Euroculture (M.A.)

Subject/content/objectives
The explicit educational goals of the Master’s degree programme in terms of subject-related, methodological and social competence are:

to familiarise students with the attitudes and approaches of the subjects involved;
to develop the students’ ability to work and present the results of their work in a problem- and project-oriented way, even beyond the normal boundaries of their respective subjects;
to familiarise students with the methods of interdisciplinary research;
to convey in-depth knowledge of general developments in European society from politological, theological and historical points of view as well as from the perspective of cultural studies;
to develop the students’ intercultural communication abilities by a mandatory semester abroad;
to give students an opportunity to improve their knowledge of English and to learn at least one additional foreign language;
to develop the ability for independent scientific work.

The students acquire the ability

to analyse the European integration process independently, on an interdisciplinary level and in a problem-oriented way;
to understand the effects of regional, national and supranational cooperation and conflicts in the past on current developments and dynamic processes in Europe;
to show competence for action and readiness to accept leadership responsibilities in international and intercultural groups.

The Euroculture degree programme thus provides students with an opportunity to prepare for new fields of employment arising from the ongoing integration process in Europe. Euroculture aims to qualify its graduates for professional fields for which in-depth knowledge of European culture as well as current international social and political developments in Europe in a global context and the European integration process is a prerequisite. Some of the professional fields where such qualifications are required are European institutions and organisations, institutions of education, research and advanced education, the media, journalism, the publishing industry, libraries, foundations and associations, cultural management, museum and exhibition management, tourism, counselling of foreign citizens and migrants, public relations and human resources, the latter primarily in international companies.

The subject in Göttingen, subject areas, research foci
The teaching content and structure of the Euroculture Master’s degree programme emphasize the vital importance of cultural concepts and practices for numerous fields of international contacts in Europe and in a global context. There is a growing awareness of the heterogeneity of cultural dispositions, conflicts and interactions. Perception and concepts of identity are becoming increasingly relevant for political and social processes, so that professional management of such developments requires highly skilled experts who are trained in dealing with questions relating to cultural and social sciences. Euroculture prepares its graduates for employment in this area by imparting problem-oriented competence.

The degree programme is offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences. It operates in organisational, content-related and to some extent also financial cooperation with the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Theology. The disciplines involved are history, political science, German studies, theology and various philologies.

The degree programme is also offered in cooperation with eight well-known European universities. In addition to the University of Göttingen, the Euroculture network includes: Università degli Studi di Udine (Italy), Université Marc Bloch Strasbourg (France), Universidad de Deusto Bilbao (Spain), Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (The Netherlands), Uppsala Universitet (Sweden), Uniwersytet Jagielloński Krakow (Poland), Palaćky University Olomouc (Czech Republic) and several partner universities outside Europe. One semester abroad at a European partner university is mandatory. The coordination of teaching and examination content is currently being further intensified especially in connection with the Erasmus-Mundus programme. The objective of this programme is further internationalisation of European universities, thus making them attractive in future for students as well as scientists from non-European countries (located primarily in Asia, Africa, North and Latin America). Successful promotion of the Euroculture programme will be of long-term benefit to the effort put forth by the University and the Faculties taking part in the programme to establish partnerships of international excellence. Since September 2005, the Euroculture partner universities of Göttingen, Groningen, Krakow, Olomouc, Bilbao/San Sebastian and Uppsala have been par of about 60 networks of excellence in Europe which have been selected for this programme. The Euroculture Master’s degree programme established in Göttingen since 1999 is the only degree programme promoted in this way at the University of Göttingen.

Language requirements to be fulfilled during the degree course
Language skills in the national language of the university of your choice for the second semester are desirable and can be acquired in intensive language courses at Göttingen University during the summer prior to starting the degree programme and during the first semester.

Structure of the degree programme
The Master’s degree programme in Euroculture is a non-consecutive, application-oriented full-time course of studies. A supervised, prevocational internship or a research track in Göttingen or at a non-European partner university (Pune, Osaka, Mexico City or Indianapolis) is an integral part of the programme. Since this is a non-consecutive degree programme, it is subject to tuition fees.

