Master of Arts

Right after graduating from college, we either choose to start a professional career or go for higher studies. Pursuing higher studies opens doors to in-depth learning, cultivates a scholastic attitude, and doubles the chances of getting jobs with lucrative salaries. A large number of students pursue postgraduate degrees in various disciplines and when it comes to studying abroad, there are a number of programs at your disposal. Out of the many, Master of Science and Master of Arts degrees are the most pursued courses. Thus, in this blog, we will focus on the various aspects pertaining to an MA degree. 

Overview

Master of Arts is a two-year, postgraduate program in non-scientific subjects. Pursued by many, it entails a broad range of disciplines with the majority of them having sub-disciplines. Divided into four semesters, the master’s program focuses on research-based learning and involves an in-depth study of the subjects which constitute a part of the course. Not only does the curriculum impart knowledge in the respective field but it also helps develop critical thinking. The degree allows a student to pick from an array of subject options in humanities which include Literature, Philosophy, History, Human Geography, Law, Politics, Religion, etc. The availability of a wide range of subjects and a research-based curriculum thus makes it one of the most sought-after degrees. 

Why Study Master of Arts?

• Students who earn a master’s degree in the arts have better subject-specific expertise. It gives them a thorough understanding of the field they have chosen.
• Additionally, they have the chance to attend guest lectures and seminars given by experts from the academic or corporate world.
• Postgraduate courses are more independent and have a bigger curriculum than undergraduate courses. By learning new skills, students are forced to put in more effort to learn the complete process. The master’s degree develops critical thinking, rational reasoning, and investigative skills.
• With an undergraduate degree, students can find employment in good positions, but a master’s degree is the true turning point for career advancement.

Required Skill Set

Skillset for MA Courses
Good communication skills	Problem-solving skills
Management skills	Analytical thinking
Goal-oriented	Ability to work under pressure
Intellectually curious	Inquisitive
Organisational skills	Interpersonal skills

Master of Arts: Eligibility

The foremost eligibility criterion to pursue a Master of Arts degree is to have a bachelor’s degree. Some of the postgraduate programs require you to have at least one subject from the humanities in your bachelor’s degree. If you are planning to study for a degree in a university abroad, you need to prove your efficiency in the English language by taking a standard language test like IELTS, TOEFL, or PTE. It is advised that you go through the eligibility criteria of the university before you proceed with applying for a course. 

Studying MA Abroad

Being home to prestigious institutions like Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge the countries like the UK and the US have been pioneers in imparting quality education for centuries. To study a course like the Master of Arts in these universities, you may need to put in more effort but the rewards are exponentially high. Pursuing a degree which is comprehensive and interdisciplinary in nature, requires a great environment for learning, erudite teachers and massive learning resources. The universities abroad provide all this. Not only do these institutions offer world-class academic infrastructure but they also provide an opportunity to gain on-the-job experience thus producing industry-ready graduates. Some the countries like the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland are revered as the destinations with the best education system. 

Top Master of Arts Courses

There is a broad range of courses in the Master of Arts program, with each subject having a prospect for further studies through MPhil and PhD. Further, some of the institutions across the globe are known for their courses in the sub-domain of Arts. While LSE is revered for its Political Science courses, and programs in Economics, Yale and Stanford are popular for their courses in Film Studies. Further, Missouri University is a prestigious institution that is famous for its Journalism and Communication degree programs. Listed below are some of the other MA courses which are spread across disciplines: 

• MA in History
• MA in Anthropology
• MA in Philosophy
• MA in International Relations
• MA in Film Studies
• MA in Communication
• MA in Journalism
• MA in Cultural Studies
• MA in Political Science
• MA in Psychology
• MA in Theology
• MA in Economics
• MA in Language Studies
• MA in Sociology
• MA in Social Work

Also read: Arts stream subjects 

MA Syllabus

MA English
Introduction to Linguistics	Poetry III (Hopkins to Ted Hughes)
Poetry I (Chaucer to Blake)	Drama III (Twentieth Century Drama)
Drama I (Marlowe to Wilde excluding Shakespeare)	Literary Criticism & Theory 1
Prose	Indian Literature in English I/American Literature-II
Linguistics and English Language Teaching	Fiction II
Poetry II (Wordsworth to Arnold)	Literary Criticism & Theory II
Drama II (Shakespeare)	Indian Literature in English II/American Literature II
Fiction I (Defoe to Hardy)	Indian Literature in Translation/New Literatures in English/Women Writing

