English Language and Literature

Eligibility Criteria

This fee-paying degree program is open to:

1. Those holding a Bachelor's degree in a field related to English philology (literature, cultural studies and/or linguistics) or teaching English (as either a first or second language) from an institution of higher education in the Czech Republic or abroad.
2. Those holding Bachelor's degrees in other disciplines within the humanities, liberal arts or social sciences from colleges or universities located in English-speaking countries (i.e. the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand) may also be considered for admission on an individual basis. Those in this category should contact the Department of English and American Studies prior to applying: admission@phil.muni.cz.

You do not have to come to Brno personally to take the entrance exam. The result of the admission process depends on the quality of the documents that you provide. Those will be assessed by the admission committee and you will be notified about the results via e-mail.

Terms of Admission

1. Meet the eligibility criteria set out in the paragraph above.
2. Submission of an electronic application in the Masaryk University Information System.
3. Submission of two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a teacher.
4. Submission of a Statement of Purpose (750 words maximum) in English, explaining why the applicant wishes to study in this degree program accredited in English and why the applicant wishes to study in this Department.
5. Submission of a CV (Curriculum Vitae) detailing the candidate's professional/academic experience.
6. Submission of a copy of the applicant's Bachelor's thesis or its equivalent (Honour's Thesis, Senior Thesis, etc.) or 15 pages of the applicant's original academic paper.
7. Submission of a transcript of university/college studies, which must include:
   • Dates you attended the institution
   • Titles of courses and examinations you completed and the marks received
8. Demonstrate English-language skills at the C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Language by submitting one of the following certificates (not more than one year old at the time of the submission of the application):
   • IELTS Academic (minimum acceptable score: 7.5)
   • Certificate of Cambridge Proficiency in English with a mark of A or B
   • TOEFL iBT score of 102 or higher
   • Graduates of colleges or universities located in English-speaking countries (i.e. the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand) need not submit test scores.

Entrance exam

The evaluation of the applications will be done in two steps:

1. Evaluation of the submitted documents.
2. An oral interview (via Skype on request if step 1 is passed).

Admission to study English Language and Literature will be offered to those applicants selected by the Department's Entrance Exam Committee, based on a complex evaluation of the applicant's language skills, academic record, recommendations, and motivation.

Application Deadlines

1 January - 30 April for the enrollment in the Fall semester
1 July - 31 October for the enrollment in the Spring semester

Documents set out above in the Terms of Admission are required to be provided in digital form and attached to the online application by April 30th or October 31st.

Contact

admission@phil.muni.cz

This degree study programme is divided into two tracks: Linguistics and Literary and Cultural Studies. Each student chooses one specialization and the focus of their studies is in that track. All students must complete five type A/required courses. The remainder of the programme consists of type B/selective and type C/elective courses that the student chooses based on the track chosen. The student then writes a Master’s thesis based on the track and relevant coursework. With the exception of some courses in translation, all teaching, coursework, and exams in this study programme are carried out in the English language.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• write and speak in English with competence at the C2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
• have a deep knowledge of literary and cultural theories and the literatures and cultures of English-speaking countries
• have a deep knowledge of the approaches of modern functional linguistics, including the history of the English language.
• work independently and conduct critical analyses
• analyse, evaluate and interpret primary as well as secondary texts from the fields of literary and cultural studies, linguistics and translation

Graduates with this degree are capable of complex written and oral expression in English. They have a deep knowledge of the literatures, cultures, and histories of the major English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, and the Commonwealth countries. They are able to analyse various forms and functions of language in diverse genres and communicative situations. In addition to work in the fields of translating, interpreting, editing, journalism, tourism, and teaching at both the secondary and tertiary levels, graduates are well-suited for any profession that demands the ability to think and express themselves independently and critically.

A minimum scope of a Master's thesis is no less than 125,000 characters including footnotes, annotations and references (excluding title pages, contents, acknowledgements and appendices). A Master's thesis has the character of an independent empirical research. Students can work with already published texts and data accessible for secondary analysis. The aim a Master's thesis is to demonstrate the student's ability to work critically with professional texts, process the concepts and theories discovered there, and find relevant answers to the given research question.

Further studies are possible in the doctoral degree study programmes of English linguistics or English literature.