English Studies - Master's degree

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

Practical knowledge of English, as well as knowledge of international business and marketing – this is what you will gain by studying English Philology for Master’s degree at Vistula University.

English Studies at our University will let you develop your skills and prepare you to work in your chosen profession – both in Poland and abroad. Here you will acquire comprehensive knowledge becoming a competent professional in the field of English Studies.

INTERNSHIP

Vistula University values practicality, therefore our two-year program includes a total of three months of internship. You can get an invaluable practical experience through internship program conducted within the publishing industry, at the translation agencies and international institutions or at the language schools. Such preparation will help you to easily find the job of your dreams after completing your studies.

EXPERTISE

Our lecturers understand the importance of the practical aspect – most of our classes aim at improving your language skills. Translation workshops (in the business sphere, specialist texts, or literary works) are conducted for those who plan to work in the field of translation. Future managers of cultural events and publishing industry specialists will gain here competences required for each professional field. The Practical English curriculum is complemented by courses on culture and history of the Anglophone countries, as well as creative writing workshops. Each year, classes are tailored anew to students’ particular needs and interests.

PROGRAM OUTLINE

Practical Component

Practical Grammar of English Language

Detailed introduction of theoretical and practical aspects of the English grammar, which regulate the rules of sentence and phrase creation on the one hand and enable analysis of such structures on the other. The aim of the course is raising awareness of students of the advanced and detailed rules of English grammar, introduction of the key terminology for descriptive analysis and proper word, phrase and sentence creation.

Business Communication 1-2

These two semester courses aim at helping students to master the basics of terminology,
phraseology, syntax, grammar and the varieties of language used in negotiations and business meetings. They also help students to learn various business skills: making a sales pitch, conducting a business-related conversation both in writing and in speech, reading, writing and processing business documentation and generally navigating business discourse.

New Technologies in Academic Work

The course introduces the use of new technologies for various tasks of academic research, including: conducting the bibliographic query, compilation of bibliography, use of MS Office tools for writing, editing and correcting papers, use of available online tools and various software to compile material, take notes and produce consistently formatted citations.

Writing Research Papers in English

The main purpose of the course is the development of advanced writing techniques, especially in academic research papers and analytical essays, critical analysis papers and argumentative writing in general. Knowledge of stylistic peculiarities as well as basic grammar, vocabulary, syntax, etc. of formal English language will be introduced and developed.

Internship 1-3

3 months of internships in companies, language schools, translation agencies, publishing industry institutions and NGOs and institutions of culture, where the use of English language is one of the basic requirements. Internship supervisor verifies the projects and assignments completed by the students.

Other Obligatory courses

Introduction to Psychology

Course in general psychology, preparing students for competent functioning in various environments. Course objectives are as follows: to identify theoretical foundations of the major areas of psychology; to explain different models of human behavior; to describe connections between general concepts of psychology studied in the course to everyday life.

Political and Cultural Heritage of the British Empire

The course aims to introduce to the students advanced knowledge of history and cultural heritage of the British Empire. The lectures will cover key historical events, analysis of various tendencies apparent in history; politics of Colonialism and post-colonialism.

Contemporary Literary Theories

The course introduces to the students the key 20th century concepts and terms of literary theory and discusses their application in the process of analysis and interpretation of a literary work, leading to reflection over the issue of various theoretical approaches and literary critique techniques. The course will also aim to raise an awareness of philosophical and ideological genesis of such theories.

Contemporary Anglophone Novel after 1960

The aim of the course is to introduce to the students the most important literary works of British literature after 1960. The key characteristics of contemporary British literature will be discussed, paying particular attention to postmodernist discourse. The course will also cover the narrative devices such as metafiction, parody and pastiche. The course is organized through a selection of literary and cultural topics: contemporary views of history and memory; politics of identity and relation with the Other; post-colonial discourse; dealing with unreliability of discourse; multiculturalism, etc.

Film Adaptations of Literary Works

The purpose of the course is to introduce to students the key information about distinctions
between film and literary narrative, including the basic aspects of adaptation theory. By watching and analyzing ground-breaking or classic film adaptations, students should master key terminology of „film discourse”, learn the important qualities of film language and various film techniques, as well as the most important conventions. The key aim is teaching students to recognize the qualities specific for each kind of discourse and examine and critique the adaptation of literary works.

Masterpieces of World Literature

The course is based on a selection of world literary masterpieces and is aimed at broadening the understanding of literature and culture and placing English language literature in the wider context. The course will consider the processes which govern the formulation of the canon of world literature, in full awareness of the ideological conditioning behind such processes. Selection of works to be discussed in class will depend on the students’ choice.

Cross-cultural Communication

Interactive course, which draws on the students’ cultural background by inviting them to analyze relations between various cultures, in terms which explore the varieties of cultural experience, introduce the key concepts of the cross-cultural theory and prepare the students to function in multicultural society.

