Course overview

Contact between cultures is of prime economic and sociocultural importance in our increasingly global contemporary world, and well-qualified people must be able to deal successfully with increasing intercultural interaction.

Our course enables you to:

• understand how cultural differences impact on human interaction in both the workplace and in social contexts
• develop your own intercultural communicative competence
• enhance your business and professional communication skills
• acquire both theoretical understanding and practical analytical skills
• acquire methodological tools for understanding language and communication
• develop independent, critical analysis and original thinking within a challenging interdisciplinary and often multinational context.

We offer two routes of study for this course. Route A takes place entirely in Cambridge; route B enables you to study for one semester at a European university (the Eurocampus). Whilst at the Eurocampus you will take a course of studies equivalent to those that other students will be taking in Cambridge. English will remain the language of study.

Additional course information

Route A: Cambridge
The focus of this route is on questions of culture and identity, migration and intercultural relations in contemporary Europe and beyond. In this highly interdisciplinary course, taught by Cambridge specialists and international guest lecturers, you will use different methodologies (from linguistics and historical study) to develop your analytical capacities and gain a deeper understanding of the socio-cultural, political and economic challenges today.

Route B: Cambridge/Eurocampus
For this route you study one semester in Cambridge and one semester on the Eurocampus.
The latter is a teaching and research network of European universities specialising in intercultural communication, where you will be taught by experts from nine different European countries.
The Eurocampus study programme (EMICC) is designed to further enhance academic and professional competence of participants preparing for careers in business and beyond. It covers intercultural communication theories, looks at intercultural communication from the perspective of different academic disciplines and provides the chance to acquire advanced intercultural competencies and skills.
Participating universities include: Bayreuth, Germany: Universität Bayreuth; Cambridge, UK: Anglia Ruskin University; Castelló, Spain: Universitat Jaume I; Jyväskylä, Finland: University of Jyväskylä; Lisbon, Portugal:Universidade Aberta; Lugano, Switzerland: Università della Svizzera Italiana; Paris, France: Institut National des Civilisations Orientales; Tartu, Estonia: University of Tartu; Utrecht, The Netherlands:University of Utrecht. Every year, the Eurocampus takes place at a different institution.

The Eurocampus location for the next 3 years will be as follows:

2014: Paris
2015: Cambridge
2016: Bayreuth

In addition to teaching time on-campus, all courses require intensive self-guided learning, research or private study and there may also be optional training, seminars, visits, lectures or master classes to attend.

Assessment

All four Cambridge Campus core modules are assessed by written coursework (6,500-word essays for all modules, except Impacts of Migration which expects a 5000 word essay and presentation, worth 30 credits each). The MA dissertation is 18,000 words (60 credits). Assessment on the Eurocampus is regular and varied and you must achieve at least 30 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits (60 Anglia Ruskin credits).

Facilities

Lectures and seminars take place in state-of-the-art rooms, which include PowerPoint equipment, DVD players and overhead projectors.

Libraries

Our campus libraries offer a wide range of publications and a variety of study facilities, including open-access computers, areas for quiet or group study and bookable rooms. We also have an extensive Digital Library providing on and off-site access to e-books, e-journals and databases.

We endeavour to make our libraries as accessible as possible for all our students. During Semester time, they open 24 hours a day from Monday to Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday and for 12 hours on Sunday.

IT resources

Our open access computer facilities provide free access to the internet, email, messaging services and the full Microsoft Office suite. A high speed wireless service is also available in all key areas on campus. If you are away from campus or a distant learner, our student desktop and its many applications can be accessed remotely using the internet. Your personal student email account provides free document storage, calendar facilities and social networking opportunities.

Throughout your studies you will have access to our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), providing course notes, reading materials and multi-media content to support your learning, while our e-vision system gives you instant access to your academic record and your timetable.

Special features

Both the Cambridge Eurocampus routes attract many students from all over the world including the US, Canada, Germany, France, China, Japan, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, Finland, Turkey and Lithuania. Studying alongside students from other countries and cultural backgrounds provides additional insights and intercultural understanding to supplement your academic study.

Teaching for core modules usually takes place in the early evening to enable you to more easily combine study and employment. We aim to keep group sizes small to enhance intercultural interaction in the seminars.

We have excellent international links through our Research Unit for Intercultural and Transcultural Studies (RUITS) network, and visiting scholars regularly give seminar papers.

Study abroad options

The Eurocampus route of this course enables you to pursue a programme in another EU country in the first semester of an academic year (September until January). The latter can take place in Finland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Estonia, Portugal or Spain, depending on the partner university organising the Eurocampus. The programme abroad will be similar to the one attended by students in Cambridge, but it will be mainly taught by international specialists (with some input from Cambridge staff) and it will give you additional study expertise in another EU country.

Regardless of when you would like to start with your MA in Intercultural Communication (September or January), as long as you are a full-time student you can take the Eurocampus route. If you decide to start in September, you will begin the whole MA programme abroad. If you opt for January, you will start the programme in Cambridge and then stay abroad in your second semester. The Eurocampus route is not available for part time students, and there is a higher fee linked to it (See our course fees page for more information).

The other semester of your Eurocampus route will always take place in Cambridge, together with all other students of the MA.

Course Leader

Professor Guido Rings

Related links

Research Unit for Intercultural and Transcultural Studies
New book explores attitudes to accents
Guest lecture claims New Zealand English does not exist

Links with industry and professional recognition

These intercultural programmes have twice been awarded the UK Trade and Investment National Languages for Export award for the Eastern region in the category 'innovative courses in adult, further and higher education which prepare students for working in, or with, people from non-English-speaking markets.

Associated careers

Graduates of this course have gone on to a variety of careers including:intercultural training; intercultural mediation in educational and social contexts; Work with non-governmental organisations (Unesco, Unicef); language teaching (both English and others in the UK and abroad); translating and interpreting (in agencies or community contexts); administration (in business, education or embassies); international property sales; and human resources. A number of students have also continued to PhD study.

This course is relevant to a range of professional activities within local government, European institutions, international companies, social work or education and training.

Entry requirements: Usually a good/ 2:1 honours degree classification (or equivalent) and/or relevant professional experience.

International students will normally study the whole MA Intercultural Communication course in Cambridge. However, if you want to take the Eurocampus route and study one semester in the designated Eurocampus country for the coming year you will need to secure an appropriate visa - the application process for which is at the discretion of the immigration offices of the destination European country. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to secure the visa but would advise you to start the visa application process for the European destination country before arriving or shortly after registration at Anglia Ruskin University. Our International Student Advice Services will be available to assist students with the visa application once you are at Anglia Ruskin University.

If we have confirmed you do not meet our entry requirements you might want to consider a preparatory course at Cambridge Ruskin International College (CRIC), our partner college, based on our Cambridge campus, before coming to study with us.