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Programme:

European Studies (2013/2014)

Joint Degree with University of Ljubljana
Study Cycle: Second Cycle (Postgraduate)
Faculty: Contemporary Social Sciences
Programme Code: N-PAES180C
Academic year: 2024 / 2025
Title: Master of European Studies
ECTS: 120 (2 years) Accrediation
Decision:

The study programme in European Studies will qualify students for independent professional and analytical work in the field of European affairs at the national and the European levels. The programme integrates several disciplines of European Studies: Political Science (in particular International Relations and Comparative Politics), Economics, Law, Social Sciences (in particular with regards to methodological capabilities) and Communication (emphasising the importance of two expert foreign languages) with their application to central issues of European integration (EU) and broader construction of Europe.

The programme “European Studies“ is Joint Degree study programme with the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 

The study programme in European Studies  will qualify students for employment opportunities in EU institutions and other (European) international organisations, in the national governments, especially Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of European Affairs, Ministries for Economic and Social Development; the career opportunities are also at the regional level (of municipalities and cities), in non-governmental organizations, the media, and political parties; expertise in the field of the EU processes and policies and internal market make the graduates employable also in business sector within and outside the EU.

Knowledge and understanding
  • Displays basic knowledge and understanding of the scientific field of study (or studies), identifying appropriate methodologies for problem solving, as systematic and creative manner, which provides a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or application of autonomous ideas in the context of the research;
  • Ability to identify enlarged and deepened knowledge;
  • Shows the level of knowledge and competence in one or more specific scientific fields;
  • Have knowledge of one or more subject areas, in certain scientific fields, based on the most renowned international research in this scientific field.
Applying knowledge and understanding

Ability to critically, independently and creatively solve problems with a certain originality in new or unfamiliar environments in a multidisciplinary context, related to the field of study.

Making judgement
  • Ability to synthesize and integrate knowledge;
  • Ability to deal with issues systematically and creatively, solid estimate even with incomplete or limited information, but that include personal, social and ethical responsibilities in the application of acquired knowledge and assessment;
  • Ability to select scientific theories, methodologies, tools and general skills in the subject areas, and installation of new analyzes and solutions on a scientific basis.
Communication skills
  • Ability to exchange findings and suggestions with argumentation and rationally bolstering them with both professional and unskilled persons, clearly and unambiguously;
  • Taking considerable responsibility in shared outcomes; running and initiating activities.
Learning skills
  • Ability to recognize personal needs for further knowledge and skills for independent action in acquiring the knowledge and new skills in the framework of society;
  • Ability to taking responsibility for further professional development and perfection.

Semester 1

  • [9 ECTS] EU policies
    The course will focus on the following topics: - Policy analysis in addressing societal problems. - Historical circumstances of the genesis of modern policy analysis; current development of policy analysis and contemporary trends in research; specificity of the development of policy analysis in different countries – (the cases of USA, UK, Germany, Slovenia) - Policy process and the policy cycle (structure/phases of the policy process and policy cycle; the relationship between phases of policy process; agenda-setting and alternative solutions of societal problems). - Policy actors in the policy process (policy arena, policy network) and particularities of state actors (policy instruments). - Types of policy analysis, research approaches and models of policy analysis (pluralism of approaches and models, analytical applicability of models). - Relevance of the theory, approaches and concepts of policy analysis for the research of policymaking and implementation of common European policies in the circumstances of multilevel governance. - Application of policy analysis to three policies; cohesion (redistributive EU policy), environment (regulative EU policy) and education (policy implemented by open method of coordination).
  • [6 ECTS] EU in global economy
    The course deals with the EU's position in the global economy and the EU's relations with key players of international economic relations (US, BRICS). The course analyzes the most important factors of a successful economy and main features of the EU, and more specifically examines the current policy dilemmas of the EU. The emphasis is on a comparison of the EU with important global economic spaces, identifying the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the EU and the possibility to improve its position in the world.
  • [3 ECTS] Professional Foreign Language 1
    • German Language 1
    • German Language 2
    • Albanian Language
  • [6 ECTS] Foreign Language - elective course 1
    • Advanced English Language and Terminology 1
    • Advanced English Language and Terminology 2
    • Advanced English Language and Terminology 3
    • German Language 1
    • German Language 2
    • German Language 3
  • [6 ECTS] Free elective course 1
    • Rhetoric
    • Methodology of Teaching
    • Multilingualism and multiculturalism
    • Selected Chapters of Advanced Topics in IT Applications for Preparing a Scientific Paper
    • Selected Chapters of Advanced Applications for Statistical Data Processing
    • Professional Communication

