Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Scandinavian Section

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Scandinavian Section offers the M.A. degree in Scandinavian.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

Students are advised by the Vice Chair of Graduate Studies (VCGS). The VCGS serves as a resource for students’ professional life and personal development as they acclimatize to graduate student life at UCLA.

Students should consult regularly with the VCGS to plan their progress to degree. Student records are reviewed regularly by the VCGS and the Student Affairs Officer in consultation with the department faculty. Students whose grade-point average falls below 3.0 are sent a warning from the Chair and may be placed on departmental academic probation.

At the end of the first year, students receive a letter summarizing their progress in the program, outlining the requirements that remain to be fulfilled, and when necessary identifying areas for improvement. This letter is prepared by the VCGS, upon consultation with faculty (from ELTS and from other departments, as appropriate). The letter is sent via email, no later than one week after the end of the Spring quarter.

Areas of Study

There are no specific major fields or subdisciplines in the M.A. program, but students emphasize one modern language and literature area in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students are required to demonstrate mastery in one Scandinavian language (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) prior to completing the M.A. examinations. Mastery can be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) satisfactory completion of a departmental translation or reading examination; (2) placing into level 4 on a departmental language placement examination; (3) completing level 3 (or the equivalent of one year) in a language with a grade of B+ or better; or (4) passing, with a grade of B+ or better, one upper-division or graduate-level course in the original language.

Course Requirements

Students must complete a total of 10 courses (40 units) for the M.A. degree. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and should be selected from offerings in ELTS, French, German, Italian and Scandinavian – although graduate seminars in related fields may be applied with approval of the VCGS. Six of these courses (24 units) must be 200-296. Four courses may be upper division undergraduate courses (100 series). One four-unit 596 may be applied toward the course requirements for the master’s degree with the approval of VCGS.

First year: students should enroll in coursework chose in consultation with the VCGS.

Second year: students should be enrolled in courses as needed to complete the M.A. requirements chosen in consultation with the VCGS; in addition, students enroll in three 4-unit 597 exam preparation courses, one per quarter; and the ELTS 495 Teaching Apprentice Practicum in Fall.

Teaching Experience

Although teaching experience is not required, the department provides all graduate students with the opportunity to teach language courses. All teaching assistants are required to complete European Languages and Transcultural Studies (ELTS) 495.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

By the end of week four of the Fall quarter, second year, students must convene an examination committee comprised of three ELTS faculty members; one of these three faculty members must be in Scandinavian. One faculty member should be designated as the committee chair, and the constitution of the committee must be confirmed by email to the VCGS.

In consultation with their committee, students are required to compile a list of 35 works, consisting of primary works, theory and secondary scholarship. The list must be oriented around a broad “period”, “theme” and/or “genre”. The list can be transcultural: i.e., early modern French/Italian literature or European cinema. The goal is foundational knowledge in a broadly defined field. Students write a précis demonstrating the coherence of the list.

Students enroll in one 4-unit 597 per quarter, ideally with each of the committee members in turn, for each of the three quarters in their second year.

In week one of the Spring quarter, second year, students receive approval on the finalized list from the committee and forward the list and précis to the VCGS. An oral examination of 1.5 hours (including time for feedback and discussion about future direction for the student), based on the list and the précis, should be scheduled for week nine or 10 of the Spring quarter, second year. All three committee members must be in attendance.

Examination results are announced during the feedback portion of the examination. Students who fail the written or oral examination are allowed to retake the examination one more time by the end of the following quarter. If, upon retaking the examination, the student does not pass, the degree will not be awarded.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	6	6	7

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A recommendation for academic disqualification is made by the Vice Chair of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Policy Committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the departmental chair.