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Master of Arts
in European Studies

Structure of the Degree

On the one hand, the degree programme teaches the basics of European Studies and, on the other hand, enables individual subject specialisation in one of the central areas offered. In addition, there are practical skills and foreign language courses. The programme usually lasts four semesters and can be taken up in either the winter or summer semester.

The Basic Modules (Grundmodule [GM]) "Einführung in die Europäische Geschichte" (Basic Module 1), "Politik der Europäischen Integration" (Basic Module 2), "Europäische Wirtschaftspolitik" (Basic Module 3) and "Europarecht" (Basic Module 4) are compulsory for all students. A total of 24 ECTS are acquired here.

The choice of the Central Module (Zentralmodul [PM]) - culture, politics, economics or law - is based on your prior degree and enables you to deepen your disciplinary knowledge. You must acquire 12 ECTS in the central area.

Of a total of six compulsory Elective Modules (Wahlfplichtmodul [WPM]) - Governance in Europe; European Business Law; Migration, Ethnicity, Ethnocentrism; City, Region and Border in Europe; Culture, History and Society in Europe; Economic Policy in Europe - you select two. The choice is independent of your central area. So, depending on your inclination, the degree programme is more disciplinary or interdisciplinary. You will acquire a total of 24 ECTS here (12 ECTS per compulsory elective area).

To complete the Practical Module (Praxismodul [PF]), you must complete an internship of at least four weeks. You can acquire the remaining ECTS through an extended or further internship, but also through participation in business games, project seminars, workshops and the like. Here you will earn a total of 18 ECTS.

In the Foreign Language Module (Sprachmodul [SM]), you can gain knowledge of a modern European foreign language at the level of UniCERT I (not English), UniCERT II (not English) or UnieCERT III (also English). You will receive 12 ECTS for this.

The Master's Exam (Masterprüfung [MA]) includes your thesis and an oral examination (usually defence of the thesis). You write the Master's thesis at a chair that is assigned to your central area. A total of 30 ECTS is earned here. Examples of topics that our students have worked on in their Master's thesis can be found here. You can find particularly outstanding theses here.

The courses are offered by the three faculties of the Viadrina, the Faculty of Cultural Studies, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Economics. The political science courses originate from the curriculum of the Faculty of Cultural Studies.

 Module Structure of the Degree Program

A total of 120 ECTS points are to be acquired during the study programme. The study programme comprises approx. 3,600 working hours.

The performances achieved in the five graded modules (Basic Modules, Central Area, Elective Module, Foreign Language Module, Master's exam) form the basis for determining the overall grade for the Master in European Studies.

The acquisition of study achievements is distributed among the different modules according to the following pattern of the overview table (2008) | (2017). (The tables can be found below the module structure).

module2008-eng ©hilal

Studienverlauf Englisch ©Jonas Schulz

In general, the student can organize the studies individually. However, students persuing a double diploma have to observe the requirements of their partner university. The possible study plans (in German) serve as orientation.