Admissions
General information on admission requirements and procedures
Application requirements
Application portal, materials and schedule
Essay task 2026
Language skills
Further qualifications
What's in the MA National and Transnational Studies? - Differences between MA NTS and BAPS
Studying a dual degree with Master of Education
General information on admission requirements and procedures
Admission to the Master of Arts programme National and Transnational Studies: Literature, Culture, Language is offered for each fall semester.
This is a very selective programme which admits only those applicants who can prove that their interests and previous qualifications make them especially suitable for this degree course. Applicants are selected by a departmental admissions committee.
Detailed information on the application requirements and the selection of applicants can be found in the latest amendment (Änderungsordnung) to the general programme regulations for this MA course (Prüfungsordnung):
PDF: Amendment of regulations (Änderungsordnung) [de], version from 12 June 2020 (German)
An English version is currently being prepared and will be published as soon as possible. In the meantime, the most important aspects of the application requirements can also be accessed below on this website.
Application requirements
Prospective students must have completed a first academic degree (Bachelor or equivalent) with a standard period of study of at least 6 semesters.
This first degree must be in a field which is thematically relevant to this MA programme. These fields are:
- Literature
- Linguistics
- Cultural Studies
- Book Studies
- Media Studies
- Communication Studies
- History
- Political science
- Sociology
- Social Anthropology
- Ethnology
- Philosophy
- Theology
- Education
- Art History
- Psychology
Applicants must prove a special qualification and suitability for this programme, which is assessed through the grades attained in MA-relevant focal subjects during their BA studies (or equivalent) as certified by their BA diploma (or equivalent) and transcript of student records, through the application essay, the CV and (where applicable) evidence of previous international and professional experience (see below).
All prospective students should have a strong interest in literary and cultural studies, linguistics and/or book studies, as well as in the study of national and transnational identities.
Applicants who have already dealt with national and transnational identities in their undergraduate studies are especially welcome.
Students previously unfamiliar with the methodologies of literary and cultural studies, linguistics and/or book studies should be prepared to familiarise themselves with these fields during their first semester on the MA programme.
Application portal, materials and schedule
All applicants must complete the online application form on the university's application portal (Bewerbungsportal) and then upload all their other application documents (see the list below) as pdf files.
Documents in any language other than English or German have to be translated into one of these two languages by an officially certified translator. The translation must also be accompanied by a (likewise certified) copy of the document in its original language. International applicants should also consult the admissions website of the university's International Office.
Application documents must include:
• proof of qualification for admission to higher education, e.g. a school leaving certificate like Abitur, A-levels or international equivalent
• undergraduate diploma(s)
• transcript(s) of records: enlists titles of and performance in courses taken in previous degree programme(s)
• proof of language skills (for non-native speakers only)
• short essay (c. 2,000 words / 5 pages, in English)
• curriculum vitae (in tabular form)
• proof of stay abroad (where applicable)
• proof of internships (where applicable)
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS FROM INDIA, CHINA AND VIETNAM: The APS certificate is now a required document for the application as well. If you require further information, clarification, or have any questions about it, please contact us via e-mail.
The application period for the upcoming academic year (2026/2027) will begin in early May 2026 and end on 15 July 2026.
Relocating and planning your studies may take quite a while. To maximise the time successful applicants have to prepare, we offer two application phases. In this way, successful candidates have a maximum of time to apply for visas (which can be time-consuming) and to arrange funding, travel, and accommodation before the start of the MA NTS orientation week, likely in October 2026. Particularly applicants from outside the EU are strongly advised to apply as early as possible. The earlier you apply, the earlier you will be notified:
| Application phase | Application dates | Notification |
| 1 (Early Bird) | Early May 2026 – 15 May 2026 | By late May 2026 |
| 2 | 16 May 2026 – 15 July 2026 | By end of July 2026 |
For more information, contact:
University Registry, Student Services Office (Studierendensekretariat) (e.g. for inquiries concerning formal aspects of the admissions procedure)
the University's International Office
the University's central Student Advisory and Counselling Centre (ZSB)
the English Department's Student Advisory Service for inquiries about the contents of the degree programme
Essay task 2026
As part of your application, the MA NTS programme requires an original scholarly essay from you (and no letter of motivation). Please find this year’s essay topic below.
Representing transnational mobilities
The often-adapted distinction between roots and routes has remained a mainstay of scholarship exploring different and at times intertwined forms of mobility, with migration, diaspora, exile, and postcolonial studies among them. At a fundamental level, the homophones “roots and routes” (Clifford) on one hand denote the overlaps between mobilities and on the other evoke the complexities of home and belonging. Over the past century, many of these complexities have arisen from violent displacements that European colonialism and, more generally, regimes of coloniality (Quijano) have wrought upon large swathes of the globe. Crucially, these dislocations are ongoing processes, not least in the face of multiple and often violent displacements that mark the current moment.
