Digital Humanities, Master Programme

120 credits

Are you interested in cultural heritage as well as digitalization? Digital humanities is an inter-disciplinary field of study that represents a bridge between the arts and humanities to information technology. It further stretches beyond academia, mainly through collaboration with the cultural heritage sector.

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This two-year master programme in digital humanities is suitable if you want to work with technology to devise creative solutions in a range of humanities application areas at cultural heritage institutions, public agencies, international organizations and private companies.

The programme aims to build a general ability to understand and apply digital methods. You will also learn how to create applications and find practical solutions in working places by using interdisciplinary approaches and cross-sectoral collaboration.

This master programme in digital humanities is closely linked to the research at Linnaeus University, its Digital Humanities Initiative as well as the institute, connected to a large number of international universities through the iSchools organization.

Autumn 2021

Full-time, Distance learning

Master’s level Syllabus Full-time, Distance learning English 30 Aug, 2021 - 04 Jun, 2023 January 15 Some courses and programmes will accept late applications. LNU-F1073 Apply

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.

Individual Assessment

66,000 SEK 272,700 SEK

Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Career

The programme prepares you for jobs across public and private sectors. Your future workplace could be in a museum, library, archive and other parts of the public sector where you can work with digitization of culture, arts and cultural heritage. You can also work in companies providing these institutions with software, for example guide apps. Additionally, the degree in Master of Arts provides the foundation for doctoral studies.

Degree

Master of Arts (120 credits)

Main field of study: Digital Humanities

Application process

The application process consists of two steps.

You need to apply to the programme online at www.universityadmissions.se. Deadline 15 January 2021.
Secondly, you need to submit a letter of intent and a two-page CV.
Deadline 31 January 2021.

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 on www.universityadmissions.se
Submit also a two-page CV.

One year master

There is a possibility to finalize the programme after one year (a degree of 60 credits) by choosing to write a 15 credit master degree course during semester 2.

Students who have completed one year of the programme and, meet the
requirements of a master’s degree (60 credits), may obtain the following degree: Master of Arts, main field of studies: Digital humanities.

Distance education

All teaching takes place on a learning platform and the material is available round the clock, offering great flexibility for students. There are no compulsory get-togethers on campus.

I want to make a difference through digitalization projects

Elin has a bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Studies and wanted to expand her knowledge. After graduation, she dreams about working in a special library, an archive, or at a museum.

Read the interview

- 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.

Frequently asked questions

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/diploma translated into English?

You must always submit your certificate/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/diploma. This translation should be in Swedish or English.

Detailed instructions for Master’s applicants to be found here: Instructions for Master's applicants

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 can be found in this link: English requirements

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: Information on fees and scholarships

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: Scholarship opportunities

More about the programme

Programme Overview

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 freestanding course at Universityadmissions.se

Compulsory and elective courses

The first four courses make up the first semester curriculum.

Year 1

Introduction to digital humanities, 7.5 credits
Critical theory and digital transformation, 7.5 credits
Digital humanities research methods, 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
Degree project 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 and information structures, 7.5 credits
Information ethics, politics and policies in the digital world, 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)
Digital media and methods for sampling and analysis, 7.5 credits
Advanced programming for digital humanities, 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
Social media ecosystems, 5 credits
Applied data mining, 5 credits
Information Visualization in practice, 5 credits

The list of electives is continuously updated.

Teachers in the programme

Academic studies in Sweden Being a student in Sweden can be somewhat challenging at first. You are expected to think independently, critically, analytically and to be responsible and plan your own…

Distance

To study on a distance education will give you different opportunities than on-campus teaching. It means that, to a large extent, you will be able to plan your studies yourself, both in terms of time and place.

However, keep in mind that most distance education includes a number of compulsory digital lectures and digital seminars during the weekdays. Some distance education also include compulsory get-togethers, for which you will have to travel to Växjö or Kalmar.

There are a number of different ways to be a distance student, the common denominator being that a large part of your study work is carried out on the web. You communicate with the teacher and your fellow students using a learning platform with discussion forums, group work, recorded lectures or video meetings using a web cam.