Master's Program in European Union and Eastern Neighborhood
The MA in European Union and Eastern Neighborhood is a two-year program offered by the NVU's School of Politics and Diplomacy. It is designed to meet the needs of those who wish to enhance their understanding of the European Union at a graduate level.
This program studies the EU in an international context and is designed to equip students with the knowledge and transferable skills necessary to understand the EU's institutions, politics, policies, and law. More specifically, the program looks at the EU and its relationship with neighboring regions from the 'outside' perspective, giving future graduates the tools they will need to engage with the EU from their careers in government, diplomacy, the private sector, legal services, think tanks, nonprofits, and public affairs consultancies.
The program's objective is to equip students from diverse backgrounds with a firm theoretical, analytical and practice-oriented foundation in the fields of Comparative Politics, Public Policy, International Relations, Economics and Law. The program places a particular focus on the EU's place in the current regional and wider political, economic and security environment.
The students can benefit from the flexibility offered by the program, enabling the students to take tailored learning paths. Depending on the students' choices, the course structure can lead to greater emphasis on trade and economics subjects, on law and regulation, on public policy or the theory-guided study of political science.
The program's strengths derive from the acclaimed lecturers of respective fields, direct engagement with practicing professionals, a strong focus on acquiring transferable skills, opportunities for internships, and international mobility through exchange semesters in several European universities.
The MA in European Union and Eastern Neighborhood aims to develop a comprehensive perspective in the school's graduates. Students learn to analyze the dynamic transformations in and around Europe's vast neighborhood and to combine such analysis with a discussion of the meaning and relevance of global political and economic developments for the EU and its surrounding regions. Ultimately, the program aims to help students develop their analytical skills, enrich their knowledge and understanding of the challenges resulting from the EU's pivotal role at the intersection of Europe and the Eastern Partnership Region undergoing major economic and political transformations.
The program is appropriate for those who wish to embark upon an academic career as well as for those looking to work in international organizations, European institutions, media, politics, law, the civil service, teaching, the private sector, and nonprofits.
Among graduate courses in international relations and politics at Georgian universities, the NVU's MA in European Union and Eastern Neighborhood is distinctive in its multidisciplinary approach and breadth. Teaching takes the form of lectures and seminars in a range of advanced topics across a range of subjects in political science, public policy, law, and economics. The program's targeted regional focus brings strong added value.
The program is suitable both for students who have just completed their first degree and for mature students from, for example, industry, academia, the civil service, or the armed forces. The Department is looking to attract around twenty qualified candidates for the MA program each academic year.