Master of Arts in Digital Humanities

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Are you interested in cultural heritage as well as digitalization? Digital humanity is an interdisciplinary field of study that represents a bridge between the arts and humanities to information technology. It further stretches beyond academia, mainly through collaboration with the cultural heritage sector.

This two-year master's program in digital humanities is suitable if you want to work with technology to devise creative solutions in a range of humanities application areas at cultural heritage institutions, public agencies, international organizations, and private companies.

Degree

Master of Arts (120 credits). The main field of study: Digital Humanities

This is Linnaeus University

Linnaeus University is a modern, international university in the southeast of Sweden. We are located in two nature-loving cities, one by the Baltic sea and one surrounded by lakes in the greenest city in Europe. More facts about Linnaeus University:

• Founded in 2010 through a merger between Kalmar University and Växjö University;
• Located in Kalmar and Växjö;
• 44,000 enrolled students;
• 2,200 enrolled international students;
• 6th largest university in Sweden in terms of the number of students;
• 780 partner universities in more than 80 countries;
• 100-degree programs on the first-cycle level, 8 of them taught in English;
• 80-degree programs on the second-cycle level, 35 of them taught in English.

Växjö

Roughly 15 minutes by bike from the city center, you will find Linnaeus University’s campus. It is like a small society with a university, student accommodation, and student life. Here you become part of a creative knowledge environment.

What will you come across on an excursion in Växjö – the city of contrasts? You will find good restaurants, a celebrated hockey team, and cozy cafés where you can enjoy a latte with lingonberry flavor. In Växjö, beautiful nature is always just around the corner; the city is surrounded by lakes and forests. Students like the combination of the city center and the active student life on campus. Your dream of the future starts here!

Digital humanities is an inter-disciplinary field of study that represents a bridge between the arts and humanities and information technology. It further stretches beyond academia, mainly through collaboration with the cultural heritage sector. This two-year master Program in digital humanities is suitable for individuals who want to work with technology to devise creative solutions in a range of humanities application areas at cultural heritage institutions, public agencies, international organizations and private companies. The program aims to build a general ability to understand and apply digital methods as well as create applications and practical solutions in workplaces, resorting to interdisciplinary approaches and cross-sectoral collaboration. This Program in digital humanities is closely linked to the research at Linnaeus University, its Digital Humanities Initiative as well as the institute, connected to a large number of international universities through the iSchools organization.

The program prepares you for jobs across the public and private sectors. Your future workplace could be in a museum, library, archive, or other parts of the public sector where you can work with the digitization of culture, arts, and cultural heritage. You can also work in companies providing these institutions with software, for example, guide apps. Additionally, the degree in Master of Arts provides the foundation for doctoral studies.

The program aims to build a general ability to understand and apply digital methods. You will also learn how to create applications and find practical solutions in working places by using interdisciplinary approaches and cross-sectoral collaboration.

This master's program in digital humanities is closely linked to the research at Linnaeus University, its Digital Humanities Initiative as well as the institute, connected to a large number of international universities through the iSchools organization.

One year master

There is a possibility to finalize the program after one year (a degree of 60 credits) by choosing to write a 15-credit master's degree course during semester 2.

Students who have completed one year of the program and, meet the requirements of a master’s degree (60 credits), may obtain the following degree: Master of Arts, main field of studies: Digital humanities.

Distance education

All teaching takes place on a learning platform and the material is available around the clock, offering great flexibility for students. There are no compulsory get-togethers on campus.

Program Overview

Semester 1: Provides an introduction to and in-depth studies of digital humanities, critical theory and digital transformation, and digital research methods for the humanities.

Semester 2: Provides an introduction to complexities surrounding the digitization of cultural heritage, including issues related to ethics, politics, and policies in the digital world, as well as technologies for interaction with cultural heritage and other humanities research data, and linking the data in the Semantic Web.

Semester 3: Elective courses are offered from which the student chooses in coordination with program advisors in order to get a degree that has a coherent whole on a topic of choice (e.g., Digital humanities and library and information science, digital humanities and history, Digital Humanities and digital transformation, Digital humanities and data-intensive methods, etc.).

This topic shall also be aligned with the topic of the final thesis.

Semester 4: A degree project of 30 ECTS credits. Students are responsible for finding an institution or private business for their final thesis project, anywhere in the world, in consultation with the teachers in the program. Any costs for travel arrangements to and from the workplace are paid for by the student.

Compulsory and elective courses

The first four courses make up the first-semester curriculum.

Year 1

• Introduction to digital humanities, 7.5 credits
• Digital humanities research methods, 7.5 credits
• Critical theory and digital transformation, 7.5 credits
• Programming for digital humanities, 7.5 credits
• Interactive technologies for digital humanities, 7.5 credits
• Digitization of cultural heritage, 7.5 credits

After these first six courses, the student who takes the one-year Master’s degree (60 credits) has to take the

• Degree project in Digital Humanities – first-year master level, 15 credits

The student who chooses to take the two-year Master’s degree (120 credits) needs to take the following two courses:

• Linked data and information structures, 7.5 credits
• Information ethics, politics and policies in the digital world, 7.5 credits

Year 2

Electives (30 credits) + Master thesis (30 credits)

Electives that guarantee a place for DH Master’s students are:

• Editing and Transcribing Premodern Texts: Digital Tools, Methods and Resources (7,5 credits) (with Lund University)
• Digital media and methods for sampling and analysis, 7.5 credits
• Digital history, 7.5 credits
• Digital archaeology, 7.5 credits
• Film, archive, and digital culture, 7.5 credits
• Film as a research tool, 7.5 credits
• Information Visualization in practice, 5 credits
• Tangible User Interfaces, 7.5 credits
• Network Society and Internet Cultures, 7.5 credits

The list of electives is continuously updated.

Distance

Studying distance education will give you different opportunities than on-campus teaching. It means that, to a large extent, you will be able to plan your studies yourself, both in terms of time and place.

However, keep in mind that most distance education includes a number of compulsory digital lectures and digital seminars during the weekdays. Some distance education also includes compulsory get-togethers, for which you will have to travel to Växjö or Kalmar.

There are a number of different ways to be a distance student, the common denominator being that a large part of your study work is carried out on the web. You communicate with the teacher and your fellow students using a learning platform with discussion forums, group work, recorded lectures, or video meetings using a webcam.