40 ECTS

Any courses offered by the university according to students' personal interests.

For more detailed information concerning the structure of the programme, please see the degree structure in WebOodi.

Objectives of education

A graduate from the degree program for languages who has been awarded a Master´s degree with English Language and Culture as their major has gained a many-sided familiarity with the English language and Anglophone cultures. They have a wide understanding of the English language and its structure and usage and of the culture, especially literature, of the Anglophone world.

They have the following academic and professional skills:

Academic skills

They know several research trends in linguistics or literary and cultural studies and have specialized on particular research area
They can independently plan, implement and report an academic study and choose the approaches and methods relevant to their research question
They recognize the central ethical questions in their field of research
They master the basic practices related to academic communication in their field of research
They have the basic skills for postgraduate study in their own field

Professional skills

They master the relevant skills required in other professions demanding expertise in language and culture
They are able to observe and evaluate the use, variation and change of the English language in different cultural and social contexts
They are able to evaluate the knowledge of their discipline from a professional perspective and relate it to the working life.

How to apply?

Admission requirements

Eligibility

A recognized Bachelor's degree (or higher) in the area of English Language and Literature, English Linguistics, or English Translation is required.

The programme will accept a temporary degree certificate. The temporary degree certificate is issued as a replacement for the actual degree certificate in case the latter cannot be given to student immediately after the studies have been completed due to technical or administrative reasons. The temporary degree certificate should include the same information as the actual degree certificate. The programme will accept a temporary certificate only if all the studies included in the degree have been successfully completed.

The programme will conditionally accept applications from persons who will not have graduated by the time the application period for the programme ends. The conditional applicants are required to indicate their anticipated graduation date in their application and submit an officially certified copy of their last transcript of records by the end of the application period. The conditional applicants must submit their final degree certificate and the final transcript of records to the programme coordinator by 10 August 2022.

English proficiency

Minimum requirements for the language skills verified through official language tests are as follows:

IELTS Academic: overall score of 7.0, with 6.5 in the writing section
TOEFL iBT: overall score of 100, with 24 in the writing section
PTE Academic: overall score of 68, with 59 in the writing section
C1 Advanced (formerly CAE): overall score of 185, with 176 in the writing section
C2 Proficiency (formerly CPE): overall score of 185, with 176 in the writing section

Language test certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued and they have to be valid during the application period.

A language test is not required of applicants who have completed

upper secondary education in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, or in a Nordic country
a university degree taught in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, or in an EU/EEA country
a university degree in Finland with English as a major subject

Application process

Applications are submitted through the national Studyinfo portal (studyinfo.fi) by 19 January 2022. Once the online application has been filled out, required enclosures must be uploaded electronically to the application by 26 January 2022 15.00 (UTC+2).

Should you have any questions about completing your application, please contact our admissions office, admissions@uef.fi, tel. +358 29 445 8990.

Required documents

1. Degree certificate(s). The degree certificate should include the name of the institution awarding the degree, the date of issue, the name of the degree and the name of the degree holder.

2. Transcript of academic records. The transcript should include full titles and completion period of the units that the student has completed for the degree (or at the very least the overall study time at the institution), grades and credit points obtained together with information on the grading scale used at the institution at the time of study. The transcript must cover the full length of studies.

3. Certificate of English proficiency. For detailed information about submitting the language test reports, see here.

4. Copy of the identification page of passport.

5. Motivation letter. The letter should depict applicant's educational goals and study objectives for the University of Eastern Finland and explain their personal motives for choosing this particular programme.

6. Recommendation letter from a former teacher or professor (not obligatory, yet highly advisable).

See also country-specific document requirements. Please note that country-specific requirements apply only to admitted applicants.

During the application period, only scanned copies of original documents are required. If educational documents are issued in a language other than English, Finnish or Swedish, official translations of them to one of these languages are required.

Further information regarding educational documents can be found in Required documents.

Incomplete applications will not be processed.

Admission decision

The results of the selection will be announced to the applicants by 31 March 2022. All applicants will be informed of their acceptance/rejection by email. The successful candidates are required to accept their study place by 15 July 2022 15.00 (UTC+2). Students will start their studies in September 2022.

Student selection

Number of places

The programme will accept 15 students.

Ranking of applicants

All applicants will be assessed and placed in the rank order on the basis of the following criteria, each graded from 0 to 5:

overall language test result (20 %)
writing test result (20 %)
academic performance (40 %)
motivation letter (20 %).

Tuition fees and waivers

Citizens of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland

This programme is offered free of charge for the citizens of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland

EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany. Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Gibraltar.
EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway.

Citizens of other countries

For students who are not citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland, the annual tuition fee for the academic years 2022-2024 is 8000 €. In 2022, all new students receive a scholarship covering 70 % of the tuition fee.

Students are exempted from paying tuition fees if they have one of the following documents:

Passport or identity card to indicate the citizenship of EU/EEA/Switzerland - EU Blue Card in Finland
Continuos residence permit card in Finland, Type A
EU Family Member's Residence Card in Finland
Permanent residence permit card in Finland, Type P permit
EU residence permit for third-country citizens with long-term residence permit card in Finland (Type P-EU)

Tuition fees cover the studies included in the degree (120 ECTS), as well as studies-related academic supervision and counseling. They also cover supporting services offered by the university; assistance in applying for student accommodation, orientation programme, tutoring, access to IT services, wireless internet access on campus, computer classrooms available 24/7 and library services.

The annual fee is paid in two equal installments. The due dates are 31 July (autumn semester) and 30 November (spring semester). Each installment has to be completely paid until the concerning due date.

Other mandatory fees for all degree students regardless of their country of origin

All degree students of the university are members of the Student Union. The Student Union membership fee is 70-75 € per academic year. The Student Union membership fee entitles the student to, for example:

reduced lunch prices at student cafeterias
discounts on local buses and long-distance transportation
discounts on many public services and free-time activities.

Further information is available on the website of the Student Union.

All students also need to pay a healthcare fee, which entitles students to use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service. The healthcare fee is 35-40 € per semester.

Students should be able to cover all the other expenses related to their studying in Finland (500-800 €/month, depending on individual spending habits). The UEF does not offer selected students any additional funding or financial aid.

One's own finances are one of the requirements for the Finnish residence permit. For more information about the residence permit, please see the Finnish Immigration Service's website.

The Finland Scholarship

UEF will grant a Finland Scholarship (Suomi-stipendi) of € 5 000 for the two best applicants in each Master's Degree programme. The Finland Scholarship is granted for the first year of Master’s studies and the students who receive it must be non-EU/EEA citizens who are liable to pay tuition fees.

For more information about the Finland Scholarship, please see the Tuition fees, waivers and scholarships website.