BA Students
BA in American Studies is an undergraduate degree program that spans across six semesters of full-time study, offering its students the opportunity to explore various aspects of American culture, history, society, and politics through an interdisciplinary lens.
Bachelor of Arts in American Studies
The BA program in American Studies focuses on the interdisciplinary study of American culture, history, society, and politics. It combines various academic fields, including history, literature, sociology, political science, and cultural studies, to provide a comprehensive understanding of diverse aspects of the American society and culture. The program hones critical thinking, research skills and analytical abilities, allowing students to navigate the relations between the United States and the world. Graduates of the program will have earned a licencjat degree, comparable to Bachelor of Arts degree, in cultural studies with an emphasis in American Studies.
Study Program
The first-cycle studies program in American Studies encompasses introductory lectures to various disciplines. Coursework explores topics such as American history, literature and film, popular culture, race and ethnicity, gender studies, politics, and social issues. The program also included an academic writing class (English composition), which equips students with essential skills in effective written communication. In addition to obligatory courses that make up the curriculum, students can enroll in a number of elective classes which inform their specific interests. The sum of ECTS points for each year (two semesters) is always 60.
Elective courses
Elective courses end with a final grade, whereas the form of testing knowledge for the final grade is decided by the instructor. The elective courses are classified within the cluster of Humanities (H) or the cluster of Social Sciences (S), or both. You must complete 9 elective courses in total during your BA, choosing at least 2 elective courses from each cluster. In order to fulfill this requirement, we suggest that you plan your course selection in advance, so that you do not have problems with the clusters in the later part of their studies. Although there is a certain number of electives assigned to each semester in your study program, you are allowed to realize the electives ahead of time if you wish (just remember to link them appropriately in USOS).
- Program for students entering in 2024/2025
- Program for students entering in 2023/2024
- Program for students entering in 2022/2023
- Program for students entering in 2021/2022
- Program for students entering in 2020/2021
- Program for students entering in 2019/2020
- Program for students entering in 2018/2019
- Program for students entering in 2018/2019 (evening studies)
- Program for students entering in 2017/2018
- Program for students entering in 2017/2018 (evening studies)
Course Registration
You can register for ASC courses only through USOSweb. Registrations are held on a first-come, first-served basis. Remember to follow the registration schedule and register for all the obligatory and elective courses, according to the requirements of your study program. More information in the documents below.
Course catalogues
The catalogues are a quick and convenient tool to browse through the Center’s most recent course offerings. Course catalogues provide more detailed information about the courses, allowing you to better plan your course selections.
Class Attendance Rules
A student enrolled in an ASC class is allowed to miss no more than two class meetings in a given semester (no medical documentation is required). In case of further absences medical documentation must be presented to the instructor and the student is obliged to arrange with the instructor how to make up for the classes missed.
Research travel
If absences are due to causes other than illness (eg. travel for research purposes), the student should notify the teacher at least a week before the planned absence and make arrangements concerning the required make-up work. Absences due to research travel require written support from the thesis supervisor. Instructors have the right to fail students who have missed more than two class meetings for reasons not related to health. These rules concern electives, proseminars and seminars in both the BA and the MA program, but they do not apply to lectures.
Open Academic Sessions (OZN)
Each ASC student is obliged to collect OZN points through participation in a variety of extracurricular academic activities: public lectures, debates, seminars, or cultural events such as film festivals. The OZN requirement is 70 points for BA students. Students collect points by attending events and listing them on their individual OZN cards. OZN points are not attached to any single semester, so you collect them throughout your studies, and receive your grade once, at the end of the program. Click the button below to learn more about the OZN program rules, opportunities and grading.
Schedule
Exam Session
Exams take place at the end of each semester. See the schedule of the most recent exam session down below.
What if I miss the exam?
In the case of an absence from an examination, in particular due to illness or another examination taking place at the same time, the student is entitled to an additional examination date, if the absence is excused by the ASC Counselor for Students’ Affairs. In the case of an absence due to illness, a medical certificate should be submitted to the Office for Students’ Affairs within seven working days of the date indicated therein for the termination of the exemption. Additional examination date may be granted only once in a given stage of study (there may be an exception to this rule only in particularly justified cases).
