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General information

Why study Transatlantic Studies at Radboud University?
Learning objectives
Learning outcomes of the programme
International Spring Academy
Interfaculty seminars
Internship in Europe or North America
International exchange program
Honours programme
Program coordinator

This one-year Master programme examines the important political, historical, cultural and diplomatic connections between North America and Europe. Grounded in the field of American Studies, it is interdisplinary in nature and intersects with cultural, social and political history, international relations and political science. This will enable you to critically evaluate transatlantic relations at the intersection of politics, history, and culture, including literature, visual media and music. This will help you to analyse the forces of globalisation, transnationalism and cultural transfer, and engage with current issues in transatlantic debates about such urgent topics as intercultural confrontations, populist politics, mass media, transatlantic alliances and diplomacy, migration, diversity, racism, Black Lives Matter, indigenous peoples, environmental challenges, and the legacies of colonialism.

Our department consists of a diverse staff, with a range of international backgrounds, experiences, academic specialisations and approaches. We emphasise individual attention to students and offer significant thesis supervision. We believe in a hands-on approach, meaning that in addition to lectures there are excursions, international internship possibilities and interfaculty seminars. As electives, you can take related courses taught at other master’s programs such as History, Political Science, Linguistics and Philosophy.

There’s a wide range of opportunities for graduates of this program. Your broad interdisciplinary education, expertise in research skills, and excellent command of English will help you find a job in a large variety of international settings.

Why study Transatlantic Studies at Radboud University?

  • Our classes are small and interactive, and our professors are easily approachable. There is an open environment where you can easily come into contact with other students.
  • Our compact university campus, where everything is within walking distance, is the greenest and most beautiful in the Netherlands.
  • We encourage our students to take a multi- or interdisciplinary approach to their studies, and in many cases, you are free to customise your own programme, so you can learn about and research topics that you are passionate about.
  • We organize on-site and virtual classrooms combined with a unique international spring academy with partners in the United States, Germany and Poland.
  • You earn a valuable diploma in an outstanding university system. Furthermore, we stimulate and support the development of your critical skills in order to improve your chances in the job market within your field.

Learning objectives

Graduates acquire extensive knowledge of the transatlantic relations between North America and Europe and the diversity of transatlantic cultural and political interactions; are familiar with the theories, concepts, and methodologies that have shaped research in this interdisciplinary field; are able to identify and articulate major problems and core issues in transatlantic relations, and to analyze these independently and in interdisciplinary fashion; and have the skills to report academically (in the English language) on their research findings and acquired knowledge, both orally and in written work.

Our programme is career-oriented: to prepare for the job market, graduates acquire the skills to formulate research questions, to independently engage in research activities, and to report on their research findings in academic fashion in excellent English. They learn to assess the needs of a variety of consumers of academic knowledge (including scholars, policymakers, heritage institutions, and wider audiences) and communicate their research findings accordingly. At the end of the programme, our graduates will have acquired academic expertise, transferable skills and transcultural competencies that offer a firm grounding for further study or a future career.

Learning outcomes of the programme

The aim of all programmes within the Faculty of Arts is to teach students relevant humanities knowledge, insight, and skills, to train them academically, and to prepare them for further careers (in academia and beyond).

In addition to the general learning outcomes, the programme also aims to achieve the following programme-specific learning outcomes:

  • Graduates acquire extensive knowledge of the transatlantic relations between North America and Europe; are familiar with the theories, concepts, and methodologies that have shaped research in this interdisciplinary field; are able to identify and articulate major problems and core issues in transatlantic relations, and to analyze these independently and in interdisciplinary fashion; and have the skills to report academically (in the English language) on their research findings and acquired knowledge, both orally and in written work.
  • Supplementary to these general learning outcomes, the degree programme also aims to achieve programme specific learning outcomes for the programme Transatlantic Relations: History, Culture and Politics. The graduate has obtained a thorough understanding of the cultural and political interactions between North America and Europe, in both past and present.
  • The graduate has an overview of the historical dimension of the transatlantic relations, can identify dominant themes and patterns in various time periods, and is able to understand contemporary developments and issues in their historical context.
  • The graduate has become familiar with the diversity of cultural connections between North America and Europe, with an emphasis on literature, visual art, music, and popular culture, is able to understand the role of these cultural expressions in socio-political and cultural debates, and understands the crucial importance of dimensions of difference such as race, ethnicity and gender in the creation and enduring history of the Atlantic world.
  • The graduate is able to analyze the political and geopolitical dimensions of transatlantic relations, has a detailed knowledge of the postwar foreign policy interactions between the US and Europe in a global context, and can assess the foundations of (cultural) diplomacy, collective security, and multilateral collaborations.
  • The graduate has the skills to formulate research questions, to independently engage in research activities, and to report on their research findings in academic fashion in excellent English and can assess the needs of a variety of consumers of academic knowledge (including scholars, policymakers, heritage institutions, and wider audiences) and communicate their research findings accordingly.
  • The graduate has acquired academic expertise, transferable skills and transcultural competencies that offer a firm grounding for further study or a career.

