
Master of Arts in European Women's and Gender History (MATILDA)
Vienna, Austria
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Request the earliest start date
TUITION FEES
EUR 12,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* payable in one or two installments, non-refundable initial tuition fee installment (€500 EUR) is paid to confirm your acceptance of our offer of admission and is credited towards the 1st tuition fee installment in year 1
Introduction
Are you interested in Women’s and Gender HISTORY? The MATILDA European Master in Women's and Gender History, established in 2008 as part of the EU Erasmus+ Programme, offers a unique two-year program if you wish to develop expertise in women's and gender history and are interested in international experiences and intercultural exchange.
MATILDA is for those students interested in intersectional gender history of the medieval, early modern, and modern eras. It approaches “Europe” not as an isolated entity but as connected to the rest of the world, especially through Europe’s colonial history.
The program of study is spread over two years, includes 120 ECTS points, and links leading European universities in an exciting and innovative venture. Students study at least at two different universities (a 'home' and a 'host'/exchange institution), choosing from among the following prestigious institutions:
- Central European University (CEU), Vienna, Austria
- University of Vienna, Austria
- The Université Lumière Lyon 2 (coordinating institution), France
- The Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria
- Universià degli Studi di Padova, Italy
- Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Program Definition
The MATILDA curriculum includes courses in core subjects in Women's and Gender History (theory, methodology, and practice) and specialist options covering medieval to modern historical epochs, such as Inclusion and Exclusion Perspectives on Humanity and Race in Modern European History of Ideas and Science; Emotions and Affect in History; Feminism and Masculinity; Oral History; Qualitative Research Methods: Ethnographic Approaches; History in the Visual Mode: Methods and Practices of Documentary Storytelling; Labor History in Global Perspective 19th to 21st Centuries; Gender and Coloniality: Intersectional Debates and Perspectives; Men of Empire: Comparative Masculinities in the Worlds of the Ottomans and their Rivals; Multiple Inequalities, Multiple Struggles: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in State-Socialist Europe; Gender and/in War; and Feminist Biopolitics and Cultural Practices.
MATILDA supports integrative perspectives which go beyond local, regional, and national histories to situate these histories, as well as European history as a whole, in broader contexts and as part of world history. With its focus on comparative, entangled, and transnational history, MATILDA aims to:
- Explore the history of gender differences and similarities in European cultures and societies, understood as part of broader colonial and imperial histories;
- investigate the role of gender—intersecting with class, ethnicity and other axes of difference—in shaping European history; and
- challenge gendered inequalities.
Transparency and comparability are assured through the European Credit Transfer System and Diploma Supplement/Transcript.
Student Mobility
Student mobility is a core characteristic of the MATILDA Program. Students choose a home university and spend one or more semesters at a MATILDA partner university other than their home institution. They are strongly advised to facilitate their exchange semester(s) through the Erasmus+ Mobility scheme; the scheme provides partial funding for the exchange period. Additional funding may be available.
At the CEU and Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, the courses are offered in English; at the other universities the courses are in the language of the country (at Vienna and Bochum in German, at Padua in Italian), but there are also courses in English.
As a first step in the application for the Erasmus+ Mobility scheme, students contact the responsible office at their MATILDA home university.
MATILDA Program Definition at CEU
At CEU (Vienna Campus), the Department of Gender Studies and the Department of History cooperate in offering the MATILDA MA. Transnational and comparative approaches are foregrounded, with location, class, "race", religion, and other categories informing the study of women and gender in history. Thematic foci include histories of "state-socialism," women's activism and gender politics, as well as East/West-North/South relations, nation/nationalisms, and body politics. MATILDA brings together faculty from many countries and research traditions with expertise in Gender and Historical Studies (including medieval studies).
Examples of MATILDA Students’ MA thesis topics at CEU:
- “Shahr-E Now, Tehran’s Red-Light District (1909–1979): The State, “the Prostitute,” the Soldier, and the Feminist”
- “Sakít o Salà?: The (Post)Colonial Medicalization of the Filipino Homosexual (1916-1976)”
- “Islamophobic Narratives of Medieval and Early Modern Iberian History? Analyzing the Historiography of the Iberian Reconquista (718/722 – 1492/1614) from Feminist and Postcolonial Perspectives”
- “Women on Women: A Study of the Communist Press and Women Tobacco Workers in Interwar Bulgaria”
- “Sex Education and Sexual Knowledge in State-Socialist Hungary, 1960s–1980s”
A notable number of MATILDA graduates have successfully continued in PhD programs at universities in Europe and the United States.
Program Accreditation/Registration
- The program was approved and registered by the New York State Education Department.
- Program accredited by the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria (AQ-Austria)
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
CEU accepts applications from MATILDA candidates for CEU financial aid, including fellowship packages and tuition waivers on the basis of academic merit. In addition, CEU accepts fee-paying students for the MATILDA Program. CEU will interrupt financial aid for MATILDA students' during their study abroad period.
Curriculum
The MATILDA curriculum includes courses in core subjects in Women's and Gender History (theory, methodology, and practice) and specialist options covering medieval to modern historical epochs, such as the history of Nationalism and Post-/Colonialism and the History of Post-/Socialism; History of Masculinities; History of Gender in the Sciences; History of Gender and Work; History of Gender and Education; Comparative History of Women's Movements; Critical Romani Studies; Gender and Migration; Islamic Feminism in Historical Perspective; Women's Oral History; and Gender and Religion.
Year 1
Semester 1: 30 ECTS
- 10: Foundations in Women’s and Gender History
- 10: Foundations in Historical Methods and Theories
- 10: Electives: Historiography/Feminist Theory/Language
Semester 2: 30 ECTS
- Electives
- Language (up to 10 ECTS)
Year 2
Semester 1: 30 ECTS
- 10: Thesis preparation/Electives
- 20: Electives
Semester 2: 30 ECTS
- Supervision/workshops
- Thesis: 70-110 pages (approximately 2,800 characters incl. spaces, or 420 words/page) + bibliography etc.
Submission: depending on the university Assessment: 2 reviews by 2 faculty from different MATILDA partner institutions
Student Mobility
MATILDA students spend one or more semesters at a MATILDA partner university other than their home institution. They are strongly advised to facilitate their exchange semester(s) through the Erasmus+ Mobility scheme; the scheme provides partial funding for the exchange period. (EU students returning from their MATILDA home institution to their home country for the exchange period receive low priority in the Erasmus mobility funding scheme.) Additional funding may be available.
As a first step in the application for the Erasmus+ Mobility scheme, students contact the responsible office at their MATILDA home institution.
Program Outcome
MATILDA supports integrative perspectives that go beyond local, regional, and national histories to situate these histories, as well as European history as a whole, in broader contexts. With its focus on comparative, entangled, and transnational history, MATILDA aims to:
- Explore the history of gender differences and similarities in European cultures and societies;
- Investigate the role of gender in shaping European history;
- Challenge gender inequalities.