Structure of the degree programme
In the first semester, core concepts and core competencies of the subject are taught. During the second semester, a 12-day intensive course is held for all students from the partner universities in the respective academic years. As a rule, the students spend the second semester at one of the Euroculture consortium’s European partner universities. Then they can choose whether they return to the original university or remain at the second university for their Master’s thesis. The students acquire a double degree from the European universities visited.

A major part of the degree programme consists of independent courses, but the curriculum also includes imported courses from the participating disciplines. For optimum attainment of the educational goals, the Euroculture Master’s degree programme is subdivided into four main components at all partner universities: Core Fields in European Culture and Politics, Eurocompetence, Intensive Programme, and Research.

The curriculum in Göttingen is based on structures and special foci agreed upon within the network, most recently with the inclusion of the directives issued by Erasmus Mundus, and on programmes and cooperation opportunities at Göttingen University. Through a combination of courses specifically offered for Euroculture students with others from the portfolio of the participating subjects, the programme is to be strictly oriented towards the core questions mentioned, and simultaneously a connection to the University’s range of courses is to be established.

A. Core Fields in European Culture
In the first subject semester, students are familiarised with basic knowledge, techniques and methods of independent scientific research by focusing on specific topics in four subject areas. These areas are closely related: Mobility, Transfer, Intervention, Cooperation. In addition to introducing students to theories and methods and conveying basic knowledge, they enable cultural processes of European integration to be analysed in an exemplary way from a global perspective.

“Mobility” investigates the social structures and cultural horizons of European societies, which are undergoing change through socio-political processes due to various forms of migration. Here, ethnic identities and civil and religious values play a vital part in cultural perceptions and concepts in the encounter between different cultures and their conceptualisation on the political level.

“Transfer” concentrates on the identification of cultural codes and concepts in intercultural transfer processes, as well as in the media, discourse and general institutional conditions governing these processes.

“Intervention” is primarily understood in terms of (historic and present-day) European participation in the enforcement of humanitarian standards in international relations. The main focus lies on the transfer of certain cultural concepts, values and standards or even administrative processes by way of political and institutional processes. Such interventions are judged by European and non-European actors from significantly different points of view and are therefore a subject which lends itself for scientific cultural analysis.

“Cooperation” examines the cultural dimension of objectives, effects and impediments of future integration processes within the European integration process, but also with non-European partners.

These four topics are incorporated in the core courses of the first semester.
The other themes of study are selected to fit in with these areas. For the core courses, the Euroculture network decides on a selection of basic texts which are to be read by all Euroculture students at the participating partner universities.

B. Eurocompetence (Eurocompetence module and internship)
As an application-oriented degree programme, Euroculture combines scientific instruction with vocational training in what are called “Eurocompetence modules” and an integrated supervised internship. The objective of Eurocompetence is to develop abilities in project and time management, knowledge transfer, presentation techniques, rhetoric and competence in decision-making, teamwork, counselling and teaching, as well as students’ awareness of their own competence profiles.

An internship network with European institutions is being established for the organisation and supervision of the internships. The internships combine theoretical knowledge, analytic abilities and the skills acquired in the Eurocompetence modules with practical experience. Internships must be prepared and subsequently evaluated; students are required to write a detailed internship report.

C. Intensive Programme
Participation in an Intensive Programme over approximately 12 days (IP) as a mandatory excursion in the second semester is obligatory for all students of the Euroculture degree programme. The three main characteristics of this course of studies, namely interdisciplinarity, internationality and the focus on Euro-specific issues, are particularly pronounced in the Intensive Programme. The IP is hosted by one of the participating partner universities every year and also focuses on a different main topic each year. The Intensive Programme, which is held in English, is based on an interdisciplinary topic. This course gives students an opportunity to engage in subject-related discourse with their European fellow students on the basis of a paper written in English by each student on the general annual topic, to improve their professional qualifications through intensive scientific work with the lecturers and to gather new ideas. The students’ papers are prepared and discussed in detail during the first semester.

Several different teaching methods are applied in this course: group work, lectures, seminars and exchange of experience and interviews with experts who have had practical experience in the topic of the year or have dealt with it professionally. Students are encouraged to improve and use their intercultural communication abilities in this international context, and to practise their foreign language skills. At least one excursion takes place during this intensive course, which aims to enable students to apply and extend the knowledge acquired through their studies during a stay in the field.

