Partner university: Free University of Brussels (French-speaking)
Length of study: 2 years
Mode of study: full-time
Languages of instruction: Russian, English, and French
Concept
The Master Programme is structured as follows:
During the 1st and 2nd semesters students study under the TSU Master Programme in International Relations. The curriculum includes general disciplines in the methodology of research and the crucial aspects of the contemporary international relations and Russian foreign policy as well as professional disciplines on the fundamental aspects of European integration (history, law, institutions, and major areas of the EU’s activities). The languages of teaching are Russian and English. The first year of the Programme envisages compulsory studies of professional English and French.
During the 3rd and 4th semesters students study under the Free University of Brussels (French-speaking) Programme in European Studies (Political Aspects). The curriculum includes compulsory courses on the EU’s foreign activities as well as a wide range of optional disciplines covering legal, political, economic, and historical aspects of the European Union’s functions. The languages of teaching are English and French. The dissertation may be defended at TSU or at the Free University of Brussels (French-speaking) at the student’s choice.
Objectives
The Master Programme aims at training highly qualified experts on the key aspects of the European Union’s functioning and the foreign policies of the leading European countries which are a priority for the Russian Federation’s foreign economic and political relations. Therefore, the Programme aims at developing the graduates’ qualifications in the following areas:
- applied analysis in the area of international and European politics, taking into consideration the needs both of the Russian Federation’s state structures and of the internationally active businesses;
- making managerial decisions in state, public, commercial and other organizations with the view of advancing their interests abroad, mainly in the EU institutions and member states;
- planning, conducting and presenting individual research in the subject area of the Master Programme;
- using current educational and information and communications technologies in studies and research.
The Programme aims at developing the graduates’ responsibility for their decisions, their ability to resolve problem situations and cope with non-typical creative tasks as well as to reflect critically on their activities. It aims at stimulating the skills of systematic thinking, the ability to display initiative and assume responsibility, the ability to adapt to new situations and to re-appraise the accumulated experience, the aspiration for life-long learning, and the ability to adapt to the conditions of work within multiethnic and international groups.
Job prospects
The Programme’s graduates are in demand at 1) federal and regional authorities; 2) international organizations; 3) analytic departments of business structures; 4) commercial, non-profit and public organizations of international profile engaged in consulting, information and analytic activities, research and lobbying; 5) academic, government-sponsored and non-governmental analytic organizations; 6) institutions of higher education; 7) mass media.
Enrolment
To be eligible for admission, a candidate must possess a Bachelor’s or a Specialist’s degree. First, an applicant must pass interviews in two languages, English and French, demonstrating an ability to speak on general and some of the professional topics. Second, an applicant must pass an interview in the history of international relations covering the key developments within the period from the early 19th century up to the present day. Third, applicants need to submit an essay specifying their motives for participation in the Programme and expectations from studies.
Coordinators
· TSU - Professor Evgeny F. Troitskiy, e-mail: troitskiy@dir.tsu.ru
· Free University of Brussels – Professor Francois Foret, e-mail: francois.foret@ulb.ac.be