Semiotics is an ancient discipline with a long history, which has gained a firm theoretical foundation during the 19th century and an ever-growing significance over the last 50 years. This discipline is now in a period of very intensive, concentrated research and self-identification on the map of contemporary science.The interdisciplinary Semiotics MA program at ELTE trains students to become well-trained specialists in semiotics of culture with a global overview of the various fields of humanities: literary studies, linguistics, philosophy, visual arts and general art studies – including approaches to the fine arts, films, theatre and music – and also the most contemporary methods of research synthetized from a semiotic methodological point of view. At the same time, choosing the specific field for degree thesis students can gain specialized knowledge in one subfield of the semiotics of humanities (e.g., the literary, visual, musical, theoretical semiotics, and ethnosemiotics). The program is designed to be flexible to motivate students to find the best Hungarian specialists in the given field and assist them to become involved in international research and dialogues with foreign scholars and lecturers. The curriculum consists of courses on the history and theory of semiotics, language, communication, texts and translation, theory of meaning, logic, argumentation, field studies of cultural, national and special semiotic systems, various forms of applied semiotics and semiotic pragmatics in general. The program also puts emphasis on the preparation of students for PhD studies to plan their research career.This program is recommended to applicants who wish to acquire skills for analysing processes of communication (mediation, translation) in culture and the results of these processes (texts, artefacts, events etc.) arising from the past and in the digital age, in a great variety of media and discourse representations to be described and evaluated as they constantly change through creative cultural interactivity.This program enables students to become versatile experts on culture, having substantial knowledge and competence in understanding, analysing and influencing both general and specific cultural phenomena and the various forms of interaction and pragmatic exchange, and innovative system construction in general.
Applicants must hold a university bachelor’s degree (or an equivalent college degree) in the fields listed below. Full credit acknowledgement is only given for a bachelor’s degree in the field of Arts and Humanities.In the case of diplomas from social sciences, informatics, law, natural sciences, contemporary and applied arts, each degree will be considered individually. The applicant must have 50 credits (but at least 20 credits to enter the programme) in the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, historical study, linguistics, literature, cultural and art studies.Transcripts from your bachelor',s degree as well as course descriptions will be requested.The educational and outcome requirements are defined by the Ministry of Human Capacities Regulation No. 18/2016. VIII. 5. The details of the application and admission process are defined by the Organisational and Operational Regulations of ELTE.
Entrance examination:
Yes
Entrance type:
Oral
Minimum level of language proficiency (oral):
C1
Minimum level of language proficiency (written):
C1
Place of examination:
Online or in Person
Entrance examination and selection processWhen the university receives the full application package and it is checked by the Department of International Affairs an entrance exam date option will be sent no later than the application deadline for the relevant period. Please, check your messages in the application system, and the e-mail address that is linked to the account regularly.The applications are examined by the Admission Board no later than after each application period and applicants are notified of the outcome of the selection in the online application system after the decision is official. Admission letters are sent out in the online application system within a few days. Procedure of the entrance examinationThe entrance exam contains a discussion about the motivation of the applicant. Successful applicants must have a good command of English to pass the entrance exam. The entrance exam can be taken in person or via Skype.Ranking is based on the overall evaluation of academic excellence (based on the submitted documents) and the results of the entrance exam.
