StudyQA — Bachelor: English Language and Culture

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Description Contents Requirements

The World of English

From its humble beginnings as one of the languages of Britain, English has spread all over the globe and emerged as theinternational language of science, the media, politics, and technology. Taught exclusively in English, the UvA's Bachelor's in English Language and Culture allows you to explore and deepen your appreciation of the literature and linguistics of the English-speaking world.

As you work your way through the traditional canon and world literature in English from around the globe, you will study the origins and development of the language, diverse World Englishes like Australian, South African, Indian and Singaporean, as well as how they are perceived and represented in the literary and media worlds.

Is English Language and Culture right for you?

You want to master your spoken and written command of the English language.
You love reading books by the likes of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, and are passionate about the language, literature and culture of England, the United States and the rest of the English-speaking world.
You enjoy writing, whether it’s an article for your school newspaper, a review of your favourite book or poem, a paper about the structure and development of the language, or your very own story.
You have a qualified pre-university diploma.
You can demonstrate a solid command of the English language.

Why study English Language and Culture in Amsterdam?

A world-class education: the programme is ranked 1st in Continental Europe and 46th overall in the QS World University Rankings 2017.
The chance to study in Amsterdam, a European hub with its own rich historical and cultural heritage, and a large professional and social English-speaking community.
A stand-alone programme focused on English language and culture from start to finish.
A uniquely broad and diverse range of courses within both the fields of literature and linguistics.
An intimate academic setting with small class sizes and plenty of time to interact with your professors and peers.
After completing your Bachelor's, you can apply to one of the UvA's many Master's programmes.

The first year

The first year of the programme provides you with a broad, general overview of the entire field of English studies.

The literature courses serve as an introduction to the history, literature and cultural theories of the English language.
The linguistics courses introduce you to World Englishes; the origins, development and spread of English, and ways of analysing language in use.
In the Academic Writing courses, you will learn and refine various skills necessary for academic writing as well as develop your academic skill set. You will work on improving your argumentation, presentation and research skills using a variety of multimedia tools.

The second and third years

In the second and third years of the programme, you will build on the courses in linguistics and literature.

In the linguistics courses, you examine the complex relationship between language and society, both in the present-day as well as over time. The courses in literature explore contemporary literary and cultural theory.
In addition to the core courses, you will be able to tailor the programme to your specific interests by choosing from a range of elective courses.
In the third year, you will have the opportunity to spend a semester or year studying abroad, and/or completing an internship.

Learning and assessment

As a Bachelor’s student, you are expected to spend an average of 42 hours a week on your studies.

In your first year, 12 to 15 of those hours will be spent attending lectures, while in your second and third years you will have approximately 8 to 10 hours of class.
The remaining time will be spent on self-study, preparing for lectures and seminars, completing coursework and assignments, as well as exams.
You will attend both lectures and small group seminars.
Lectures generally introduce the main topics of the course, discussing and explaining course readings and literature.
In the seminars, you will work closely with your fellow students, collaborating on assignments, presentations and talks.
You will be tested by means of written and oral exams, presentations, essays, reports and assignments.
Your final grade for a course is determined by the results you receive for each of these.

Honours programme

Highly-motivated students may qualify to take part in a selective honours programme. This programme accounts for an additional 30 ECTS and will help familiarise you with various other aspects of academic research and prepare you for a subsequent Research Master's degree.

Studying part-time

It is possible to enrol in this programme as a part-time student.

Part-time students follow the same programme as full-time students. However, the course load of the programme will be 40 credits per year instead of the full-time course load of 60 credits per year.
The duration of the programme is four and a half years.
Part-time students need to be flexible with regards to the timetable as the courses will be taught during the daytime – there are no separate nighttime courses. Additionally, the timetable changes approximately every eight weeks.
Students who are interested in studying part-time need to contact the study adviser to discuss the options and consequences.

Prior education

Studying with a foreign diploma at the University of Amsterdam means that a student's preparatory education must be equivalent to the Dutch VWO diploma, with English included in the final examination.
The starting level of a regular study programme at Dutch universities is comparable to that of other European countries, which is usually one or two years higher than in most countries outside of Europe.
A student's diploma or certificate from prior education will be compared with the list of country qualifications that has been drawn up by the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Nuffic).

Required documents

In this application you will need to indicate your previous education and upload all of the required documents:

Final secondary school/higher education diplomas and grade lists obtained;
Proof of recent results (if you are still attending a programme);
Official translations in English or Dutch if the diploma and/or transcripts are not already in English, Dutch or German;
A sufficient English test result, if required and already available. If your results are insufficient, do not upload this test, but send another one at a later date;
A curriculum vitae;
UvA Matching form.

What is it?

UvA Matching for international students is an introduction to the Bachelor’s programme for which you have applied. It is designed to help you assess whether you have chosen the right programme, through a combination of online activities such as assignments, reading course literature and/or making a test. The activities may differ per programme.

Once you have completed these activities, you will receive personal advice based on your test results. This will help you determine whether the Bachelor’s programme matches your interests and capabilities and whether you have the motivation and study skills to start the programme in September.

After submitting your enrolment application in Studielink you will receive more information on UvA Matching for international students.

English language requirements

All our international programmes are conducted in English, therefore, applicants must show their ability to write and speak in English on an academic level. Students with a Bachelor’s degree from a Dutch university and students who successfully finished a full academic programme at an esteemed institute in one of the following countries are exempt: UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Please note we only accept the TOEFL Test, the test of the International English Language Testing Service (Academic IELTS) or a Cambridge Examination Score. For Non-EU/EEA students the required English test result should be received on or before 1 February in the year of application by the International Team at the Faculty of Science. If this in any case is not possible, contact the International Team first, before applying. For EU/EEA students the deadline of submitting the test results is 1 July.

TOEFL Test

The minimum scores required on the TOEFL Test are:

Internet-based test (iBT): 92 with a minimum of 20 on each subject

Exceptions:
Artificial Intelligence, Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Information Studies: 98, with a minimum of 22 for reading and listining and 24 for writing and speaking
Software Engineering: 98 with a minimum of 22 on each subject

Please note the TOEFL-code for the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam is: 8628.

IELTS Test (only Academic IELTS is accepted)

Minimum score 6.5, at least 6.0 on sub-scores (listening/reading/writing/speaking).

Exceptions

Artificial Intelligence, Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Information Studies> minimum score 7.0, sub-scores on writing and speaking at least 7.0, sub-scores on listening and reading at least 6.5
Software Engineering > minimum score 7.0, at least 6.5 on each sub-score (listening/reading/writing/speaking)
The UvA offers the IELTS test for free to current UvA students to assess their English language proficiency.