Master's Programme in Digital Humanities

120 credits

Do you have a background in the humanities or social sciences and want to learn about digital media? Do you want to know how to improve your skills using digital tools? Have you thought about how digital technologies impact culture, society, research and our everyday life? The Master's Programme in Digital Humanities offers you the opportunity to complement your humanities studies with highly sought-after technical skills and knowledge about the digital era.

Autumn 2023 Autumn 2023, Uppsala, 100%, On-campus, English

Location

Uppsala

Pace of study

100%

Teaching form

On-campus

Instructional time

Daytime

Start date

28 August 2023

Language of instruction

English

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. The main field of study must be within the humanities or the social sciences.

Language requirements

Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se.

Selection

Students are selected based on a statement of purpose including a summary of their Bachelor's thesis (or equivalent project work).

Tuition fee-paying students and non-paying students are admitted on the same grounds but in different selection groups.

Fees

If you are not a citizen of a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country, or Switzerland, you are required to pay application and tuition fees.

Application fee: SEK 900
First tuition fee instalment: SEK 50,000
Total tuition fee: SEK 200,000

About the programme

Over the past few decades, new digital tools have emerged that are now used within a range of humanities and social science disciplines. The Master's Programme in Digital Humanities provides a solid grasp of how powerful digital tools can be used to analyse, visualise and research digital media and digitised materials. You will also learn to digitise and process different types of texts and images and how these can be made available at cultural heritage institutions and in other contexts.

The programme is multidisciplinary and driven by humanistic inquiry and curiosity. Key themes are the critical evaluation of digital technologies and their use in a number of areas, including knowledge production and cultural heritage.

There is a great demand from the cultural sector for professionals with knowledge of digital humanities. This programme offers opportunities for national or international careers in a variety of professions. You will be able to work with, for example, cultural heritage, digitisation and cultural and information services. Another option is the development and investigative work requiring a background in humanities or social science, and technical skills. The programme also provides a good foundation for doctoral studies in several disciplines if you want to pursue a career in research.

As a student at the Master's Programme in Digital Humanities you will acquire useful skills in and knowledge of the following areas:

how digital media and digital tools and methods can be used to support humanities and social-science work and competencies and broaden their applicability in professional and scholarly settings,
how computer-driven methods can be used to analyse, visualise and enact humanities and social-science inquiries into digital source materials,
key areas of research in the field of digital humanities and the history of the digital humanities, and
the state of affairs of important cultural-heritage challenges including matters of accessibility and the infrastructural, organisational, economic, political, and ethical complexities of the present-day cultural-heritage field.

The programme includes compulsory courses in digital humanities, but you are also able to deepen or broaden your knowledge in another field of study by choosing from a range of elective courses to include in your degree.

Degree

The programme leads to the degree of Master of Arts (120 credits) with Digital Humanities as the main field of study.

Content

The programme is made up of courses, usually 7.5 credits each, and a Master's thesis. The compulsory part of the programme consists of ten courses comprising a total of 97.5 credits, including a project course with the possibility of a work placement (7.5 credits) and a Master's thesis (30 credits).

The first year's compulsory courses provide a broad range of knowledge in the theoretical, practical and technical aspects of digital humanities. Digitisation, visualisation of different types of data, such as images and artefacts, and methods for how digitised material can be analysed and conveyed are central focuses of the first year.

In the second year, you can choose 22.5 credits of elective courses from Uppsala University's course catalogue, which allows you the freedom to personalise and specialise in your Master's degree. Depending on when the elective courses you choose are offered, you can decide when to begin your Master's thesis and the compulsory project course with the possibility of a work placement. The programme's teachers offer support in planning your personal study plan for year two.

Courses within the programme

Semester 1

Introduction to Digital Humanities, 7.5 credits
Tools and Methods: Critical Encounters, 7.5 credits
Digital Cultural Heritage, 7.5 credits
Digital Implementations in Heritage, 7.5 credits

Semester 2

Distant Reading, 7.5 credits
Theory and Methods in Digital Humanities, 7.5 credits
Information Mediation and User Perspectives in the Digital Era, 7.5 credits
Visual Analysis: Materiality and Digital Humanities, 7.5 credits

Semesters 3 and 4

Electives, 22.5 credits
Project design course with the possibility of work placement, 7.5 credits
Master's thesis, 30 credits

Please note that the order of courses and the courses themselves can be subject to change as the programme is constantly being tuned to maintain the highest international standard and to reflect developments within the field of digital humanities.

Learning experience

Teaching primarily takes the form of lectures, practical exercises with digital methods and tools, supervision and seminars. Exercises, seminars and supervision are usually compulsory unless otherwise stated in the course syllabus. You will also be expected to participate in group work, which requires collaboration and communication skills.

The main formats for examination are individual or group-based written assignments, individual exams, seminar assignments and the Master's thesis.

In addition to the scheduled teaching, you are expected to study and prepare, on your own or in groups, that which is required to achieve the learning objectives of the programme's courses. The programme is both theoretical and practical; it is application-oriented and takes an experimental approach. During the second year, within the framework of the project course, there is the opportunity for a placement at a workplace or other type of organisation.

Teaching for the programme's compulsory courses takes place on campus in Uppsala.

The language of instruction and course literature is English.

Career

With a Master's degree in Digital Humanities, you will be attractive in many sectors of the labour market, both in Sweden and abroad. You will be able to work within cultural heritage and digitisation and with cultural and information services. The major archives, libraries and museums are examples of potential future employers. At these institutions, there is a great demand for humanities-based skills in digitisation, digital communication and digital knowledge production. These are skills that you will have mastered upon completing the programme.

Your humanities background and technical skills can also open up opportunities in development and investigative work, as well as in multidisciplinary projects. Through your expertise in conducting research with a humanities approach using digital source materials and tools, this degree will make you an attractive candidate for doctoral studies in the disciplines associated with the Master's Programme in Digital Humanities. The programme currently collaborates with the PhD programmes in the fields of library and information science, archaeology and ancient history, art history, and textile studies. You can therefore gain eligibility for a PhD position in one of these disciplines by focusing your elective courses and your two-year Master's thesis topic in your chosen discipline.

Career support

During your time as a student, UU Careers offers support and guidance. You have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities and events that will prepare you for your future career. Learn more about UU Careers.