Master in Intercultural Studies

Intercultural Studies at Aarhus University is a two year full time master's programme taught in English, or in English plus one other language. You study how cultural differences work in a transnational world: in societies and language areas, but also in professions, ethnicities, social groups, generations and organisations. The programme starts in August or September, there is no winter intake, and you study in Aarhus.

What you study

The programme has four language tracks: English, French, German and Spanish. All four follow the same basic structure, and you take the common courses together with students from every track.

• Interculturality in Organisational Contexts 1 (first semester): theories and concepts for understanding challenges and opportunities of interculturality in organisational and professional settings.
• History, Society and Change in English/French/German/Spanish Language Contexts (first semester, in your track).
• Local Representations (English track) or Tendencies in contemporary French/German/Spanish Literature and Culture (other tracks).
• Interculturality in Organisational Contexts 2 (second semester): adds theories, models and techniques on innovation, applied to empirical cases in collaboration with an external partner.
• Interculturality and Communication (second semester, all tracks): the linguistic and cultural background for successful intercultural communication.
• Engaging Conflict and Culture (English track) or Media, Identity and Oral Communication (French, German and Spanish tracks).

The programme draws on the humanities (history, literature, media and language studies) and the social sciences (intercultural approaches to organisational studies and innovation).

How the programme is organised

Teaching mixes lectures, dialogue-based seminars, group work and feedback from lecturers and fellow students. A significant part is problem and practice oriented, with empirical case studies in collaboration with external partners, so class sizes and teaching methods vary.

In the third semester you choose one of three options: an internship in a private, public, NGO or international organisation in Denmark or abroad, with an internship report; study abroad at a university with relevant courses; or stay at Aarhus University and take Intercultural Projects in a Transnational World, which also introduces thesis writing, plus two profile courses on digitalisation and sustainability.

The programme ends with a Master's thesis on an intercultural issue in an English, French, German or Spanish language context, depending on your track. You can write alone or in a group, and you can write a product thesis developing solutions based on theoretical and empirical analysis. German, French and Spanish track students may write in English or in the track language; English track students write in English.

Who it suits

It suits you if you want to analyse how cultural forms and interactions sit inside specific historical, societal and linguistic contexts, and use cultural differences as a resource. You should be ready to communicate with international partners, spot opportunities and challenges for development, start projects and build new solutions. The programme prepares you for careers in the private and public sectors, international organisations and NGOs. If you want to teach in Danish upper secondary education, note that you must instead choose the B-track in one of the other language-based master's programmes, which includes a supplementary teaching qualification.

Admission, language and next steps

Requirements differ by track. For the English track, international applicants need a bachelor's degree comparable to a Danish one (180 ECTS), plus 20 ECTS in cultural studies or language studies and 5 ECTS in scientific or research method. The French track requires 45 ECTS in French, and mother tongue French applicants may also meet it if they grew up in the language area and gained most of their education there, documented carefully. You must also meet the university's English language requirements.

There is no bachelor's programme that gives a legal right of admission to Intercultural Studies. Certain degrees give direct admission, including a bachelor's in the humanities or social sciences from Aarhus University or another Danish university, and a professional bachelor's in business communication and IT-based market communication. Intake is limited, and applicants are ranked on grade level from the qualifying degree, grades in cultural studies or language studies, scientific or research method and a major assignment such as a bachelor's project, and ECTS in those subject areas. Grades earned after the application deadline are not counted.

Aarhus University cannot assess your qualifications in advance, so apply if you believe you meet the requirements. Master's applications go directly to the institution. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee set by the institution.

Master’s applications go straight to Aarhus University, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.