MA in Ethnic and Migration Studies

Make your commitment matter! You are dedicated to helping to tackle some of the most challenging issues in today’s world. This unique master’s program relates ethnicity and migration to global economic and cultural change and to systems of domination and resistance movements.

You will sharpen your skills in analyzing the causes of migration, as well as its consequences for emerging formations of race, gender, labour, citizenship, healthcare, welfare, and culture.

The program is interdisciplinary, integrating the humanities and the social sciences. In true LiU-spirit, there is a strong commitment to problem-solving, critical and innovative approaches.

You will learn how migration shapes society, from a historical and sociological point of view. Our dedicated students reach in-depth knowledge in the field of intersectional migration studies.

You can tailor your education towards a special interest, profession, or field of expertise, by choosing elective courses, studies abroad, and internships.

One of Europe’s top research institutions

The studies take place in our beautiful Campus Norrköping. Ethnic and migration studies is a strong interdisciplinary research field at LiU. It is pursued at different institutes, departments, and units, notably REMESO – the institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity, and Society: one of Europe’s top institutions in ethnic and migration research.

In your courses, you will meet teachers who are all doing research in the areas that they teach in. This means that courses provide an in-depth orientation of knowledge and analysis of each field and insights into the production of new knowledge. The program offers direct contact with ongoing research.

Syllabus and course details

In the first two semesters, students follow eight mandatory courses of theoretical, thematic as well as methodological profiles. In the third semester, the program allows students an individual specialization through studies abroad, internships or teaching practice, and elective courses. Study abroad options include partner programs in Ethnic and Migration Studies in Europe and Africa as well as Linköping University’s many exchange places throughout the world. Students can also apply for the EuMIGS Double Degree, a European Master’s in Migration Studies, with the second year of studies at the University of Osnabrück (Germany), University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), or University of Coruña (Spain). The fourth semester is mainly devoted to the composition of the master’s thesis. In addition to their course work, students follow a schedule of thematic seminars and tutorial meetings with the faculty. During their second year, students attend seminars that address questions of method and topic selection in preparation for the master’s thesis.

This master’s program in Ethnic and Migration Studies is a two-year, full-time program. The program educates students in theories and methodologies in Ethnic and Migration Studies, with special reference to globalization, processes of identity formation related to class, gender, citizenship, social and cultural change, and relations of power and resistance. The program is embedded in a trans- and multidisciplinary educational environment, characterized by an integration of the humanities and social sciences, with historical and sociological, economic, and cultural perspectives on ethnicity and migration. More specifically, the program offers:

• A critical approach to issues of ethnicity, race, social differences, migration, citizenship, and borders.
• Practical skills and expertise in social and cultural analysis and policy development, preparing for a variety of professions in working life.
• A critical scientific approach where politics, economy, and labor are foregrounded in the study of ethnicity and migration.
• An understanding of situating ethnicity and migration in its global context.
• A trans- and multi-disciplinary understanding of science and scholarship, fully integrating the social sciences and the humanities, historical as well as sociological, economic as well as cultural perspectives on ethnicity and migration.

The program qualifies the students to integrate perspectives concerning migration and ethnicity in analysis and innovative intervention in both academic knowledge production and governmental or non-governmental organizations at national and international levels. The program thus prepares students for further postgraduate studies, teaching, and research in the interdisciplinary field of Ethnic and Migration Studies, as well as for positions in administration, communication, business, government, public life, media, and the cultural sector that demand expertise in ethnicity and migration. The program also enables the students to actively contribute with their acquired knowledge and skills to the analysis and debate on ethnicity and migration in a wide range of areas such as the culture, media, and the arts to politics, business, and administration.

Aim

National Qualifications according to the Swedish Higher Education Act

Knowledge and understanding

For a Master of Arts (120 credits) the student shall

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding in Ethnic and Migration Studies, including both broad knowledge of the field and a considerable degree of specialized knowledge in certain areas of the field as well as insight into current research and development work, and
• demonstrate specialized methodological knowledge in Ethnic and Migration Studies.

Competence and skills

For a Master of Arts (120 credits) the student shall

• demonstrate the ability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and analyze, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations even with limited information
• demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate issues critically, autonomously, and creatively as well as to plan and, using appropriate methods, undertake advanced tasks within predetermined time frames and so contribute to the formation of knowledge as well as the ability to evaluate this work
• demonstrate the ability in speech and writing both nationally and internationally to report clearly and discuss his or her conclusions and the knowledge and arguments on which they are based in dialogue with different audiences, and
• demonstrate the skills required for participation in research and development work or autonomous employment in some other qualified capacity.

Judgment and approach

For a Master of Arts (120 credits) the student shall

• demonstrate the ability to make assessments in Ethnic and Migration Studies informed by relevant disciplinary, social, and ethical issues and also to demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work
• demonstrate insight into the possibilities and limitations of research, its role in society, and the responsibility of the individual for how it is used, and
• demonstrate the ability to identify the personal need for further knowledge and take responsibility for his or her ongoing learning.

Teaching and working methods

Teaching in the program generally involves formats with a high level of student participation. This implies that students and teachers have a shared responsibility for the courses and the program. Within the frame of the courses, the students are provided with the opportunity to specialize and concentrate on the chosen line of studies. The development of the student’s knowledge and competencies is organized in the dialogue between the students as well as between students and teachers. Teaching forms include lectures, workshops, seminars, and individual/group tutorials.

Each course is examined individually or in a group. The forms of examination include mandatory essays, written examinations, active participation in mandatory seminars as well as mandatory course assignments. The forms of examination for each course are specified in the course description. The master’s thesis is presented and defended at a public seminar with an opponent/ discussant after which it is assessed and graded by an examination committee.

Learning environment

The teachers in the program are all doing research in the areas that they teach in their respective courses. This means that courses provide not only an in-depth orientation of knowledge and analysis of each field but also insights into the production of new knowledge and perspectives in research that is ongoing. The teachers you will encounter in the program represent different approaches and perspectives. In addition, students will also meet a number of visiting professors and researchers.

Semester 1 (Autumn 2024)

• 742A47 --- Qualitative Methods in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 7.5
• 742A20 --- Historical perspectives on ethnicity and migration --- 7.5
• 742A22 --- The World System in the Post-colonial Era --- 7.5
• 742A23 --- Class, Labour Migration and Globalization --- 7.5
• 742A21 --- Intersectional Migration Studies: Bodies, Genders, Sexualities --- 7.5*
• 742A24 --- Critical Methodologies in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 7.5*

Semester 2 (Spring 2025)

• 742A21 --- Intersectional Migration Studies: Bodies, Genders, Sexualities --- 7.5*
• 742A24 --- Critical Methodologies in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 7.5*

Semester 3 (Autumn 2025)

Preliminary courses

• 742A28 --- Migration, Health, and Biopolitics --- 7.5
• 742A29 --- Inclusion, Citizenship, and Exclusion --- 7.5
• 742A30 --- Borders, and Identities --- 7.5
• 742A31 --- Contemporary Issues in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 7.5
• 742A32 --- Advanced methodology and methods in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 7.5
• 742A33 --- Special Readings in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 7.5
• 742A34 --- Internship --- 7.5
• 742A35 --- Internship --- 15

Semester 4 (Spring 2026)

Preliminary courses

• 742A36 --- Master’s Thesis in Ethnic and Migration Studies --- 30

Career opportunities

When you graduate, you’ll be qualified for positions in local, national, and international organizations, administration, business, government, media, and the cultural sector, as well as for further postgraduate studies and research.