Why study Humanities?

Gaining an appreciation of Arts and Humanities, whether in general terms or through the study of one particular academic area, helps us understand present circumstances.  Subjects such as history and literature are essential in understanding contemporary situations and challenges and help us approach problems and find solutions built on solid and well thought-out principles.  More than any other subject area, Humanities are studies about life itself. Past life, present life and the development of future lives.

Examining, interpreting and presenting the individual aspects of our cultural lives are both personally rewarding and directly relevant to how you learn and grow as an individual.

Arts and Humanities students tend to be among those that show intense interest in the world around them and a profound desire to understand what makes historic or contemporary events, time periods and political movements significant. Such students are not confined by a single viewpoint, yet they tend to search more creative approaches to various circumstances. They are open-minded, and deeply interested in broadening their horizons and fields of experience.

Why study the MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies?

Previously isolated from the European mainstreams, the countries of the Balkan peninsula and the Black Sea region demand a serious comparative study as they are no longer 'at the edge' of Europe.

Most of these countries have been neglected for some time by mainstream Social Science and are rarely included in university programmes studies. However, studies focusing on issues like the development of the Black Sea region through the course of history, or issues on Immigration, Minorities, Economical status of the population, as well as studies on the relations and interactions between the recently founded Nation States of the SE Europe and the rest of Europe, encourage constructive debates between scholars and contribute to the better knowledge of the region.

The MA programme of the School of Humanities aims to provide an academic as well as a more practical politically-orientated approach. Furthermore, it hopes to compensate for the serious information gap on the countries of the SE Europe. Its goal is to develop a deeper and more fruitful understanding of the Black Sea region, an area which already plays a dramatic role in political and economical development process.

The career path

Are there jobs for those students that graduate in Humanities?  A general and commonly nowadays accepted perception is that many of these subject areas do not qualify students for jobs, irrespective of the state of Economy or the labor market.

The reality, however, is quite different. Arts and Humanities graduates, particularly those with experience in studying abroad, are still sought after by many employers around the world.

Arts and Humanities graduates demonstrate extremely well developed transferable skills that serve them well in a variety of careers: skills such as analysis, verbal reasoning, a qualitative approach to issues and problems, language skills- specific to their degree programme and the ability to work unsupervised individually or in small groups.

Particularly, a postgraduate degree in Black Sea Studies provides qualification for important careers in Research, in Academia, in Teaching, in various globally activated Organizations, in Diplomatic corps.