The Euroculture Curriculum
Euroculture has an interdisciplinary course offer that ensures a broad and deep training, exploring modern European society through history, political science, law, sociology and cultural and religious studies. We supply you with the skills to see below the surface of contemporary issues, and to really understand the challenges of Europe and to apply this understanding to practice. You can tailor the programme to prepare yourself for a career in research, or for a wide range of professions which require in-depth knowledge of European political and cultural issues.
Euroculture offers a highly customizable curriculum that adapts to current developments for each cohort. This means that some elements of the programme, such as the annual Intensive Programme, the Research Seminars, the Research Methodology course, the Eurocompetence modules, and the Research Track are subject to change every year. Additionally, these modules might be presented and organized slightly differently at every Euroculture partner university. This page is therefore meant to give you a general overview of the course structure of the programme. For more specific information about the course offer at a particular Euroculture university, please contact the coordinator at that university or check out the individual university pages below.
Course Structure
Year 1
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The first Euroculture semester offers an in-depth look at the functioning of European political institutions.
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The first Euroculture semester offers an in-depth and critical look at the cultural construction of European identity.
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The first Euroculture semester offers a critical reflection on the history of the European continent.
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Eurocompetence I is a course designed to improve and sharpen your transferable academic skills, such as citation, writing, and presentation.
Semester 2: Specialization
Semester 1: Orientation
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Content different at each Euroculture university. Covers a research topic on the role of Europe in a global context.
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Content different at each Euroculture university. Covers a variety of potential research designs that students might use during (and after) their studies.
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Content different each year. The theme of the Intensive Programme is always relevant to current developments in Europe.
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Eurocompetence II is a skills-based course focused on the acquisition of competences related to project management.
Year 2
Semester 3: Professionalization
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In the European Research Track, students work with researchers in the field to advance their research interests. They may also receive advanced research seminars to improve their skills further.
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Follow an immersive semester at one of our non-European partner universities and gain a deeper understanding of academia outside of Europe.
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Follow a professional placement of your choosing and expand your professional career with support from the Euroculture programme.
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Make the initial preparations for your Master Thesis project, which you will then write in the fourth semester.
Semester 4: Finalization
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Write your Master Thesis using the Joint Supervision offered by the programme.
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Eurocompetence III is a skills-based course focused on the acquisition of competences related to grant application writing, either for PhD studies or other professional projects.
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A seminar designed to reflect critically on your MA Thesis Writing.
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The Annual Liesbeth Brouwer Address and Liesbeth Brouwer Award (ALBA) are offered yearly. See the relevant page for details.
Orientation and Specialization
Orientation: Building Knowledge and Understanding
The Euroculture programme provides its graduates with deep knowledge and thorough understanding of such concepts and phenomena as: multiculturalism, national and European identity, political and legal aspects of (European) governance, and evolving socio-political processes in Europe. European integration process is studied from a cultural-social perspective, which expands on the conventional political, institution-centred approach to integration. Different regional and national perceptions of integration are discussed, while political and social developments in Europe are placed in a global context. Throughout the Master, students are equipped with theoretical and methodological approaches to facilitate their independent research in the relevant fields.
Orientation: Acquiring Skills and Competencies
While understanding Europe is a priority learning outcome for the programme, practical skills and competencies – which are needed to apply the knowledge to practice – are of no lesser importance. Among the transferable skills trained within the Euroculture Master, the following are emphasized:
communicating politicised, often sensitive information to different audiences, in writing and orally;
team work skills, such as coordination, conflict management and in-group communication, particularly in a multicultural setting;
management skills, such as leadership and decision-making;
planning, designing and managing complicated, medium-term projects in a transnational environment (including time-management and fundraising)
writing project and/or PhD applications to secure funding for independent projects;
flexibility and resourcefulness: learning from and responding accurately to unexpected developments, developing suitable strategies accordingly;
reflexivity and self-analysis: having insight into one's personal abilities and career preferences, and applying this insight it when entering the labour market upon graduation
Orientation: Critical and Problem-oriented Approach
The Euroculture curriculum is designed to teach students to better orient themselves in a highly complex world and to apply the theoretical knowledge that they get to real-life problems. The programme thus focuses on training the ability to locate, select, and manage information required for addressing key current issues. Euroculture strives to develop students’ capacity to make judgements by integrating complex (often, conflicting and insufficient) data to identify rational and sustainable solutions for identified problems, while remaining aware of their high sensitivity.
