Program

Studying at the HCA
Course Outline
Examination and Study Regulations

Studying at the HCA

• Study at a premier institute for interdisciplinary research at Germany‘s oldest university: An ideal combination of innovation and tradition.
• Study at a world-class research university: Heidelberg was recently declared one of Germany‘s elite institutions of higher learning. The University is spread across the 800-year-old historic town and the Neuenheimer Feld. The HCA is located just a step away from the University Library and the main lecture halls. This 300-year-old baroque townhouse offers perfect working conditions as well as a welcoming atmosphere for students, scholars, and the public.
• Study in an international learning community: Heidelberg is home to over 27,000 full-time students, including more than 6,000 foreign students. Heidelberg University also attracts more than 500 international scholars as Visiting Professors each academic year . Students from more than 20 countries have participated in the MAS program over the past four years.
• Enjoy faculty expertise: First class academics from various disciplines teach in the MAS. Students have access to the departments of American Literature, Art History, Economics, Geography, History, Law, Musicology, Philosophy, Political Science, Religious Studies, and Sociology, including their departmental libraries.
• Enjoy a first-rate library: Along with 3.1 million volumes, the university library system boasts over 10,500 current periodical subscriptions, over 46,200 electronic journals, and more than 1,800 databases.
• Enjoy superior access to the University‘s outstanding research facilities: Our students conduct research at, among others, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, a United Nations depository library, and the Schurman Library for American History.
• The Heidelberg Experience: There is no better place to spend your year abroad! Set in the picturesque Neckar Valley Heidelberg’s beautiful historic center offers a romantic small town atmosphere with a cosmopolitan appeal. Enjoy easy access to the cultural and recreational offerings of South Western Germany. With the new ICE (Intercity Express) connection from Mannheim, Paris is only three hours away. A trip to Strasbourg and the Alsace takes less than an hour. Switzerland and the Alps are a mere two hours to the south.

Course Outline

PLEASE NOTE that this new course outline is valid from the academic year 2009/10 on!

American Studies at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies is defined as exemplary and interdisciplinary teaching of cultural knowledge about the United States of America in subjects such as American literature, economics, geography, history, art history, law, musicology, political science, philosophy, sociology, and theology/religious studies.

The MAS is a three semester program starting each winter semester. Students earn 90 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) points during the course of the program:

• Winter semester (late September to end of January): Starts with a one week orientation period followed by a weekly curriculum of 4 subject courses, 2 tutorials, 1 colloquium, and 2 additional courses. Students have to take 4 oral exams during the first week of February.
• Winter break (February and March): During the lecture-free period students are expected to write and hand in 2 to 3 research papers. Towards the end of the break there will also be a one week excursion to Berlin.
• Summer semester (early April to mid-July): Weekly – 2 subject courses, 1 tutorial, 1 interdisciplinary seminar, 1 colloquium, and 2 additional courses. Students have to take 2 oral exams at the end of the semester.
• Summer break (mid-July to September): During the lecture-free period students are expected to write and hand in 2 to 3 research papers and develop the topic of their M.A. thesis. Students will be required to hand in an outline of their M.A. thesis by the end of September.
• Winter semester (late September to end of January): This time period is reserved for writing and finishing the M.A. thesis. In November there will be a three-day thesis workshop with the presentation of thesis outlines.
• M.A. thesis deadline: January 31.
• Graduation: End of February.

The MAS consists of 6 types of courses taught in English:

1. Subject Courses: Portray general themes in American Studies, presented by scholars of the participating fields. They can either be taught in form of a lecture or a seminar depending on the lecturers’ choice. Students must attend 6 subject courses. From those they choose 3 subject courses (2 in the winter semester, 1 in the summer semester), in which they are required to attend a tutorial, pass an oral exam, and hand in a research paper. For the other 3 subject courses only oral exams are required.
2. Tutorials: Accompany the subject courses and are designed exclusively for MAS students. They deepen and intensify the contents of the lectures. Students must attend the 3 tutorials that accompany their chosen subject courses.
3. Colloquium: The HCA invites scholars, graduate students and public figures to present their research or to give lectures on current issues in the U.S. and in transatlantic relations. The colloquium provides space for intense discussions and academic exchange.
4. Interdisciplinary Seminars: Take place during the summer semester and are focused on analysis from an interdisciplinary perspective. They concentrate on joint activities and approaches of at least two fields (e.g. history and law, American literature and religious studies).
5. Methodology Module: Courses consist of theory classes in the winter and summer semesters that focus on new approaches toward research, analysis, and writing in American Studies, as well as classes in Academic Writing and Presentation Skills.
6. Excursion: The excursion is a one week trip to Berlin in the course of which the students visit various transatlantic institutions and meet with specialists in the field.

Examination and Study Regulations

As a legal document, the Examination and Study Regulations ( Prüfungs- und Studienordnung) are available in German only.