Two-year MA Program

The 2-year MA Program

Nationalism Studies Program was established by Central European University with the aim of engaging students in an empirical and theoretical study of issues of nationalism, self-determination, problems of state-formation, ethnic conflict, minority protection and the related theme of globalization. Drawing upon the uniquely supranational milieu of Central European University, the program encourages a critical and non-sectarian study of nationalism.
The mission of the Nationalism Studies Program is to familiarize students with the interdisciplinary scholarly approaches in the study of nationalism. The aim of the program is to encourage intellectual innovation and inventive research inquiry which transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Our students have the in-depth scientific knowledge to approach topical issues in nationalism studies from a multi-disciplinary perspective and to critically examine problems in the scholarship which are too complex to be understood or handled within the framework of a single academic discipline.

By combining political sciences, social sciences and legal studies approaches, our curriculum centers on developing the conceptual knowledge and research methodologies which enable students to apply theoretical knowledge in practice. Our graduates are competent scholars and professionals with the proper academic training to merge concepts, theories and methodologies of different disciplines and to put them to effective use in their work. The module structure is designed to make sure that all our students familiarize with all the relevant disciplines and methods in nationalism studies.

All our courses pay special attention to methodologies relevant for the particular topic. In addition to the theoretical and methodological training included both in disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses, we have an introductory course to the study of nationalism, special thesis research courses, and methods classes that offer a holistic overview of all research methodologies used in the field of nationalism studies.

All courses in the program are seminars. In the classroom, students are not only passive recipients of ready-made answers, but actively participate in the discussions and in their presentations, they critically engage and experiment with the presented theories and concepts through case studies.

Students enrolled in the Nationalism Studies Program receive the opportunity to engage in a complex approach to the study of nationalism and minority protection, subsumed under the general heading of political science with involvement of history, sociology, legal studies and anthropology as subfields.

The aim of the Program is to train future scholars, educators and professional experts. A comparative, theoretically grounded and empirically well-informed curriculum will sensitize students to the bewildering complexities of issues of nationalism, ethnic relations and minority protection both in global and local contexts. More concretely, students will get a full year's immersion in questions of citizenship, migration, statelessness, multiculturalism, racism, xenophobia, the refugee problem within and outside the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to those mechanisms and institutions within the European Union that are devoted to handle national and ethnic diversity such as processes of regionalisation and power sharing, the mechanisms of the OSCE and the developments related to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Special attention is devoted to the study of Roma society. Beyond the relevant scholarship, graduates of the program will exit with a firm knowledge in the political, legal and institutional frameworks available for dealing with issues of ethnic relations and minority protection.

Specialists trained in the program will be prepared for employment in supranational organizations, such as the offices and institutions of the European Union, OSCE, in international and domestic foundations for the protection of minorities, for employment in domestic public administration, local governments and in NGOs as well as for employment in the private sector, especially within the media and public survey institutions.

Accreditation

The Master of Arts degree in Nationalism Studies is registered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York (US) for and on behalf of the New York State Education Department.

Central European University has an absolute charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York amd by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools..

The Nationalism Studies Program is a postgraduate Master’s program registered in Austria and the US.

2-year MA Program Structure

Enrolled students are expected to earn 60 CEU credits (120 ECTS). On completion, students will receive a certificate confirming that they completed the requirements for the Nationalism Studies 2-year MA program at CEU.

Length of Study
2 academic years (6 terms)

Credit Requirements
Enrolled students must complete a minimum of 60 CEU credits (120 ECTS).
All students are required to maintain a minimum grade point average (2.66 GPA), earn a standard number of credits per semester and attend classes as required by the program.

Final Examination
Students are required to take a final oral examination at the end of their studies.

To graduate students must successfully complete all mandatory courses, earn minimum 16 ECTS through mandatory elective classes in the Foundations of Nationalism Studies module, and the minimum of 60 ECTS through elective coursework that should include at least 8 ECTS from each of the program’s four thematic modules. The thesis is 12 ECTS.

The program is organized around three mandatory modules and four thematic modules. The mandatory a mandatory elective modules are:

• Research Skills, Methods and Key Concepts
• Foundations of Nationalism Studies
• Thesis

The four thematic modules are:

• Sociological and Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Nationalism
• International Relations and Political Science Approaches to the Study of Nationalism
• Historical Contexts of Nationalism
• Legal Approaches to the Study of Nationalism