Euroculture is a Master that prepares you to work with people from different backgrounds, cultures and mother tongues. It introduces you to the latest academic discussions across different disciplines, and the mobility components encourage adaptability and flexibility, two much-needed skills in the workplace.
Lauren Mason (2015-2017)
Orientation: Introducing the Eurocompetence Modules
As a module of the Euroculture programme, Eurocompetence is designed with the goal of preparing Euroculture students for their entry to the labour market as experts of the European integration process and European culture, and their development into committed citizens. Eurocompetence modules are characterised by an interdisciplinary, project-based, and problem-oriented approach.
Eurocompetence I and II are part of the first year of the programme, while Eurocompetence III is taught in the second year.
Orientation: Eurocompetence I
The goal of Eurocompetence I is to promote generic competencies that are of particular interest with regards to students’ entrance into the labour market.
Thus Eurocompetence I aims to train diverse personal and professional competences, such as language and presentation skills, critical thinking and (self)-analysis, academic writing and research. It also focuses on composing a personal (professional) profile, CV writing, and conducting a job interview. Individual students have different strengths and levels of training in specific areas; thus the Euroculture programme offers both general and individual support in preparation for Eurocompetence modules.
Specialization: Eurocompetence II
In this Eurocompetence module, working on designing and implementing a group project is emphasized. Euroculture students, working in smaller teams, plan, execute and evaluate individual projects with supervision and workshops by Eurocompetence II tutors and guest lecturers.
In addition to project work, that develops one’s organizational, time management and teamwork skills, Eurocompetence II module focuses on such key competencies such as intercultural communication, conflict management and social entrepreneurship.
Specialization: Research Seminars
Each university of the Euroculture Consortium offers a unique Thematic Focus. While the same curriculum is broadly offered at each of our universities, there are distinct research seminars available at each university that allow students to pick and choose research topics that interest them the most. The course offer for each university is updated every year. An information booklet with a detailed overview of each available course is offered during the first semester, in preparation for the mobility semester at their second university of choice.
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Euroculture Göttingen
At Georg-August-Universität Göttingen we understand Euroculture as an approach to examine Europe in an inspiring multidisciplinary context considering both its crises and continuities, together with its exchanges as well as collaboration and co-habitation.
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Euroculture Groningen
The academic and research focus of the Euroculture programme at the University of Groningen centers is on the notion of cultural identity and its relation to European integration in all its dimensions. Concepts such as “Europeanisation” and “Citizenship” are debated.
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Euroculture Deusto
The academic culture at Deusto is characterised by its focus on the active learning of key competences, where students are supported by the instructors at any moment.
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Euroculture Udine
Pooling together the expertise of academics from various Departments, our programme offers an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research in the field of European cultural, historical and political studies.
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Euroculture Strasbourg
By virtue of its location in a city on the highly symbolic Franco-German border, which is host to several European institutions, organisations, and museums, Euroculture Strasbourg offers two axes of specialist study in line with the areas of expertise of its teaching staff.
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Euroculture Olomouc
In Olomouc, the Euroculture Programme is run by the Department of History of the Faculty of Arts, which specializes mostly in European History and Culture.
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Euroculture Kraków
Our faculty at the Institute of European Studies consists of internationally experienced instructors from various departments of the Jagiellonian University, as well as a constant stream of world-class visiting professors from universities in Poland and abroad.
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Euroculture Uppsala
You will meet researchers and teachers from various disciplines. A good base for exploring the beautiful north, Uppsala is both steeped in tradition and fairly informal – students are encouraged to be independent, with lecturers acting more like partners in the learning process.
With its unique mix of theoretical and skills-based, hands-on courses, Euroculture graduates are very well-prepared to face the demands of the contemporary workforce.
Professionalization and Finalization
Professionalization - Option I: The Placement Track (or Internship Track)
The key component of the professional specialization is the work placement. It is also a follow-up of the Eurocompetence modules 1 and 2 and links theoretical knowledge, skills and understanding with practical experience. The placement must last at least 4 months and is awarded with 25 ECTS upon successful completion.