Elective courses

Close Reading and Textual Analysis

This course is dedicated to development of advanced techniques of critical discourse, with focus on the strategy of Close Reading, but also in awareness of other approaches to literary texts. After the theoretical basics of the method are introduce, the course will focus on their practical application in analysis of literary texts, selected by the teacher together with the students.

Second Foreign Language 1-4

Second foreign language course that lasts for 4 semesters of study should introduce the students to the culture of the given language area and teach them to communicate in the given language at least at B1 level. They should acquire 4 basic skills: writing, reading, speaking and listening. The language can be selected by the students (it may be German, Spanish, Chinese or Italian).

Media Language

The aim of the course is to introduce to the students various types of texts which may be found within the broadly understood world of media. It also introduces and practices vocabulary specific to such discourse.

Translation Studies Sub-Major

The program is aimed at teaching students the contemporary tendencies in the area of linguistics and translation studies. Students will work on various projects, studying the languages used in various professional fields (medicine, economy, diplomacy, law). Business communication is the main component of the classes, which also introduce the cultural aspects of translation and raise awareness of legal requirements for translations in each of the studied fields. Competent professional translators prepared for dealing with specialized texts are in highest demand on the job market.

Courses:

Cultural Aspects of Translation

The course aims to introduce the students to various approaches to basic issues in translation, such as equivalence, untranslatability, translation errors. Students will also learn with the most crucial problems in translation (cultural elements, proper names, idioms, dialects and jargon) and techniques which are used to solve such problems.

Translation in Economics

The course is dedicated to introducing to students the basic terminology, phraseology, syntax and grammar of economic texts. After the brief introduction, the course will take the form of a workshop, during which students will develop skills such as the use of specialist dictionaries, sources and aids to conduct professional translation of economic texts. Critical approach to linguistic part of the source text will also be practiced. The course will cover both oral and written translations, from English to Polish and from Polish to English.

Translation of Commercial, Administrative and Diplomatic Documentation
The course is dedicated to introducing to students the basic terminology, phraseology, syntax and grammar of commercial, administrative and diplomatic texts. After the brief introduction, the course will take the form of a workshop, during which students will develop skills such as the use of specialist dictionaries, sources and aids to conduct professional translation of such discourse. Critical approach to linguistic part of the source text will also be practiced. The course will cover both oral and written translations, from English to Polish and from Polish to English.

Medical Translation

The course is dedicated to introducing to students the basic terminology, phraseology, syntax and grammar of medical texts. After the brief introduction, the course will take the form of a workshop, during which students will develop skills such as the use of specialist dictionaries, sources and aids to conduct professional translation of such discourse. Critical approach to linguistic part of the source text will also be practiced. The course will cover both oral and written translations, from English to Polish and from Polish to English.

Legal Translation

This course is aimed to prepare the students for translation of legal texts (legal regulations, contracts, legal commentary, etc.). The course will cover both oral and written translations, from English to Polish and from Polish to English.

Cultural and Literary Studies Sub-Major

The program is dedicated to introducing students to various methods of interpretation of literary works, as well as films, using the most contemporary literary and film theory. Second, and just as important goal is educating students to find and describe the complex relations between the real and presented world: should the creative writers or film directors aim to faithfully represent the world? Or should they, instead, aim to create a completely new world in their works, perhaps influencing reality through their creations? The third aim is to prepare the students for writing and editing of various texts, both literary and critical.

Courses:

Textual Analysis 1-2

The aim of these 2 semester courses is to develop higher-order reading skills and to train students to read attentively, to think critically and analytically, to produce and evaluate perceptive interpretations, based on textual evidence. The students will also be asked to produce critical texts, or argumentative or analytical nature, demonstrating their grasp of textual analysis methodologies.

Creative Writing 1-2

The course which will take 2 semesters aims to facilitate the creative process of writing fictional texts through a combination of close analysis of sample texts and creative writing workshop. The program of the course builds on awareness of literary genres and styles studied in other literary courses. Students will be asked not only to write their own short fictions, but to also analyze and critique those of their group mates. Students’ creative work may be published on the website dedicated to the course or in other media.

Contemporary Scientific Publishing

The course is meant to prepare students for finding employment in the publishing industry, whether in distribution or in production of publications. The course will cover both print and online content, introduce the key international and Polish publishers and discuss the key concepts necessary for navigating the publishing market.

Seminars

Proseminar MA

Course objectives are to introduce the formal guidelines and basic suggestions for working on diploma projects, provide guidance for students’ individual projects, especially in the area of structuring their work, conceptualizing the research goals and conducting the bibliographic query.

Seminar 1-2

MA Seminar is a course made up of individual consultations with the academic supervisor, who provides detailed guidance for the individual projects of the students. The projects may be in the area of comparative linguistics, translation studies, glottodidactis an discourse analysis or cultural studies.