American Studies, MA by Research

COURSE OVERVIEW

An MA by Research in American Studies at Swansea enables you to undertake a substantial project led by your own passions and interests.

It represents a highly respected qualification which can present a pathway to a career in academia or widen your scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector.

Your project will take one year full-time or two years part-time. It is suitable if you want to undertake a first research degree as the culmination of taught studies, or if you are considering further research.

You will submit a thesis of up to 40,000 words, demonstrating original research with a significant contribution to the subject. This is followed by an oral examination of the thesis.

Our dynamic research environment is driven by committed staff who are all active researchers with a diverse range of interests and expertise through our Research Groups:

The Conflict, Reconstruction and Memory Research Group (CRAM)
Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO)
International Studies, Conflict and Security (ISCAS)
Political Analysis and Government (PAG)

This expertise includes:

• the American civil war
• US foreign policy
• the US ‘war on drugs’
• US politics and government
• surveillance and urban America
• American conservatism
• American military history
• 20th century American literature, film and popular culture

Programme Summary

This MA by Research in American Studies at Swansea will enable you to undertake a research project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can enable a future career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 40,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The Masters is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support.

Assessment

Students for the Masters by Research in American Studies are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The word limit is 40,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.