The following general annual topics have been dealt with in Intensive Programmes so far:

1999-2000: The Cultural Impact of Migration in Europe (Uppsala)
2000-2001: Cultural Constructions of Europe: European Identities in the 21st Century (Groningen)
2001-2002: Regionalism and Nationalism in an Integrating Europe (Uppsala)
2002-2003: European Transformations - Transformation of Europe (Göttingen)
2003-2004: Images of Europe (Ghent)
2004-2005: Borders in an Enlarged EU: Bridges or Barriers? (Udine)
2005-2006: Space and Power in Europe: Culture, Communication, and the Politics of Identity (Deusto, San Sebastian)
2006-2007: Difference or Discrimination? The Challenges of a Multicultural Europe (Strasbourg)
2007-2008: European Heritages and Collective Memories (Krakow)
2008-2009: Unity and Variety in the Perception of European Cultures (Olomouc)
2009-2010: Europe between Europeanisation and Globalisation (Groningen)
2010-2011: Europe – Space for Transcultural Existence? (Göttingen)

Financially, the Intensive Programme is normally sponsored by the European Commission; applications for funding are lodged collectively by the Euroculture network. Students are generally required to bear only their travelling expenses.

D. Research (research colloquium and Master’s thesis)
In the second and third semesters, intensive seminars are held to expand the knowledge, which also serve as research colloquia. In the second semester, the so-called IP papers are discussed to prepare for the Intensive Programme – i.e. independently composed essays of about 10 pages relating to the general annual topic. Here, the students get feedback on content, and presentation techniques are practised as well. In the third semester, the research colloquium serves to present the assumptions and methods of the Master’s thesis which are subsequently discussed in plenum.

The major part of the independent research work is the composition of the Master’s thesis. Here, students can draw on the resources and expertise of two universities, since they already begin with the preparation of the Master’s theses immediately following the Intensive Programme. A supervisor is assigned to every student at each university.

The study courses and modules are listed in detail in the module handbook attached to the Study Regulations for the Euroculture Master’s Degree Programme. This also applies to the schedule of study periods.

Relationship of course attendance to private study
Due to its tight time schedule as a concentrated study programme, the Euroculture degree programme requires a high level of personal commitment and personal time management ability. Course attendance and private studies each take up about half of the total time devoted to studying during the term. During preparation for the Intensive Programme and composition of the Master’s thesis, the proportion of private studies quite naturally rises significantly. Nevertheless, attention is paid to keeping up continued scientific and social integration of students in joint courses.

National/international orientation
The entire concept of this degree programme is oriented towards internationality: the subject area, the exchange programme and composition of the student body require mobility. In addition, there is an internship which can also be implemented abroad. The student body is characterised by about half of the students coming from non-German backgrounds. Especially the Intensive Programme gives the students an opportunity for extensive exchange with international students coming from many different parts of the world. The language of instruction in all basic courses of Euroculture is English, in the courses offered by other departments either German or English.

Fields of occupation
European institutions and organisations, institutions of teaching, research and advanced education, the media, journalism, the publishing industry, libraries, foundations and associations, cultural management, museums and exhibitions, tourism, counselling of foreign citizens and migrants, public relations and human resources, the latter primarily in international companies.

Subject-related admittance procedure
The University grants places to candidates who are particularly suitable for this programme. Particular suitability is established by fulfilment of the following criteria:
compliance with the formal admittance prerequisites,
evidence of critical reflection on the content and objectives of the Euroculture degree programme under subject-related and interdisciplinary aspects (motivation letter),
quality of previous studies,
proof of language skills by submission of relevant documents (s. website),
proof of scientific suitability in a selection interview

Language skills
Students studying the “Euroculture” degree programme are required to possess an excellent command of the English language, as stipulated by international agreements within the Euroculture network (in accordance with international conditions of admission), since the final examinations in Göttingen and at the foreign universities will be conducted in English. The Intensive Course also takes place in English. One module offers an option to study a course in the national language.