What Samaneh says about the Master's in Visual Culture

Samaneh from Iran

Why did you choose this programme? Why in Lund?

"I applied after studying for my Architectural History program. I felt that I wanted to shift focus towards humanities more. I knew that I wanted to study abroad, and I had friends studying in Denmark already, so I had decided that Scandinavia would be a good option. I looked around into what programmes were available. I specifically looked at Lund because it was close to Copenhagen; it’s a good location. I dug a bit deeper into the Visual Culture programme, and I saw that it was something I wanted to do, so it was my first choice among all the Swedish Universities and programmes. Also, I really liked the main library building!"

Was there any reason why you chose Sweden specifically?

"In general, as I looked around, I could see that Sweden was known as being more accessible for international students. So that was another reason why I chose Sweden over Denmark. I believe Sweden is a kinder country in general. It has been an excellent place to study as an international student."

What is the best thing about your programme? Why should prospective students choose this programme?

"Well, there are a lot of things! But first of all, I would say we have a perfect combination of Professors. They are super responsive; they care about the students and the programme. Also, the fact that our programme is very inclusive, we have many different people from all sorts of backgrounds, from all around the world. So the discussions are really fruitful in our programme, and I would say these two things are the best things about the programme."

What is your impression of the teaching style and the examination style of your programme?

"I really like the teaching style. It is not the same as I experienced in my Bachelor’s studies. It’s a bit similar, but you don’t see the competitive spirit that much here. Although they have very high standards, they don’t stress you out. You don’t constantly feel the need to be the best, you just do your best. It’s more fun! They don’t point out if somebody is the best or the worst, and that’s really good. And I’d like to add that our assignments are really varied for each course; we do not have exams, we have a different assignment for each course, with a different type of writing. For example, short essays, journal articles, visual artistic research assignments, and popular science articles. I think that’s really interesting, and the whole programme prepares us for different kinds of work we might do in the future. For example in one of our following courses, we will have to write a PhD proposal. So in that sense, I think the assignments are really well thought out and very helpful."

What was your first impression of Lund? How would you describe the town/city to someone who’s never been here?

"I am from a big city, so my first impression was that Lund is tiny! But after a while, I actually got used to it, and I like it better that it’s small. In fact, it’s exactly the right size, because it’s just so easy to get around, and if you want ‘big city’ experiences, you can always just go to Malmo or even Copenhagen easily, within half an hour you can ‘exchange’ the experience. My favourite place in Lund is Stadsparken (the city park).  It’s really cool; you can have different experiences here, you can do a BBQ, walk around, go for a jog."

What do you do in your spare time? Are you involved in any extracurricular activities?

"The main thing I’ve been involved in has been the student ambassador programme. It has been a really good experience, I would recommend others to apply for it. It was interesting and fulfilling being able to help other people to get settled on campus. I also joined UPF Lund (The Association of Foreign Affairs) I wasn’t able to get involved with it as much as I would have liked to this year, but I would really like to be more active with it next year, particularly The Perspective Webzine (UPF’s media outlets include the Perspective Webzine, The Perspective Magazine and The Perspective Radio)."

Have you been able to get by with English in Sweden?

"I have recently started going to SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) classes this semester, so I have been learning Swedish. But actually, you can easily get by without even knowing one word in Swedish, because everybody speaks English so perfectly, so you won’t have any problems."

Is there anything typically Swedish that you like?

"Fika! People talk about it so much that maybe it sounds a bit cheesy! But I love coffee, I love taking those coffee breaks! And now I’m so happy that here it actually has a name, and people respect that!"

What are you planning to do after your studies? What are your plans for the future?

"One of the things that our programme is known for is that many of our graduates go on to do PhDs, so this is definitely one of the options I have thought about. I am also planning to have discussions with our alumni to see where they are, to see what other options a graduate of this programme has. Many of them work in museums as curators, with many different things, so I think the options are broad. But for myself, I think I will continue in academia."

Any final advice for prospective students?

"If you’re thinking about this programme, I would suggest you go for it because it’s a really good place to be!"