MA French
History of French Literature from its Origin up to XIXth Century	Introduction to Linguistics
French Novel & French Poetry (20th Century)	Use of French
Introduction to Literary Analysis of Fiction and Poetry	Linguistic Approach to Translation
History of France	French Drama (20th Century)
Origin of Literature in French (Study of Text)	Evolution of French Poetry and Novel as genre
Comparative Literature	Study of Literary Schools or Movements
Didactic of French as a foreign language	Canadian Literature
History of Art in France	Introduction to Translation Studies
MA dissertation	Viva-voce
Introduction to Francophone Literature	Interpretive theory of translation

MA German
An introduction to the Study of Literature – I	The development of Drama from Lessing to Hebel – I
Introduction to Modern German Linguistics – I	Poetry of classical periods
India in German Literature – II/German Literary Trends (Realism & Naturalism)	The development of Drama from Hebel to Brecht -II
An introduction to the study of literature – II	Training of oral interpretation skill
Introduction to modern German linguistics – II	Major Elective Course

MA Chinese / Mandarin
Advanced Chinese	Intensive Readings in Chinese Literature I
Advanced Chinese II	Modern Literary Trends and Criticism
Readings in Literary Chinese I	Readings in Sino-Indian Interaction
Advanced Readings in Political and Economic Documents in Chinese I	Twentieth-Century China
Advanced Chinese III	Women in Chinese Literature
Advanced Chinese IV	Seminar in Modern Chinese Language, Literature and Culture
Readings in Literary Chinese II	Interpretation and Methods of Teaching
Advanced Readings in Business and Scientific Documents in Chinese II	Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
Literature of People’s Republic of China	Intensive Readings in Chinese Literature II
Political and Cultural History Pre-modern China	Intensive Readings in Chinese Literature III
Readings in Comparative Literature	Advanced Study in Chinese Grammar

MA Economics
Microeconomic Analysis	Economics of Growth
Monetary Economics	Public Economics
Elementary Statistics	Issues in the Indian Economy
International Trade	Economics of Industry
Optional Paper-I	Optional Paper-II
Theory of Pricing and Distribution	Growth Models in Economics
Macroeconomic Analysis	Indian Public Finance
Quantitative Methods	Selected Problems of the Indian Economy
International Finance	Economics of Agriculture

MA Econometrics
Basic Mathematical Methods	Human Resource Development
Microeconomics – I	Money and Finance
Statistics for Econometrics	Macro Economics – II
Women and Economy	Advanced Econometrics
Information Technology	Growth Economics
Soft Skill	Contemporary Indian Economic Issues
Mathematical Economics	Financial Econometrics
Microeconomics – II	Public Economics
Basic Econometric Methods	Applied Econometrics
Macroeconomics – I	Panel Data: Theory and Application

MA Political Science
Modern Indian Political Thought	Comparative Political Analysis
International Relations-Theory and Practice	Western Political Thought
Indian Politics-Major Issues and Debates	Seminar on Field Project
Contemporary Political Theory	Dissertation-I
Soft Skills	Teaching and Research Aptitude-I
Politics of Developing Countries	Departmental Elective 2
Contemporary Political Issues	Departmental Elective 3
Major Ideas and Issues in Public Administration	State Politics in India
Research Methods in Political Science	Dissertation-II
Departmental Elective 3	Teaching and Research Aptitude-II

MA Public Administration
Concepts and Ideas of Public Administration	Comparative Local Government: Nature and Significance
Administrative Theories and Thinkers: Classical Era	Comparative Administration
Public Personnel Administration: Theory and Practice	Public Policy
Evolution and Framework of Indian Administration	Financial Administration in India: Concepts and Structure
Citizen and Administration: Concepts and Issues	Fundamentals of Computers/International Public Administration – I
Principles and Practices of Public Administration	Comparative Local Government: Process and Issues
Administrative Theories and Thinkers: Modern Era	Development Administration
Public Personnel Administration: Concepts and Issues	Theory and Practice of Management
Indian Administration: State and District Administration	Financial Administration in India: Processes

