The MA South Asian Area Studies programme provides exceptional opportunities for advanced study of one of the world’s most diverse and important regions. Students can choose to concentrate on pre-modern or modern South Asia and can acquire a basic knowledge of one of the area’s languages, or build upon pre-existing knowledge.

Our MA in American Studies offers a comprehensive overview of the field at the graduate level. Students are required to take core courses in the different subfields of American Studies and in related areas such as cultural studies and cultural history, the social sciences and research methodologies, historical linguistics, popular and visual culture, etc. All these pave the way for the individual research students are required to undertake for their thesis in North American literature and literary studies in an interdisciplinary manner. The thesis supervised by our colleagues at the Institute of English Studies is to be handed in in the fourth semester and defended in order to earn an MA in American Studies.

The Double Master’s in Policies & Governance in Europe (PAGE) will provide you with an in-depth understanding of major political and economic developments in Europe and of the analytical approaches developed to account for them. You will study at two of the most highly ranked universities in Europe in the field of politics and international studies:  Luiss, 19th in the world in the 2024 QS Elsevier Subject Ranking, and King’s College London, 12th in the world and 5th in Europe in the 2024 QS Elsevier Subject Ranking. 

This program focuses on modern history and current developments in Europe, Eurasia, and North America. You can either specialize in a single country or approach the whole region from a thematic angle of history, culture, political development or environmental issues. Create your own curriculum or choose from predefined study tracks focused on globalising U.S. studies or transition and integration studies. You can find a career in business, media, NGOs, state institutions or academia.

On the MPhil/PhD African Studies supervision is provided for research leading to MPhil and PhD degrees within the broad general area of African studies. Research topics such as the study of a language (from a descriptive, comparative, philological or textual point of view), of literature (whether author-based, thematic or comparative), or of any of the performing arts, which falls within our own core expertise, are supervised entirely in the African Languages, Cultures and Literatures Department. However, there is great potential for extending the range of topics by means of joint supervision with colleagues from other departments and centres.

The Postgraduate of Asia-Europe Cultural Curatorship Studies (PG Asia-EU CCS) is unique in Belgium. It will provide you with knowledge, skills and competences in the field of curating and crafting culture from intercultural perspectives. Hands-on experience and immersion in the professional field through an internship in Asia or Europe allows you to become a skillful intercultural communicator and cultural curator. The PG Asia-EU CCS targets Belgian/European and Asian students, with interest in contemporary society, culture and arts in Europe and Asia and the aspiration to work in the sector at the intersection of culture, art and communication.

Research Degrees (MPhil/PhD) in South Asian Studies has an international reputation for excellence in the field of South Asian studies earned by the world-leading research undertaken. The South Asia Section of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics welcomes applications for the degrees of PhD on any topic related to the research interests and disciplines of the Department’s research-active staff.

The MA in Middle Eastern Studies provides exceptional opportunities for studying this diverse and fascinating area at the postgraduate level through a variety of disciplinary approaches. The main emphasis of the programme is on the modern period through modules in history, geography, politics, economics and anthropology.

The program focuses on modern history, politics, and diplomacy, as well as social, cultural and economic problems of Central Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, and the post-Soviet area, including the Caucasus and Central Asia. It has two specializations: Balkan and Central European Studies or Russian and Eurasian Studies. You can study Greek, Russian, Polish or Czech. You can become a regional expert on a specific territory and join NGOs, state administration, media or the business sector. The program focuses on modern history, politics, and diplomacy, as well as social, cultural and economic problems of Central Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, and the post-Soviet area, including the Caucasus and Central Asia. It has two specializations: Balkan and Central European Studies or Russian and Eurasian Studies. You can study Greek, Russian, Polish or Czech. You can become a regional expert on a specific territory and join NGOs, state administration, media or the business sector.

The MA in Middle Eastern Studies provides exceptional opportunities for studying this diverse and fascinating area at the postgraduate level through a variety of disciplinary approaches. The main emphasis of the programme is on the modern period through the modules in history, geography, politics, economics and anthropology. Some exposure is provided, however, to the pre-modern culture and society of the area through modules in religious studies, Islamic art and archaeology, and history.

The combination of media and area studies provides in-depth critical knowledge about processes of mediation and signification, and how space and geography intersect with them. The program is based on post-colonial theory, media sociology, memory studies and political geography. This is translated into a very practice based, research oriented approach. You can then gain employment in more senior/advisory positions in state administrations, private sector, public service institutions, and NGOs.

This two-year interdisciplinary master in European Studies offers tailor-made training for a career that requires strong research competences, for example in academia or in a think tank, in politics or journalism. Choose your own study and research specialisation (Europe and the World, Governance and Representation in Europe or Historicising European Union) and graduation package (Double Degree with Cologne University, study abroad or a research internship).

The master’s degree program Intercultural Communication and European Studies (ICEUS) qualifies students for an international career. It comprises course offers in the social sciences, politics, communication, and law. The program includes courses in the social sciences, political sciences, communication sciences, and law.

Research Degrees (MPhil/PhD) in Japanese and Korean Studies is able to supervise MPhil and PhD degrees by research and thesis in a wide range of cultural and linguistic subjects. Intending research students should not feel constrained to limit their choice of topics to those indicated against the names of current staff members (postgraduate students have recently been working on a range of topics that include Japanese cinema, Kabuki texts, modern Japanese linguistics and literature, Meiji historical texts, Korean linguistics and literature, Korean colonial and eighteenth-century history).

Students who already have a BA degree in the humanities or social sciences and speak English at least at C1 level can apply to this two- or four-semester programme providing training in the different aspects - language, history, culture, politics, diversity - of American Studies.