Semester 2

  • [9 ECTS] Theories of European Integration
    The course deals with the main theories of European integration (federalism, functionalism and neo-functionalism and liberal theory of intergovernmental cooperation) and the theory of International Relations and Political Science theory in the light of their (non)applicability for the interpretation and understanding of European integration. Students get a deeper insight into the range of theoretical approaches to understanding the origin and evolution of European integration by reading the original fundamental theoretical texts by authors such as David Mitrany, Ernst Haas, Karl Deutsch, Stanley Hoffman, Philippe Schmitter, Robert Keohane, Wayne Sandholtz, Andrew Moravcsik, Fritz Scharpf, Gary Marks and Thomas Risse. While reviewing existing theories the course also offers application of each theory to individual policies (Common Foreign and Security Policy, Justice and Home Affairs, Economic and Monetary Union) and to more recent processes in the European Union, such as the enlargement of the European Union, building a European defence identity.
  • [6 ECTS] European Union Law
    The course aims to critically evaluate the development of the European Union and its institutional framework as well as the functioning of its legal order and the relationship between the EU and its Member States. The basic structure of the course (which will be adjusted annually in accordance with the developments of the EU and its legal order) is the following: - Understanding of the theories and methods of European integration: A re-evaluation of the development of the idea of Europe and in particular the reasons for the success of the post-war European integration as well as the prevailing methods of integration; Constitutional development of the European Union: Elaborating the EU as a polity and its “constitutional” foundations, comparing European constitutionalism with the constitutional orders of Member States; - Institutional set-up of the EU: Analysis of the institutional balance and the system of checks and balances between the EU institutions as well as their respective roles in the functioning of the EU; - EU law as a supranational legal order: Understanding of the fundamental principles of EU law (primacy, direct effect, autonomy of EU law) and the system of judicial review under EU law; - Development and limits of EU legal order: Analysis of the relationship between EU law and Member State legal orders (the issue of the division of legislative competences, the principle of subsidiarity), open issues of European supranationality and their possible solutions; - Development and limits of the European political community: Understanding EU development in light of modern theories of federalism, the issue of the finalité of European integration, the issue of European identity and of the possible future constitutional transformations.
  • [3 ECTS] Professional Foreign Language 2
    • German Language 1
    • German Language 2
    • Albanian Language
  • [6 ECTS] Foreign Language - elective course 2
    • Advanced English Language and Terminology 1
    • Advanced English Language and Terminology 2
    • Advanced English Language and Terminology 3
    • German Language 1
    • German Language 2
    • German Language 3
  • [6 ECTS] Free elective course 2
    • Rhetoric
    • Methodology of Teaching
    • Multilingualism and multiculturalism
    • Selected Chapters of Advanced Topics in IT Applications for Preparing a Scientific Paper
    • Selected Chapters of Advanced Applications for Statistical Data Processing
    • Professional Communication

Semester 3

  • [9 ECTS] Research Seminar – Thesis Preparation
    Students will learn different research methods and design their own research proposal that could be used for their master thesis. The content of the course includes different methodological approaches and principles (from rationalism to relativism). It incorporates quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method designs. Real world evaluation approach is introduced. Within application of methods special effort is given to (i) data collection and evaluation of their quality; for both primary data (surveys, interviews, focus groups), and secondary data (whereas special attention is given to Eurostat data sources), (ii) data analysis and (iii) presentation of results. Knowledge from the courses of Statistics and Research methods (Multivariate methods or Econometrics) is highly recommended.
  • [6 ECTS] Contemporary Issues of the European Union as a global actor
    This course deals with political, economic, cultural, business, development, societal, legal, environmental, energy, and other issues (a vertical analysis) of the EU as a global actor. Its main ontlogical setting is interregionalism. The course initially offers definition of concepts, such as region, regionalism, regionalization, levels of regionalism, interregionalism. Then it turns to teoretical approaches in the study of regionalism and interregionalism. It presents the history of regionalism and regionalization as phenomena and as concepts of theoretical analysis. Then it turns to the mapping of actors in regionalism and regionalization and upgrades it into interregional analysis of EU's relations with the following: 1) institutional regions ('pure' interregionalism): EU in relation with the American macro and sub-regions (e.g. OAS, Unasur, Mercosur, the Andean Community), the African macro and sub-regions (the African Union, SADDC, ECOWAS), the Asian sub-regions (e.g. ASEAN), the Pacific subregions (Pacific Islands Forum), the Arabian Peninsula (Arab League); 2) non-institutionalized regions (hybrid interregionalism): EU- the Unon for the Mediterranean, EU-ACP), and 3) issues within transregionalism (e.g Asia-Europe Meeting - ASEM).
  • [3 ECTS] Practical work
  • [6 ECTS] Elective course 1
    • European Foreign Policy
    • European Security
    • Analysis of European Values
    • EU Diplomacy
    • Good Governance in the EU
    • EU and Global Development
  • [6 ECTS] Elective course 2
    • European Foreign Policy
    • European Security
    • Analysis of European Values
    • EU Diplomacy
    • Good Governance in the EU
    • EU and Global Development

Semester 4

  • [30 ECTS] Master Thesis
    This module enables students to transfer their skills and knowledge to research and make more complex the task of the master thesis. The module is designed to be fully practical and students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to approach writing the paper. The module has unique return result-to enable students to write the master thesis with minimal difficulties, and with maximum efficiency. The course aims to improve research techniques and style of writing paper, taking account to stop illegal means, such as plagiarism and infringement of copyright, which are prohibited by the Statute of SEEU.
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