Students have to secure a placement themselves, with certain guidance of their coordinators as well as Eurocompetence I tutors. The work placement can be done in an organization of student's choice - but the work they are doing has to be relevant for their Euroculture studies. Below you can download a file with some examples of organizations where Euroculture students interned in the past.
Each Euroculture university has a placement supervisor that assists with the process of conducting the placement. Upon completing the placement, the student is required to prepare a report, which is assessed by the organisation offering the placement and the university
Professionalization - Option II: Research Specialization (The Research Track)
The Euroculture Research Track is a follow-up of the Research Seminars and (if relevant) the student’s Intensive Programme paper. This track offers the opportunity to deepen the student’s theoretical knowledge, skills and understanding, and preferably relates to the student’s MA thesis topic. It takes place during the 3rd semester.
Professionalization- Option II: Research Track Outside Europe
The Research track consists of modules adding up to 25 ECTS credits which can be followed at one of the eight European partner universities or, for selected European students only, at one of the four non-European partner universities of the Consortium: UNAM, Queens, Pune or Osaka.
Note: the places offered for the Research Track outside Europe are limited and only offered to European students. First-year students, who hold European citizenship, may apply for this track. The application process consists of:
selecting 2 non-EU universities a student wants to complete the Research Track
motivating the choice for each of the two universities, indicating how the programme at the non-EU partner university will contribute to the student’s research aspirations.
Placement for a Research Track is not guaranteed and depends on the students’ merit, as well as the number of applications received and the number of positions per partner university available.
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Universidad Nacional Autónoma
The Latin American and Caribbean Research Center (CIALC) is the open academic space created by UNAM to accomplish this Latin American vocation.
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Savitribai Phule Pune University
Savitribai Phule Pune University, situated on a campus of 411 acres, is one of the largest state universities in India.
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Graduate School of Humanities Osaka University
Since its establishment in 1948, the Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University, has enjoyed a high reputation in Japan.
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Queen's University Canada
As a new partner to the Euroculture Consortium, more information about exchange opportunities with this university will become available in the near future!
Professionalization - Option III: Research Track in Europe
Students can also choose to take the research track within Europe at one of the eight Euroculture universities. Each offers their own research package. Students have to inform the consortium about their preferred research track location at the latest by 1 June of year 1 by submitting a motivation for the chosen track and explaining how their choice is linked to their research interest and further plans for research (thesis, possible plans for PhD application).
Finalization: Eurocompetence III
As a module of the Euroculture programme, Eurocompetence is designed with the goal of preparing Euroculture students for their entry to the labour market as experts of the European integration process and European culture, and their development into committed citizens. Eurocompetence modules are characterised by an interdisciplinary, project-based, and problem-oriented approach.
Eurocompetence I and II are part of the first year of the programme, while Eurocompetence III is taught in the second year.
This course facilitates the independent preparation and writing of an appropriate professional or research grant application (depending on the specialization chosen in semester 3).
Eurocompetence III focuses on the process of writing a significantly developed project proposal. Students are first introduced to the process and theory of writing a project proposal or grant application. Subsequently, students will gain practical experience in writing their own grant application or project proposal.
Within the professional specialisation, the emphasis is on understanding the process of preparing an application as a collaborative, team-based effort, and will acquire knowledge and skills in researching and identifying potential sources of funding and meeting requirements of donors and grant providers. The research specialization is dedicated to developing detailed knowledge about the opportunities and resources for proposed PhD research projects available within the European context, and practice preparing their research project applications.
Finalization: The Master Thesis
The Euroculture thesis is an important stage in a student’s intellectual development and the writing of it takes place in the third and fourth semester.
The purpose of the thesis is to give evidence of a student’s abilities in collecting and evaluating information, critically evaluating theories to analyze and interpret the gathered information, and constructing, testing and defending an argument. The thesis should also demonstrate a student’s ability to present research results concisely and in a scholarly form, and further show that the student is capable of producing original and independent work.
The best Euroculture master thesis will be awarded with the Annual Liesbeth Brouwer Award (ALBA).
The Euroculture thesis should focus on an issue within a contemporary European context (20th or 21st century). This issue should be related to the field of Euroculture, which includes European culture, history, politics, foreign relations, literature and the arts, European law, history of religion in Europe or European institutions. Just as courses taught within Euroculture curriculum of vary widely, so do MA thesis topics of Euroculture students.