International Spring Academy

The American Studies Department initiated a novel approach for internationalizing its MA program: a one-week spring academy organized together with the University of Duisburg-Essen and transatlantic partners. The goal of the International Spring Academy is a threefold grounding of Transnational American Studies as a form of engaged comparative teaching, research, and valorization with an emphasis on multi-national perspectives in interactive classrooms.

This joint initiative investigates transnational American studies on both sides of the border with an emphasis on climate change, black lives matter, or the future of soft power. Next to researching sites of memory on American History in Nijmegen and Duisburg-Essen, participating students are encouraged to exchange ideas and research agendas and to establish new academic contacts.

Interfaculty seminars

We strive to offer our students multidisciplinary initiatives based on current events. At Radboud University, we have the advantage of having a broad number of faculties with different disciplines that can work together: everyone is located on one compact campus. For the academic year 2022-2023, the Department of American Studies (Faculty of Arts), European and International Law (Faculty of Law) and Political Science (School of Management) will join forces to organize a number of seminars and events on the 2022 midterm elections in the United States.

Internship in Europe or North America

An internship in Transatlantic Studies gives you the opportunity to apply insights and skills from the program in practice. It builds a bridge between the academic curriculum and your career and allows you to gain insight into your own qualities and the requirements that are set for a prospective academic within a relevant field of work. An internship offers you the opportunity to specialize, build a network, and get a taste of the job or profession you aim for.

Internships can be found in the following sectors:

  1. Foreign relations and public diplomacy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassies/consulates, Netherlands Atlantic Association, EU- or US-based think tanks);
  2. Museums and heritage institutions (Black Archives, Rijksmuseum, Vrijheidsmuseum, Afrika Museum);
  3. Media industry (publishers, newspapers/magazines, radio/tv);
  4. internationally oriented companies and corporate consultancy firms;
  5. Research programs, institutes or archives.

The internship must have a clear relationship with the content and level of the program and by definition contains a research component. Any additional organizational, editorial, museum or communicative work must be substantive in nature and enrich the knowledge and/or competences of the intern. More information about the procedure, the requirements for the internship plan and the completion of the internship can be found in the Course manual master internship at Brightspace. See also the "Internship Info" of the Career Service Arts:

https://www.ru.nl/facultyofarts/careerservice/internship-info/internship-vacancies/

International Exchange program

The program offers you the opportunity to study in the US or Canada in the second semester. While abroad, you can enroll in two graduate courses during the Spring semester and start working on your thesis. You can finish your thesis after you return to Nijmegen, in most cases end of May. Amongst the many exchange partners are University of California (Berkeley), University of Iowa, University of North Carolina, University of Massachusetts in Boston, University of Ottawa, Western University in Ontario, and Ryerson University in Toronto. Consult the site of the International Office for a full overview of exchange partners.

Honours programme

Since 2002, the Radboud Honours Academy offers a special supplementary programme for highly motivated Bachelor's students wishing to extend their knowledge into disciplines other than their own. There are three honours programmes for Master's students: Reflections on Science, Reflections on Professions and Beyond the Frontiers. Each year, 150 students from Radboud University Nijmegen will have the opportunity to follow one of these programmes.

Program coordinator

Prof. dr. F. Mehring is the program coordinator for the Master's program in Transatlantic Studies, and has the ultimate responsibility for the planning and execution of the study program in the Master's phase. If you have any questions specifically relating to a particular course, you should first consult the teacher concerned before consulting the coordinator.