Literature and the arts have always allowed for the representation and negotiation of the conditions and possibilities of human (and more-than-human) experiences. For this essay we ask you to draw upon a text*, a piece of artistic expression, or use an example from linguistics to analyse and explain how it engages with the notion of ‘transnational mobilities.’ To give you an idea of what kinds of questions you might engage with:
- How does a particular work of art represent multiple and intersecting forms of mobility or displacement?
- How can literature, media, language, and the arts facilitate and/or subvert conceptions of “mobility” and whom they include?
- How do these cultural forms register the uneven distribution of vulnerabilities that often mark transnational movement?
- How can narrative structures expose or obscure epistemic power and colonial legacies in our understanding of mobility?
Please bear in mind that your analysis must be rooted in literary and cultural studies/philology, linguistics, or book studies and needs to demonstrate your ability to work within one of these fields.
Your essay must meet accepted standards of academic writing (with respect to both form and referencing) and the word-count should be approx. 2,000 words. If your essay contains plagiarism and/or has been generated using AI, your application for a place on the MA NTS programme will inevitably be rejected.
*As an English Department, we use ‘text’ in a wide sense here, encompassing but not limited to novels, drama, poetry, books as artefacts (book studies), museum exhibits, films, (new) media, video games, architecture, activist practices, music and music videos, etc. We encourage you to choose a text that allows you to draw on your own disciplinary knowledge acquired during your BA studies and connect it to transnational perspectives.
Language skills
As English is the official medium of instruction on this MA programme, excellent English language skills are a precondition for enrolment. Students' English language skills must correspond to the "C2" level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Applicants who are not native speakers of English must demonstrate their language skills through the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE, grade A, B or C) or another equivalent language certificate (e.g. CAE grade A or B; TOEFL iBT 109+; PTE (Pearson Academic English Test) 76+; or IELTS Academic or General 7.5+).
Please note that we consider you a native speaker if English is an official language in your country.
English as a medium of instruction in previous studies is not accepted as proof of language proficiency.
German language skills are desirable (e.g. to facilitate everyday life), but not mandatory. Hence, it is not necessary to submit a German language certificate like DaF or DSH. However, those students who wish to learn German while they are here can attend German language courses at the University's Language Centre at different levels.
Further qualifications
We welcome prospective students to include proof/reference of potential stays abroad, internships, or extracurricular activities and other qualifications you think are relevant for your application (e.g. campus groups, reading groups, activism). These qualifications are desirable and not obligatory, and we also take into account that not everyone has the possibility to stay abroad for long amounts of time, or to take up (often unpaid) internships. In addition, we take into account whether applicants speak different languages, so if you do, for instance, because you come from a multilingual country or have studied languages during your BA, do include information on your language proficiencies in your CV.
What's in the MA National and Transnational Studies? – Differences between MA NTS and BAPS
The English Department offers two research-oriented MA programmes and some students apply to both of them at the same time which is fine. So what’s the difference between these two programmes, what do they share? And, what is specific to the MA NTS?
Thematically, the programmes overlap and many of the classes offered in one programme will also be options in the sister programme. Both focus on book studies, English linguistics, and anglophone literatures and cultures from any of the over fifty nation states in which these are produced. In addition, the MA NTS focuses on questions of transnationalism and nationalism, and on globalisation and diaspora, and migration. These focal themes are also studied in inter- and transdisciplinary ways. Another difference lies in the student intake: the MA NTS accepts students from a wider range of undergraduate degrees, from beyond English studies (see also Application requirements). NTS students sometimes have the option to go beyond literary studies and linguistics, for example when it comes to their MA thesis.
You can find more detailed information on the MA NTS curriculum here.
Studying a dual degree with Master of Education
Simultaneous enrolment, in both MA NTS and the Master of Education programme in the English Department is possible and encouraged. Pursuing a dual degree can have several advantages, such as the possibility to have M.Ed. courses count for the External Module, writing one Master's thesis to graduate from both programmes (certain requirements need to be fulfilled), and using the required Praxissemester in the M.Ed. as proof of work experience for the MA NTS Work Experience module, among others. Some of our students also like to combine the research orientation and choice of one’s area of specialisation in the MA NTS programme with the professional qualification of the M.Ed. that provides the foundations for becoming an English teacher in the German school system.
Please note that these programmes come with different sets of admission requirements and that you will have to apply for both programmes separately.
Information on how to apply for the M.Ed. programme are available on the websites of the Students Admissions Office (https://www.uni-muenster.de/studieninteressierte/en/bewerbung/masterofeducation.html) and on the website of the Student Advice and Counselling Centre (https://www.uni-muenster.de/ZSB/studienfuehrer/, check for “Zugangs- und Zulassungsordnung”).
Please be aware that students interested in enrolling in an M.Ed. programme need to have completed one of the German BA programmes for future teachers.