Students applying to Central European University’s (CEU) one-year Master's program in International Relations can now choose between two customized tracks: New York City and Vienna, thanks to a new collaboration between Bard College and CEU which features student mobility and distinct specialization opportunities. The program, which will initiate teaching during the fall of academic year 2023-24, is now accepting applications for its first class of students with a deadline of February 1, 2023.
“The CEU International Relations Department is proud to launch this new track of its one-year MA program in cooperation with the Bard Global Studies Program in New York, said Thomas Fetzer, Associate Professor and Head of CEU’s Department of International Relations. “This will provide an exciting new offer for prospective students who would like to combine a thorough grounding in the study of International Relations here in Vienna, with a more practice-oriented second part in New York, interning with an international organization and learning from accomplished scholar-practitioners for their capstone projects.”
Michelle Murray, Associate Professor of Politics, Chair of the Social Studies Division and Faculty Director of Bard’s MA in Global Studies highlights, “One aspect of the Bard/CEU collaboration that I find especially exciting is the genuinely global nature of this program, which I think sets it apart from others and creates fertile ground from which our students will generate new ideas and perspectives on international relations.”
On the occasion of the program’s launch, Murray adds, “Our close connection to the Open Society University Network will ensure we are able to recruit a diverse student body that brings a range of perspectives and experiences to the table. Taken all together, this really is a program intentionally designed to prepare students to respond to the twenty-first century’s most challenging global problems with creativity and rigor.”
For the New York City track, students begin in Vienna, studying in International Relations program at Central European University. For the winter and spring terms students move to the Bard MA in Global Studies program in New York City, where they complete coursework and an internship with an organization working on global affairs. At the end of the program, students submit a capstone project. The program's curriculum places at its center the theory-practice nexus, equipping students with a sophisticated set of theoretical and conceptual tools and practical experiences. Students interested in this track must submit applications to both CEU’s one year program in International Relations and the Bard College MA in Global Studies.
Applicants who are interested in pursuing a ‘classic’ MA program with two terms of coursework and an MA thesis, can enroll into the Vienna track of CEU’s one-year MA in International Relations. The Vienna Track provides students with a foundation in international relations and allows them to pursue three different specializations: Global Order and Politics (GOP), International Political Economy and Development (IPE), and Conflict and Security (CONSEC). While internship is not mandatory in the Vienna track, students might take short professional development courses offered in the Spring term.
Prospective students can learn more during a program webinar on December 20 at 3pm CET. Link to register is here. Merit and need-based financial aid is available.