Postgraduate Diploma in Dutch Cultural Studies

Description	Pathways through the Diploma
Who is the Diploma for?	Study Guide
Eligibility	Fees and Funding
Curriculum	Application Forms
Programme Structure	Further Perspectives

  

Description  

The Postgraduate Diploma in Dutch Cultural Studies is delivered entirely online as a distance learning programme. Taught in English, it offers a unique opportunity for in-depth study of the modern society of the Netherlands and Flanders. The programme is available to students without previous knowledge of Dutch as well as to those already proficient in the language. Learning Dutch, or improving your command of it, is possible as part of the programme.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Dutch Cultural Studies is offered as part of Virtual Dutch, a consortium of four British universities aiming to promote Dutch studies through online learning and teaching. Teaching staff are drawn from the two major centres of Dutch studies in the United Kingdom: the Department of Dutch at University College London (UCL) and the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Sheffield.

The programme can be taken on a full-time, part-time of flexible basis. It starts at the end of September and ends in June of the following year. Full-time students complete the programme in one academic session (September through to June); part-time students spread the load over two academic sessions; flexible learning means modules can be taken over three academic sessions.

Click here to check the programme’s technical requirements

Who is the Diploma for?

The programme aims to attract suitably qualified students who:

- wish to develop research and analytical skills and upgrade their qualifications;
- have an interest in Dutch and Flemish society and culture;
- are looking for a sustained intellectual challenge at postgraduate level;
- enjoy distance learning.

Eligibility  

To be admitted to the Diploma you need a good first degree (BA or equivalent), preferably in a humanities or social science subject, or relevant professional experience. Students who have completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Dutch Cultural Studies can continue to the Diploma. Contact the UCL Department of Dutch if you are in doubt about your eligibility.

Curriculum 

The following six modules, comprising two Core Modules and four 'electives', are available as part of the Postgraduate Diploma:

Core Module 1: Identity and Belonging in the Low Countries
Core Module 2: Identities in Transnational Contexts  
Electives:
Business Dutch Reading Skills Course  
Hogelands Advanced Language Course  
Advanced Translation Dutch into English
Project in Dutch Cultural Studies

Structure

The programme consists of four courses worth a total of 120 credits (48 ECTS). Individual modules are 30 credits (12 ECTS).
All students take Core Module 1 and Core Module 2. The remaining two 'elective' modules are selected from a list of options to reflect your personal interests as well as your level of proficiency in Dutch.

Pathways through the Diploma

Several pathways through the programme are possible.

If you do not have any previous knowledge of Dutch and therefore start the language at beginner’s level, you select courses as follows:
1. Core Module 1
2. Core Module 2
3. Business Dutch Reading Skills
4. Project in Dutch Cultural Studies 
You can write your Project in English.
Note: the Business Dutch module teaches reading skills only. If you have no previous knowledge of Dutch and would like a comprehensive Dutch language course, you should take the Lagelands Beginners Dutch Short Course before entering the Postgraduate Diploma.

If you have some previous knowledge of Dutch and enter as an intermediate Dutch language learner, you select courses as follows:
1. Core Module 1
2. Core Module 2
3. Hogelands Advanced Dutch Language Course
4. Project in Dutch Cultural Studies 
You can write the Project either in English or in Dutch.

If you have a sound previous knowledge of Dutch you select courses as follows:
1. Core Module 1
2. Core Module 2
3. Advanced Translation
4. Project in Dutch Cultural Studies 
You can write the Project either in English or in Dutch.

For students who have completed the Postgraduate Certificate and wish to continue to the Diploma the following course choices are available:

Certificate: Core Module 1 + Business Dutch. Add for Diploma: Core Module 2 + Project in Dutch Cultural Studies (written in English)
Certificate: Core Module 1 + Hogelands. Add for Diploma: Core Module 2 + either Advanced Translation or Project in Dutch Cultural Studies
Certificate: Core Module 1 + Project in Dutch Cultural Studies. Add for Diploma: Core Module 2 + either Business Dutch or Hogelands
Certificate: Core Module 1 + Identities in Transnational Contexts (i.e. Core Module 2). Add for Diploma: Business Dutch or Hogelands or Project in Dutch Cultural Studies.

Study Guide

The Study Guide is a pfd file containing detailed information about all aspects of the programme. To access the Study Guide, click here.  

Fees and Funding  

The fees for the Postgraduate Diploma in Dutch Cultural Studies in the 2010-11 session are as follows:

UK and EU students:
£ 3,280 for full-time study;
£ 1,705 for part-time study in 2010-11;
students registered on a ‘flexible’ basis pay fees proportionate to the modules taken 2010-11.

Overseas (non-EU) students:
£ 9,430 for full-time study;
£ 4,740 for part-time study in 2010-11;
students registered on a ‘flexible’ basis pay fees proportionate to the modules taken 2010-11.

The UCL Department of Dutch is offering FIVE scholarships covering part of the fees for the 2010-11 session. Click here for details. 

Students who continue straight from the Postgraduate Certificate to the Diploma are regarded as having taken the Diploma over two years on a part-time basis and pay fees accordingly.

Further Perspectives

Successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Dutch Cultural Studies entitles you to carry the abbreviation PgDip (Hum) (UCL) behind your name.

After the Postgraduate Diploma you can continue towards the full MA in Dutch Cultural Studies, available from September 2011 onwards. The Diploma comprises 120 credits (48 ECTS), the MA 180 credits (72 ECTS). The credits you have accumulated in the Diploma will count towards the MA.  Once you have obtained the Diploma, there is only a dissertation (worth 60 credits, 24 ECTS) to write in order to gain the MA. Fees paid for the Diploma are deducted from the fees payable for the MA.

 

Application Forms Click here to access the application form for admission to the Postgraduate Diploma in Dutch Cultural Studies. You can also pre-register an interest in individual course modules by completing and submitting the relevant forms in the course descriptions.

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Last modified: 15.04.2010
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