BA Literary and Cultural Analysis (Literary Studies)

About the course

Teaches close reading and critical analysis of literature, art and popular culture, and how they relate to current issues such as climate change, race and gender. Students can shape the degree with electives, a minor, an internship or study abroad, and finish with a thesis.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The UvA’s published Irish Leaving Certificate rule (shown on its PPLE admissions page for September 2026 entry) is: at least 6 subjects from the established Leaving Certificate programme, at least 2 at Higher Level with H5 or better, the other 4 at O6 or better (Ordinary Level) or H7 or better (Higher Level), and at least 350 CAO points. Humanities programmes use the UvA diploma finder, so confirm with admissions that this rule applies to this programme for 2027 entry.
• No specific subject or maths requirement is published for this programme. Applicants who completed fully English-taught secondary education in Ireland do not need an English test.

How to apply

1. Apply in StudielinkRegister for Literary Studies (Literatuurwetenschap) in Studielink before 1 May 2027; aim for 1 April if you need visa or housing help.
2. Pay fee and upload filePay the non-refundable €100 application fee and upload your Leaving Cert results or predicted grades and other documents in the UvA portal.
3. Admission decisionDecisions usually take 1 to 2 weeks for diplomas listed in the UvA diploma finder, and up to 8 weeks for others. Send certified copies of your results by 31 August.
4. UvA MatchingCompulsory online study-choice activity (18 January to 15 June 2027): register before 3 June 2027 and take part before 15 June 2027, or you are deregistered.

Costs

• Standard Dutch EU fee: €2,694 (2026/27). The 2027/28 fee is set by the Dutch government each year (expected to be close to €2,800).
• EU students may be eligible for a Dutch tuition-fee loan (DUO).

At a glance