Study at Cardiff | Postgraduate

Welsh and Celtic Studies/Astudiaethau Cymreig a Cheltaidd (MA)

Course Aims

This degree gives academic training of the highest standard to students interested in Welsh and Celtic Studies who wish to attain a qualification at Masters-level in a period of one year, from September to September (or in two years for part-time students).

The School of Welsh welcomes applications from students with a disability: we will offer alternative assessment methods in some cases.

It may be studied through the medium of Welsh or English or bilingually.

Special Features

• The School of Welsh at Cardiff University places great emphasis on the highest standard of progressive research and on developing research skills and transferable skills of the highest quality.
• External reviews have placed the School at the top of the league for Celtic Studies.

Course Description

This new degree offers an opportunity to explore various aspects of Welsh and Celtic Studies and earn a Masters-level qualification. The content of the degree will be tailored to your own research interests and the expertise offered by the School of Welsh.

This MA degree uses many different methods of teaching and learning. During your degree you will attend lectures, seminars and workshops, complete practical tasks and complete extended pieces of independent work under your tutor’s supervision.

In Part 1, students will follow three core modules and complete the following assessments:

• Academic and Professional Research (40 credits) - presenting a seminar paper, work experience and planning a research project
• 1 subject of your choice related to Welsh and Celtic Studies (40 credits) - critical review (2,000 words) + essay (6,000 words)
• 1 subject of your choice related to Welsh and Celtic Studies (40 credits) - essay (8,000 words)

In Part 2, students will work on an extended research project (60 credits) and complete a dissertation (12,000 words).

The research interests and expertise of the School’s academic staff span many fields related to Welsh and Celtic studies, in both the medieval and modern period. Staff research particularly focuses on fields related to language policy and planning, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, sociology of the Irish language, performance theory, tales of the Mabinogion, theory and methodology related to translation, textual criticism, Welsh poetry of the Middle Ages, historiography and literature, ethnology and folk studies, religion and culture, creative writing, the Welsh colony in Patagonia and the Welsh in America, the hymn, the ballad and the folk song, children’s literature, gender studies, literary theory and criticism, identity, ethnicity and multiculturalism. Great emphasis is set on placing all the School’s academic research into a comparative international context.

Skills Acquired

This degree programme will enable you to:

• Show, on a high level, knowledge and understanding in fields related to Welsh and Celtic studies
• Appreciate scholarly criticism as an essential element for intellectual research
• Argue intellectually both orally and on paper about questions related to various fields within Welsh and Celtic studies
• Use a wide range of bibliographical, manuscript, archival and electronic sources in a critical way
• Write and present polished work in an appropriate style
• Produce research work following recognised academic and professional practices
• Show the necessary skills for further research work (such as a PhD) and for positions in a wide range of contexts, by developing transferrable skills, including the ability to communicate both orally and in writing, to practise information technology skills, to come to reasonable conclusions in complex and uncertain situations, to question and analyse practices and opinions, to adapt to changes, and to react positively to further training and life-long learning.

This degree programme will enable you to develop a number of valuable skills. These include the following skills: communicate and present information, ideas and arguments (orally and in writing); using information technology (including databases, the web, etc.); developing interpersonal skills; managing your own learning (including time management); showing commitment to continuous learning and development. Through the special subject and the extended research project you will gain confidence in working independently and gain experience using a wide range of practical research skills. Sessions with a supervisor will enable you to develop thorough discussion skills and to develop original ideas.

Careers Prospects

This degree develops knowledge and skills regarded as assets in a wide variety of posts, including some in the heritage industry, the publishing world, journalism and the media, marketing and public relations, the world of education, translation, libraries, archives and museums, the world of the Assembly and the civil service, administration and policy development. A period spent on work experience in a workplace is part of the module ‘Academic and Professional Development’.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have a first or upper second-class UK Honours degree in an appropriate subject.

Applicants whose first language is not English must satisfy the English Language requirements for entry to the university by attainment of a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS. Students are expected to satisfy the School with regards to the standard of their Welsh and/or English, as appropriate. Students whose oral or written Welsh is not fluent will have the opportunity to follow Welsh beginners or improvers classes.

Next intake: September 2013

More information

• Learn more about Cardiff School of Welsh
  
• How to apply
• New Search