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.

For instructions on how to apply and a direct link to the application form on Studyinfo, please scroll down. The application period is open until 22 January 2025.

Key information

Level of degree: Master's degree
Programme duration: 2 years / 120 ECTS credits
Language of instruction: English
Application period: 8.1.2025 - 22.1.2025
Programme start: September 2025
Tuition fee: EU/EEA nationals no tuition fee; non-EU/EEA nationals 10,000 €/academic year
Tuition waivers available
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), Finnish Studies (4 ECTS) and Other Studies (36 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.

Finnish Studies 4 ECTS

Finnish studies will introduce you to the Finnish language. You can complete 4 - 16 ECTS credits of Finnish.

Other Studies 36 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 Peppi.

Objectives of education

A graduate from the degree programme 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 previous bachelor's degree corresponding to at least 3 years of full-time academic studies from an institution for higher education is required from all master's degree applicants. The degree must be awarded by an internationally recognized university.

In this degree programme, a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in the area of English Language and Literature, English Linguistics, or English Translation is required for eligibility.

English proficiency

(1) Applicants who hold one of the following do not have to take an English language test

Previous education or higher education completed in English in an EU/EEA country, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or Switzerland.
A university degree completed in Finland with English as a major subject.

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries cannot be used to indicate language skills, even if the degree-awarding institution is in one of the accepted countries.

(2) All other applicants have to take one of the following language tests

TOEFL iBT, overall score 100, min. 24 in writing
IELTS (academic) overall score 7.0, min. 6.5 in writing
PTE (academic), overall score 68, min 59 in writing
C1 Advanced overall score C or 185, with min. 176 in writing
C2 Proficiency overall score level C1 or 185, with min. 176 in writing

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

No other proofs of language proficiency are accepted and no exemptions are granted.

Application process

Application procedure

Applications are submitted through the national Studyinfo portal (studyinfo.fi). The application period is 8 January 2025 8:00 –22 January 2025 15:00 (EEST). Once the online application has been filled out, required enclosures must be uploaded to the application by 29 January 2025 15:00 (EEST).

Should you have any questions about completing your application, please contact our admissions office, [email protected], tel. +358294458990.

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 or other ID.

5. Motivation letter. The letter should depict the applicant’s study plans and academic goals, future career plans and professional goals and their applicability carefully considering them in relation to the profile areas of the subject at UEF. They should also contain a clear description of the personal and/or academic motivation for applying for this particular programme.

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.

All documents are compulsory. Incomplete applications will not be processed.

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.

Student selection

Selection process

The admission process in the Master's Degree Programme in English Language and Culture aims at fair selection of high-quality applicants. Student selection is based on the application documents and evaluation of how the applicant’s skills and competences gained by the previous academic studies correspond to the master's studies applied for. Meeting the minimum application requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the programme.

Applicants will be ranked according to the selection criteria. The best 15 applicants will be accepted to the programme and the rest of the applicants will be rejected. Applicants are not placed on the waiting list.

Ranking of applications

The applications will be graded using the following criteria:

overall language test result: 0–5 points (0 = poor, 5 = excellent) (20 %)
writing test result: 0–5 points (0 = poor, 5 = excellent) (20 %)
academic performance: 0–5 points (0 = poor, 5 = excellent) (40 %)
motivation letter: 0–5 points (0 = poor, 5 = excellent) (20 %).

Admission decision

The results of the selection will be announced to the applicants on 28 May 2025. All applicants will be informed of their acceptance/rejection by email. The successful candidates are required to accept their study place by 10 July 2025 15.00 (EEST). Students will start their studies in September 2025.

Conditional acceptance

All accepted applicants need to provide officially certified copies of their degree certificate and transcript if they cannot authenticate their degree electronically when applying. Accepted applicants are conditionally accepted until they have provided certified copies of their educational documents. Country-specific requirements are in use in the situations when the applicant cannot provide the documents electronically. The due date when the documents need to be at the university is 30 May 2025. In case the applicants do not deliver the documents by the given deadline, their study right will be cancelled.

If you apply to UEF with a degree that is not finished during the application period, it is required that you deliver officially certified copies of the final degree certificate and the transcript of records to the programme coordinator by 31 July 2025.

Tuition fees and waivers

Tuition fee

The annual tuition fee for non-EU/EEA students is 10,000 EUR. The fee is paid in two instalments of 5000 euros. There are no tuition fees for students who are citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland.

The best 70 % of admitted applicants (as ranked by the reviewers of the applications) receive a scholarship covering 50 % of the tuition fee. In addition, the highest ranked applicant will be completely exempted from paying the tuition fee.

Applicants subject to tuition fees can apply for tuition waivers and scholarships during the university application process by completing the relevant section on the application form.

Other fees

All degree students of the university are members of the Student Union. The Student Union membership fee is ca. 75 € per academic year. The membership 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

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 ca. 35 € 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.