Structure of the programme 

From the academic year 2006-2007 the MA programme "Euroculture: Europe in the wider world" will have a student load of 90 ECTS credits and a length of 16 months for full-time study. Students spend the first semester at one university of their choice (called the 'home university'). The second semester the student spends at one of the partner universities of the network (called the 'host university'), and during the third semester the student returns to the ‘home university’ from where the internship or research track is completed.

The overall structure of the programme can be visualized in the following way:

This structure is translated in the following modules:

  Semester 1:
Acquisition of competences		 30 ECTS Home
university
A. Core elements of European Culture 25 ECTS
B. Eurocompetence I 5 ECTS


  Semester 2:
Deepening and applying competences		 30 ECTS Mobility
period at
host
university
B. Eurocompetence II 10 ECTS
C. Intensive Programme (preparation tutorial + 10-day IP) 5 ECTS
D. Research seminar Europe in the wider world (based on the field of expertise of each partner university) 10 ECTS
D. MA thesis (portfolio) 5 ECTS


  Semester 3:
Exercising competences in practice		 30 ECTS Choice based
on the chosen
track
D. MA thesis (thesis writing) 15 ECTS
B. Internship or research seminars (based on chosen track) 15 ECTS

Content
As the above structure shows, the Euroculture programme is constructed on the basis of four main components and eight units. Within the programme two tracks can be distinguished:

  • a research-oriented track preparing for a third cycle degree (extra research seminars) and
  • a job market-oriented track containing a vocational education and training component (internship)

A. Core Concepts of European Culture
The core concepts of European culture will be taught, analyzed and discussed according to the following conceptual areas:

  • Mobility: Analyses of people, communities and cultures in contact in local and global contexts.
  • Transfer: Analyses of cultural meanings and values in social interrelations.
  • Intervention: Analyses of politics, programmes and actions.
  • Co-operation: Analyses of implications of cross-cultural co-operation in trans-national projects.

B. Eurocompetence
The Eurocompetence component, with special attention to the highest quality integration of academic and professional training, aims to provide students in the Master of Arts in Euroculture with knowledge and skills to achieve a new level of competence in their professional life. The Eurocompetence unit focuses on the cultural relations between Europe and the wider world and aims to enhance the employability of the graduates by providing preparation for the professional world after graduation. Within the Eurocompetence component two elements are distinguished:

  • Eurocompetence modules characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, problem-orientation and project organization (15 ECTS)
  • An Internship in European affairs related organization and institutions such as embassies, ministries of education and culture and other international, European or regional organizations (15 ECTS). The internship follows the Eurocompetence module and links skills and theoretical knowledge with practical experience. (Students not opting for an internship with the Eurocompetences component can choose extra research seminars (15 ECTS) in the 2nd and 3rd semester).

(For more specific information see: Eurocompetence component)

C. Intensive programme
The Intensive Programme (IP) is structured in accordance with the four main conceptual areas identified during the first semester. There will be workshops of collaborative groups on specific case studies of European and international significance.

The IP has three main objectives:

  • To meet and interact with other Euroculture network participants during a ten-day intensive course.
  • To synthesize in a problem-oriented platform the content and methodologies taught during the first semester course units.
  • To pave the way for a second semester filled with methodological, competence-based, and research-intensive modules.

    The location of the IP rotates in the different universities of the network. For the academic year 2009-2010 the IP will be hosted by the Euroculture programme at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands).

    For more information on IP click here


D. Research

The research seminar Europe in the Wider World focuses on a selected number of cultural issues, which should lead to a better understanding of the establishment and development of cultural identities, cultural transformation processes perceived from within and outside of Europe as well as the impact of political and social processes on European culture(s) and cultures in Europe and vice versa. Depending on the academic strengths and expertise of the partner universities, each of these will link the European (and its national) perspective to another part of the world and vice versa.

Students not opting for an internship with the Eurocompetences component can choose extra research seminars in the 2nd and 3rd semester (total of 15 ECTS).

In the second semester a start is made with the preparation of an MA thesis. The thesis is completed in the third semester. This offers the possibility of making use of expertise and sources at two different universities. The MA thesis is a written report based on interdisciplinary source and literature research the student has done on a subject that fits within the framework of the Euroculture programme. The subject should be related to one or more of the units of the first or the second semester of the Euroculture programme.


Learning outcomes of the Euroculture programme

Graduates of the EMMC Euroculture are expected:


to apply generic academic competences successfully; by generic academic competences in this context is understood


Have demonstrated knowledge and understanding...

The ability to:

  • understand, combine and integrate critically and effectively the knowledge and insights from the inter-disciplinary course units of the programme


Formulate judgements...

The ability to:

  • judge independently and critically academic research,   identify topics in the public debate in a reflexive way and with an eye for cultural sensitive matters

Can communicate their conclusions, knowledge and rational ...

The ability to:

  • give written and oral presentations
  • organise the available time and cope with deadlines
  • communicate in English and another (foreign) language and to express oneself in English and that second European (foreign) language both orally and in written form at (near) native level 
  • use IT skills (word processing, Internet and e-mail) as study and communication tools
  • transfer knowledge to a larger audience and choose the right moments and ways to do so and also to accept the responsibility for the choice for a specific form of knowledge transfer


Have the learning skills to work on an academic level within the intended professional field in a self-directed manner...

The ability to:

  • make efficient use of libraries, bibliographical material and academic research
  • work in an interdisciplinary team in an international context

to apply subject-specific competencies (attitudes & theoretic and content-related knowledge) by subject-specific competences


Have demonstrated knowledge and understanding…

The ability to:

  • use the theoretical and methodological approaches specifically used in the Euroculture programme, in particular comparativism and constructivism
  • evaluate independently and critically academic research relevant to the courses of the programme
  •  interpret and describe (personal and collective) identity as a process
  • demonstrate acquaintance with at least two different national perspectives in relation to the European unification process
  • demonstrate acquaintance with the academic debates with respect to the push and pull factors in the process of European identity formation and in relation to third countries
  • demonstrate gained insight in representation and meaning in a broad sense as a factor in the political process of the European (dis-)integration in relation to third countries
  • demonstrate thorough historical understanding on the European integration process in a broad sense
  • reflect on the central cultural aspects of the European integration process and its ramifications in European and adjoining cultural spaces

Can apply knowledge and understanding into practice (new or unfamiliar environments)...
The ability to:
  • identify the European dimensions of social problems and be able to distinguish these problems at different levels (regional, national, trans-national, European and in relation to third countries)
  •  manage projects and communicate the results
  • demonstrate experience in preparing and writing project applications
  • collect and process relevant information of European institutions and organisations
  • show familiarity with the academic debates on cultural and social effects of the evolvement to multi-level governance
  • understand and apply European project management processes (such as the Bologna process and Youth in Action Programme)

Formulate judgements...
The ability to:
  • discern national and cultural backgrounds in an academic and/or public debate; reflect on leading political, scientific and religious discourses in a critical way
  • use and analyse critically primary and secondary texts, audio, digital or visual expressions and sources related to the specialisation within the interdisciplinary field
  • judge cultural theories and methodologies

Communicate their conclusions, knowledge and rational...
The ability to:
  • transfer knowledge related to current problems in the European integration process to relevant bodies and in relation to third countries’ perspectives