Digital Humanities, Master Programme

The application process consists of two steps.

1. First you need to apply to the programme online at www.universityadmissions.se. Deadline 15 January 2024. When this deadline has passed it is possible to apply here from 15 March til 15 April (national admissions round - information in Swedish). 

2. Secondly, you need to submit a letter of intent and a two-page CV.
   Deadline 1 February 2024.
   
   Letter of intent and a two-page CV
   Please write a letter of intent that on one A4 page describes your interest in the programme.
   
   The letter will be evaluated in terms of:
   
   Your previous and intended engagement with the field of Digital Humanities; and, your proficiency in expressing yourself in English.
   
   

   Submit your letter on your pages at universityadmissions.se
   Submit also a two-page CV.

- I chose to study Digital Humanities because I was curious about the programme. I have a bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Studies and wanted to expand my knowledge by studying more. Digital Humanities felt like a natural continuation for me since I’m interested in cultural heritage, digital transformation, and digital preservation.

Elin appreciates the fact that there are so many students on the programme with different academic backgrounds, from different countries.

- The fact that it is an online programme has meant that teachers, guest lecturers and students participate from all over the world, which contributes with a very broad perspective to the programme. Digital humanities is an interdisciplinary field and this is evident on the programme. Many different perspectives and disciplines are represented among the students, which leads to interesting and important discussions.

Student life and distance studies
Elin is currently studying a programme that is offered in distance format, but she also has experience of what it’s like to live and study in Växjö.

- Studying wholly at a distance is somewhat special since most of your classmates live in different places. Which means that most students live very different lives. However, this is taken into account on the programme. Through live online lectures, group assignments and video assignments, you establish a sense of community with the teachers and other students, even though you don’t get to meet that often.

In Växjö, Elin appreciated the fact that the nature is so close to campus.

- I really liked living in Växjö and quite often took a walk around the lake. For me, the fact that nature is so close to campus was my favorite thing about Växjö!

Dream scenario to work with cataloguing and digital projects
After graduation, Elin would like to work with something where she could make a difference.

- I would very much like to work at a special library, archive or a museum. The dream would be to work with cataloguing and with different digitalisation projects. The programme has really sparked an interest in me to make a difference through digitalisation projects that in different ways illustrate contemporary and historical injustices.

- I chose to study at Linnaeus University since it has exciting programs, great professors, and teaching staff. It also offers a flexible distance learning environment.

Today, Michael is a research fellow at the Institute of Sustainable Development at the School of Engineering of Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). He is a member of the Research Group Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Mobility.

A foundation for research

Since he now works in a multidisciplinary research group with focus on sustainable mobility, having broadened his academic background benefits Michaels research group and enhances their disciplinary reach.

- During the course of the programme, we worked with digital methods and interactive technologies such as augmented reality. It has helped me to gain a better understanding of how these things work and what great potential they have. This came in very handy as a I am currently doing a research collaboration with a young VR/AR startup.

Michael also enjoyed the course Programming for the Digital Humanities. It provided him with useful programming skills in Python.

- These skills helped and inspired me to build scripts for automated address-based and mode-adjusted CO2 calculations for our staff during different Covid-19 phases. In order to get a better overview of the impact the coronavirus pandemic has on mobility behavior and implications for sustainability.

Tips for future students

Michael thinks you should study this programme if you are interested in interdisciplinary research, hands-on use of digital methods, and want to learn about different ways for how to approach a broad range of issues in society.

- Even if you already have a master’s degree, go for it, take the programme! It will complement your knowledge and enhance your academic background.

However, he notes that studying a programme such as Digital Humanities is not an apprenticeship.

- So, don’t expect to be guided towards a profession, but rather see the programme as providing you with a lot of skills and knowledge that enable you to further develop yourself in various fields of work that are not predefined. Thus, my advice: be interested, be creative, be active, and first and foremost, be flexible!

What are the entry requirements?

General entry requirements for studies on second-cycle level, and specific entry requirements:

• At least 90 credits including independent work of at least 15 credits with arts and humanities or social sciences as main field of study, or informatics, information science, computer science, or a related discipline;
• English B/English 6.

If you are not sure if you fulfil the entry requirements for the programme you can contact our admission department: admission@lnu.se

Do I need to have my certificate or diploma translated into English?

You must always submit your certificate or diploma in the official language of the country where you studied. If this language is not Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, French or German, you must also provide an official translation of the certificate or diploma. This translation should be in Swedish or English. 

University application & admission in Sweden

Can I just send in a certificate or letter from my university certifying my English proficiency?

If you have previous university studies, you may in some cases meet the English requirement for the programme you've applied to. All information regarding English language requirements can be found here.

Do I need to pay application and tuition fees?

Students with citizenship in countries not within the EU/EEA, or Switzerland, are required to pay application and tuition fees for university studies in Sweden. Some tuition scholarships are available for students who wish to study in Sweden. Please note that all students who are required to pay an application fee must pay that fee, even if they've applied for a scholarships.

Read more about fees and scholarships here.

Is it possible to not enroll in the programme, but instead study some of the elective courses as separate courses?

Yes it is. If you choose to apply for the program in the future, the credits from these separate courses can then be included in the degree.

Are there any scholarships I can apply for?

There is a scholarship called Linnaeus University Scholarship that you can apply for that covers 75% of the tuition fee. There are also other scholarship opportunities for example at the Swedish Institute. You can read more about the different scholarships here.

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 digitisation 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 programme advisors in order to get a degree which has a coherent whole on a topic of choosing (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 on the programme. Any costs for travel arrangements to and from the workplace are paid for by the student.

Courses in the programme

Some of the courses in the programme are also avaliable as a freestanding course at Universityadmissions.se. Please type the name of the course from the list below to see if it is available as a freestanding course.

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
Digitisation 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
Master Thesis in Digital Humanities – first year master level, 15 credits

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

Linked Data for Cultural Heritage and the Humanities, 7.5 credits
Ethics, Politics and Policies in the Digital Humanities, 7.5 credits

Year 2

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

Electives which 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
Tangible User Interfaces, 7.5 credits 
Network Society and Internet Cultures, 7.5 credits
English Language Proficiency and Academic Writing, 7.5 credits
Programming for Digital Humanities, (4ME501) second part i.e. 7.5 credits of the 15-credit course 
Data Mining in Practice, 7.5 credits (1DV515)

Master Thesis in Digital Humanities – two year master level, 30 credits

The list of electives is continuously updated.

During the course of the programme, you can choose to study abroad through exchange studies to gain international experience. In that case, you will conduct some of your studies at one of our many partner universities around the world. You can also choose to do your internship abroad. What is more, you can do field work abroad as part of your degree project. This involves collecting material abroad for your degree project, for a period of roughly two months. 

Linnaeus University’s iInstitute (https://lnu.se/en//iinstitute/) joins the European iSchools’ virtual student exchange agreement. To sign up for any of the exchange courses, please visit https://lnu.se/en/student/international-possibilities/study-abroad/virtual-mobility/

Learn more about other international possibilities offered at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Linnaeus University.

Here you can find master's theses by students (1 year)

Here you can find master's theses by students (2 year)

News item: Our Master’s student in Digital Humanities, Elin Hansson, supervised by Sara Ellis Nilsson, won a prize/scholarship for her MA thesis. The Sparbanksstiftelsen Kronans stipendium 2022 was awarded on November 25, 2022. The title of the thesis: Power Structures in the Age of Sanatoria: A digital examination of historical patient experience in Mörsil, Sweden. Link to thesis: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-114863