MA International Relations
Contemporary Political Theory	Theory and Practice of Diplomacy
Modern Political Thought	Energy Politics in International Relations
Theory of International Relations – I	Indian Foreign Policy: Post-Cold War Era
Thinkers in International Relations	Research Dissertation – I
Indian Political System	International Political Economy
Gender in Global Politics	National and Global Security in Contemporary World
Theory of International Relations-II	Research Methodology
Geopolitics in International Relations	Research Dissertation – II
Comparative Political Analysis	Electives

MA Politics
Political Theory	Elective – I
Indian Government and Politics	Elective – II
Public Administration	Elective – III
International Relations	Elective – IV
Political Theory II	Elective – V
Comparative Politics, Indian Constitution	Interdisciplinary/Cross-Disciplinary Course

MA Public Policy
Law, Governance and Institution	Political Philosophy for Public Policy
Statistical and Data Analysis	Policy Action Workshop
Qualitative Research Methodology	Social and Cultural Theory
Introduction to Public Policy Process	Public Finance and Administration
Academic Writing Workshop	Program Design and Evaluation
Economics for Public Policy I	Pre Dissertation Workshop
Economics for Public Policy – II (Macro)	Electives

MA History
Principles of History	Contemporary World (Part-II : 1945-2003)
Contemporary World	Indian National Movement (1905-1947)
Ecology & Environment in History	Environmental Crisis and World Religions
Major currents in Historical Thought	Research Methodology and Historical Investigation
Indian Nationalism (Socio-religious and other protest movements) up to1905.	Optional Papers

MA Sociology
Social Anthropology	Theories of Group Interaction
Methodology of Social Sciences	Theories of Group Interaction
Group Processes and Dynamics	Sociological Reviews and Viva-Voce
Classical Social Thinkers	Modern Sociological Theories
Sociology of Environment	Advanced Sociological Theories
Tribal Economy and Society	Sociology of India
Social Statistics	Continuity and Change In India

MA Philosophy
Classical Indian Philosophy – I	Indian Heritage and Axiology
Greek and Medieval Philosophy	Epistemology
Social and Political Philosophy – I	Contemporary Indian Philosophy – I
Indian Culture and Ethics	Contemporary Western Philosophy – I
Logic and Scientific Method	Moral Philosophy
Classical Indian Philosophy – II	Contemporary Indian Philosophy – II
Modern European Philosophy	Contemporary Western Philosophy – II
Social and Political Philosophy – II	Applied Ethics

MA in English and Comparative Literature
Poetry I	Comparative Literature
Drama I	Literary Theory I
Literary Criticism I	New Literature in English
Fiction I	English Language Teaching
English for Specific Purposes	Philosophy and Literature
Indian Literature in English	Indian Novel in English Translation
Literary Criticism	Writers of the Diaspora
Poetry of the Nineteenth Century	Literary Theory II
Creative Writing (Interdisciplinary)	American Literature II
Twentieth-Century Literature in English	Linguistics
Poetry of the Nineteenth Century Science and Literature (Interdisciplinary)

MA in Comparative Literature and Translation Studies
Translation: Principles and Theories	Fundamentals of Translation
Linguistics and Translation	Translation: Comparative Approach and Evaluation
Comparative Literature: History, Principles & Methods	Genres of Translation
Comparative Literature: Kannada and Tamil	Comparative Literature: Western Classics
Comparative Literature: Kannada and Telugu	Media and Translation
Translation: Techniques and Methods	Translation in Kannada: Historical Survey
Technical Translation: Science and Humanities	Kannada as Language of Administration
Comparative Literature: Indian Literature	Comparative Poetics
Comparative Literature: Kannada and Hindi	Comparative Literature: African and Caribbean
Comparative Literature: Kannada and Telugu	Comparative Literature: Latin American Literature

MA Anthropology
Introduction to Social Anthropology	Theories of Social Structure
Physical Anthropology	Applied Anthropology and Tribal Welfare
Archaeological Anthropology	Indian Society
Quantitative Research Methods	Anthropology of Complex Societies
Qualitative Research Methods	Theories of Culture

