North American Studies (Master)Freie Universität Berlin

The Master's program in North American Studies focuses on historical developments, structures, and institutions in North America, analyzed and interpreted within their respective cultural, economic, literary, political, and social contexts. The program offers in-depth knowledge of North America across six disciplines: politics, sociology, literature, economics, culture, and history. Students can choose two areas of concentration from these six disciplines. Additionally, interdisciplinary and regional aspects are addressed in compulsory courses on current topics and research fields in North America.

The John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies (JFKI) is an interdisciplinary institute for research and training at Freie Universität Berlin. Its MA program provides students with the opportunity for academic specialization in numerous facets of North America (US, Canada). Courses are exclusively taught in English, and German language skills are not required. The program combines academic training in six disciplines with interdisciplinary perspectives. The curriculum includes courses taught by faculty members from different disciplinary backgrounds and lecture series focusing on specific issues by researchers from all disciplines taught at the JFKI. The institute has a strong network of ties to numerous American and Canadian Studies Institutes via the Erasmus Program, and students can benefit from a year abroad at an American or Canadian university through the university-wide direct exchange program. Renowned researchers from North America regularly teach at the JFKI through the Graduate School’s visiting professor program. The Institute also cooperates closely with the US and Canadian embassies and institutions like the American Academy. The Terra Foundation for American Art funds a visiting professor program in art history.

Freie Universität Berlin offers an ideal and vibrant environment for students of North American Studies, characterized by a multitude of research projects. Collaborative research projects focus on popular culture and seriality, American art history (funded by the Terra Foundation), the alt-right movement, and trust and transparency in an age of surveillance (TATAS). Faculty members are also active in the research clusters Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS) and Temporal Communities. Since its foundation in 2006, the Graduate School of North American Studies (GSNAS) has awarded doctoral degrees in all six disciplines taught at the Institute, making the JFKI one of the few institutes in Germany offering training at the undergraduate (BA) and graduate level (MA, PhD).

The research library at the Institute offers access to over 900,000 books, newspapers, journals, DVDs, cartoons, records, and other digital media, making it one of the most sought-after research libraries on the US and Canada in Europe. The JFKI has a very active student body that runs a cafeteria and organizes regular events.

The course of study comprises three fields: studies in the first discipline (core discipline), the second discipline, and a compulsory, interdisciplinary module. Students also participate in a colloquium of their core discipline, ideally during or before writing their MA thesis. The examination rules provide detailed information on study content, exam requirements, and regulations for the final thesis, including an overview of credit points and workload for each course according to ECTS specifications. Students must select one of the two areas of concentration as their core discipline, and the MA thesis must be written in the core discipline. Students are encouraged to spend parts of their studies abroad, although it is not a mandatory component of the MA program. Upon successful completion, students are awarded an M.A. degree.

The program's disciplines include History, Cultural Studies, Literary Studies, Political Studies, Sociology, and Economics. Students choose two of these as their core disciplines. The interdisciplinary studies module covers current topics and research areas in North American Studies across three parts. A colloquium is also part of the program.