The two-year master’s programme in Central European Comparative Studies focuses on the areas of Germany, Austria and the Visegrad Countries (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary) with an overlap onto neighbouring regions. It offers a thorough comparative and multidisciplinary understanding of the historical, political, economic and cultural developments of those countries . The programme is offered either in the form of a full-time programme of study or as part-time study (optimised for working people and with classes on Friday afternoons).
The programme focuses on comparative analysis in the following areas: political systems in the 20th century, political developments since 1990, the economy, European integration, culture, and the history of society in the 19th and 20th centuries. It also offers students a chance to learn or improve their knowledge of some of the Slavic languages spoken in the area.
A graduate of the Master’s Degree programme in Central European Comparative Studies will have gained a wide range of analytical skills focused primarily, though not exclusively, on understanding the Central European region from a political, historical, economic, cultural and social point of view. Subsequently, such graduates will most likely emerge as regional analysts, diplomats, higher civil servants, employees of European institutions or territorial experts. In addition to having a mastery of English, the graduate will possess an advanced knowledge of German (still the most important language of the Central European region) and a basic knowledge of at least one Slavic language of the region.
