This description applies to students admitted from 2020/2021 onwards. For the older MA programme (until 2020), kindly see the description here.

Forms of Study

• Single-subject form:
  Single-subject students are enrolled only in the Anglophone Literatures and Cultures MA programme.
• Joint-subject form:
  Joint-subject students are enrolled in Anglophone Literatures and Cultures AND another subject within the Faculty of Arts. They must pass the entrance exams in both subjects. In their final year (six months before the viva at the latest), they must choose a thesis topic in one of their two subjects of study.

General Structure

The MA programme includes a mandatory element, which comprises two courses:

• Recent and Contemporary Trends in Literary Studies (Nové směry v literární vědě a kulturních studiích)
• Diploma Seminar (Diplomový seminář) which takes the form of individual consultations with the supervisor

All students select an area of specialization according to their research interests. Special Programme is chosen after the completion of the first year of study in accordance with the choice of the MA thesis topic. The selection must be confirmed by the time the student registers in the second year of study and reported to the Head of the Special Programme and to the Student Affairs Office (to the designated officer).

• British Literature and Commonwealth Cultural Studies (organized jointly by the English Literature Section and the Centre for British and Commonwealth Studies)
• American Literature and Cultural Studies (organized by the American Literature and Cultural Studies Section)
• Irish Studies (organized by the Centre for Irish Studies)
• Critical and Cultural Theory (organized by the Centre for Critical and Cultural Theory)

For detailed information on the courses on offer under individual Special Programmes, see the Timetables.

All special programmes have two components:

Basic courses

• Compulsory for all students in a particular Special Programme. Marked as basic in the timetable.
• Single-subject students must complete four basic courses in their Special Programme during the two years of the MA and write a graded paper in all of them.
• Joint-subject students must complete three basic courses in their Special Programme during the two years of the MA and write a graded paper in two of them.

Elective courses

• Chosen by the students from a list under the heading of a particular Special Programme. Themes of diploma dissertations must be chosen in the basic or elective courses.
• Single-subject students must complete five elective courses in their Special Programme and write a graded paper in two of them.
• Joint-subject students must complete two elective courses and write a graded paper in one of them.
• The Head of the Special Programme may accept as an elective course a course from the offer of a different Special Programme, if the interdisciplinary nature of the course warrants it. Such courses must be listed as elective in the timetable.

In addition to the compulsory and Special Programme element, single-subject students take six one-semester seminars from the entire range of MA courses offered by the Department (Oborové povinně volitelné předměty) and write a graded paper in two of them. Joint-subject students take two other one-semester seminar from the range of MA courses offered by the Department and write a graded paper in one of them.

For detailed information on credit requirements and the recommended sequence in which to take courses students should consult the study plan:

• single-subject study plan (from 2020/21)
• joint-subject study plan (from 2020/21)
• single-subject study plan (until 2020/21)
• double-subject study plan (until 2020/21)

The MA degree is concluded by:

• defence of the MA thesis
• final exam

Credit Requirements

• Single-subject students must obtain 120 credits in total, out of which 12 are for optional courses.
• Joint-subject students must obtain 120 credits in total, out of which 12 are for optional courses – at the department, 54 credits in total are required, out of which 6 are optional.
• In year 1 of full-time study 60 credits should be obtained. In order to be admitted into Year 2, minimum 40 credits are required.
• Joint-subject students have to obtain 40 credits in both their subjects together.
• For more detail, see the Faculty Study Regulations.

Duration

The MA programme is normally two years (i.e. four semesters of instruction) in duration for full time students. However, many students take a third year to complete the final thesis. Please consult with your thesis supervisor should you need to prolong your studies for this reason.