MA Social Work
History and Philosophy of Social Work	Statistics and Computer Application
Psychosocial Dynamics of Human Behavior	Dynamics of Socio-Political Institutions and Organisations
Methods of Working with People: Micro-Approaches	Social Policy and Planning
Social Welfare Administration	Demography and Population Studies
Research Methodology	Communication and Social work Practice
Man & Society	Labour Problems and Labour Welfare
Approaches and fields of Social Work	Dynamics of Social Development
Human Growth and Development	Social Ecology and Management of Environment
Methods of working with People: Macro Approaches	Counselling and Social Work Practice
Management of NGO’s and Disaster Relief Services	Labour Legislation and Social work Practice

MA in Social Work in Community Organization and Development Practice
Foundation Course	Rural Development and Governance
Philosophy of Research	Sustainable Development and Livelihood
History and Perspective of Social Work	Field Work
Social Case Work	Social Policy and Planning
Social Group Work	Socio-Legal Dimensions in Development Practice
Research Methods I	Urbanisation, Governance and Informal Work
Theoretical Perspectives for Community Practice	Social Action, Advocacy and Movements
Elective Foundation	Business Plan Development for Social Sector
Community Organization	Program Planning and Management
Critical Perspectives on Social work: Introduction to Social Theories	Disasters and Development
Research Methods II	Disciplinary Elective

MA Linguistics
Phl. Underpinnings of Modern Linguistics	Field Linguistics
Phonetics and Phonology I	Language Universals and Language Typology
Morphology	Semantics
Syntax I	Computational Linguistics
Syntax II	Elective Courses I, II
Phonology II	Historical Linguistics
Cognitive Linguistics	Sociolinguistics

MA Archaeology
Foundations of Social Anthropology	Social Ecology
Archaeological Anthropology	Anthropology of Peasant Societies
Ethnology and Comparative Ethnography	Anthropology of Urban and Complex Societies
Practical – Archaeological Anthropology	Theories of Culture and Social Structure
Indians Overseas	Human Biology
Qualitative Methods and Research	Economic Anthropology
Physical Anthropology	Political Anthropology
Methodology of Anthropological Research	Minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
Applied Anthropology	Anthropology of Folklore
Practical – Physical Anthropology	Project, Field work, Dissertation and Viva-Voce

MA Rural Development
Rural Development- Indian Context	Communication and Extension in Rural Development
Rural Development Programmes	Rural Social Development
Rural Development- Planning and Management	Voluntary Action in Rural Development
Research Methods in Rural Development	Land Reforms and Rural Development
Rural Health Care	Entrepreneurship and Rural Development

MA Rural Studies
Principles and Practices of Rural Development	Resource Economics
Economic Analysis for Rural Management – I	Operations Research Techniques
Management Accounting and finance	Environment & Energy management
Quantitative Analysis for Rural Management	Project Management-I: Planning and Implementation of Rural Development Programmes
Agribusiness, Agripreneurship and Skill Development	Rural Product Marketing
Rural Livelihood Systems	Geographical Information systems for Rural Development
Research Methodology for Rural Studies	Rural Development Interventions
Computer Applications for Rural Management	Rural Development Programmes and policies
Economic Analysis for Rural Management – II	Business Budgeting
Social Policy, Planning and Development	Science and Technology for Rural Development
Trade Liberalisation and Global Business Logistics	Co-operative Thoughts and Collective Action
Risk Management & Rural Insurance	Finance Management
Introduction to Bionomics	Social Corporate Responsibilities
Project Management – II: Monitoring and Evaluation of Rural Development Programmes

Master of Arts: Career Prospects

When it comes to job opportunities after completing the Master of Arts degree, there are a variety of options to explore. Depending on the line you choose, a  master’s degree from a reputed university can land you a lucrative job with an excellent work environment Some of the top employers for arts graduates include:

• Embassies 
• Government Offices
• Academics
• Law Firms
• News and Media
• Foreign Affairs
• Consultancies
• Foreign Affairs

MA Top Recruiters

• Time of India
• Hindustan Times
• TCS
• Amazon
• Myntra
• BBC
• Infosys
• Accenture
• Taj
• HDFC Bank

FAQs

Hopefully, with this blog, you are now familiar with the basic idea about the Master of Arts degree program. A fascinating career choice, the degree offers innumerable prospects for jobs and learning. If you are planning to study Arts stream abroad but are not sure about how to get started with it then the counsellors at Leverage Edu will lend you a helping hand. Not only will the experts help you in selecting the right institute using our AI-enabled tool but will also assist in completing the admission-related formalities for the January 2023 intake.