Getting your grades
Despite the fact that at the ASC we have an annual system of checking students’ transcripts, you need to get credits for the courses and lectures which took place during the winter semester till the end of the make up session at the latest. According to the new university rules, grades entered into the USOS system serve as the basic documentation of your achievements. Besides, there is no possibility to enter the grades into the USOS system retroactively, so please make sure that all of them are in place by the end of the make up session.
BA Thesis
In order to get your degree, you must write and defend your BA thesis. You choose your supervisor by the end of the fourth semester, and write your thesis during your final year of study. See the files below for more detailed information about the rules for writing and defending BA thesis at the ASC.
Old Rules of BA Examinations
(binding only in special cases)
- Writing and defending BA thesis (old rules)
- Guidelines for BA Exams (old rules)
- Topics for BA Exams ASC (old rules)
- Topics for BA Exams CESLA (old rules)
- Declaration for choosing new exam rules
- First pages of an BA thesis ASC | 2016-2017
- First pages of an BA thesis CESLA | 2015-2017
- First pages of an BA thesis ASC | 2012-2015
- Plagiarism Policy
- Dane osobowe abiturienta OSA UW
- Supervisors request to appoint an examination committee
Final Examination
BA thesis defenses in 2024 will take place in March, July, September and December. Below you will find the deadlines for the submission of your thesis as well as the planned dates of BA and MA exams at the ASC UW in the academic year 2023/2024:
- The deadline to submit a thesis: by February 29, 2024
The exam dates: March 22, 2024 - The deadline to submit a thesis: by June 5, 2024
The exam dates: July 03-05 and 9-10, 2024 - The deadline to submit a thesis: by September 3, 2024
The exam dates: September 24-27, 2024 - The deadline to submit a thesis: by November 29, 2024
The exam dates: December 18, 2024
The ASC Director as well as the ASC Students’ Office will strictly adhere to the above deadlines and will not make any exceptions. Failure to submit a thesis by June 5, 2024 will irreversibly result in postponing of a BA or MA exam until the end of September 2024.
You are being informed about the planned exam dates and submission deadlines well ahead of time so you may consider them making plans for holidays and further education.
You can take part in the first round of admissions to the MA program if you defend your BA thesis in July. You submit documents later on, when you already have defended your BA thesis. If you’re planning to defend in September, you can apply during the second, supplementary round of admissions, as long as there are still places left.
Fees
- Fees for Academic Year 2024/2025
- Fees for Academic Year 2023/2024
- Fees for Academic Year 2022/2023
- Fees for Academic Year 2021/2022
- Fees for Academic Year 2020/2021
- Fees for Academic Year 2019/2020
- Fees for Academic Year 2018/2019
- Fees for Foreign Students 2018/2019
- Fees for Academic Year 2017/2018
- Fees for Foreign Students, 2017/2018
Health and Safety Training
Exchange programs
Every student can apply for exchange program once in their study cycle (both BA and MA) and spend up to two semesters abroad. ASC has agreements with numerous universities and colleges in and outside of Europe. Apply for grants from the Erasmus+ program, bilateral agreements or MOST program.
You must be at least a second-year BA student at the moment of the application. The best time to apply is when you are in your second year of the BA program; this way, you will be able to go on the exchange in your fifth semester. While this may be, suggestively, the best time to go, it is not the only one.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Warsaw University offers a wide array of social services to aid students financially. These include awards, stipends, one-time financial assistance, health insurance, university accomodation. Click on the link below to learn more.
Contact
dr Małgorzata Gajda-Łaszewska
ASC Counselor for Students’ Affairs
+48 22 55 333 19
Room 1.043
Office hours in Fall semester 2024/2025:
Tuesdays, 15:00 – 16:45 online via ZOOM
Wednesdays, 11:30 – 13:00 OSA (1.043), book your appointment at Doodle