1st Semester Admission	Restricted admission (application prior to enrollment required)
Admission for Higher Semesters	Unrestricted admission (for 3rd semester for winter semester, for 2nd and 4th semester for summer semester)
Application and Registration Period	Please check the current deadline(s) here. (consecutive master program with NC)
Beginning of Study	Winter Semester (Mid-October)
Language of Instruction	English
Degree conferred	Master of Arts (M.A.)
Semesters Required to Complete Coursework	4 Semesters

 

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Admission Requirements

Information about admission requirements can be found in the Satzung zur Regelung der Vergabe von Studienplätzen für den Masterstudiengang Nordamerikastudien. The requirements for an application to the Master program are:

Bachelor's Degree

Applicants to the Master's program must hold a Bachelor's degree or equivalent secondary degree in the following field(s):

• North American Studies
  OR

• one of the six disciplines: History, Cultural Studies, Literature, Political Science, Sociology, and Economics
  OR

• an interdisciplinary course of study that possesses a minimum of 90 earned credits in one of the aforementioned disciplines
  

CEFR C1 English Language Proficiency

The following documents can be accepted as proof of English language proficiency:

1. Degree from an educational institution in an English-speaking country
2. Degree from an educational institution in a non-English speaking country where (1) the language of instruction and/or the degree conferred are in English and (2) CEFR level C1 was required at admission (requirement must be officially confirmed by institution)
3. Standardized language test certificates (not older than three years):
   IELTS (7.0), TOEFL IBT (100); ALTE LEVEL (4); CAMBRIDGE (180 (C-A)); UNICERT III; TOEIC (Listening 490 + Reading 455)
4. Copy of a passport from a country where the official language is English (native speaker)
5. Certified language tests issued by a university (not English course completion tests etc.)

Application Process

General information about the application process can be found here.

Please note that we do not accept additional documents like motivational letters or letters of recommendation. No German proficiency is needed for this program.

The application procedure depends on the country of origin of your degree:

With German Degree

Applicants who earned their Bachelor's degree in Germany can apply directly to the university. All information necessary for this application procedure can be found on the application website of Freie Universität Berlin.

With Non-German Degree

Applicants who earned their Bachelor's degree in a country other than Germany have to apply via uni-assist. All information necessary for this application procedure can be found on the application website of Freie Universität Berlin. Make sure you leave yourself enough time before the deadline to get certified copies and translations of the required documents!

Higher Semester Admission

Students who wish to transfer to North American Studies from a different university can apply for higher-semester admission, if they have already earned a certain amount of credit points related to North American Studies. These CPs must not have been earned in a successfully completed program.

• 2nd semester admission: minimum of 20 CP (summer semester intake)
• 3rd semester admission: minimum of 50 CP (winter semester intake)

Students must complete at least 50% (60 CP) of their degree at the John-F.-Kennedy Institute in order to graduate. Admissions to the 4th semester are not possible.

Tuition Fees

There are no tuition fees at Freie Universität Berlin. Students only pay a small semester fee. Please find more information here.

Need help?

If you have questions regarding the application and admission process, please contact the Info-Service Studium:

Student-Service-Center
Iltisstr. 4
14195 Berlin

Phone: +49 (0) 30 838 - 70000
E-Mail: info-service@fu-berlin.de

If you have questions about the language requirements, credit transfer and course conversion, program structure or the John-F.-Kennedy Institute in general, please contact the academic advisor. Please be aware that we cannot evaluate any transcripts beforehand.