The Bachelor of Arts in European Studies - BAES results from the intensive collaboration of the eight universities within the framework of the European university alliance “Una Europa”, which was established in 2018, and of which a number of pilot projects - including the BAES - were approved by the European Commission under the “European Universities” programme.
The BAES comprises an international, multidisciplinary and multilingual programme (the students will study a second European language in addition to English), which is not only innovative within the academic landscape, but will also have clear added value on the labour market. To this end, the involved eight institutions have developed this joint programme together, each of the institutions contributing to the programme from start to finish.
The added value of the programme is based on the joined nature of the programme, which allows students to (a) profit from the expertise of the staff of all participating universities, (b) follow jointly-taught courses in the so-called compulsory Truncus Communis, (c) learn about Europe in tailor-made block-teaching and excursions, such as in the context of the annual winter school, (d) benefit from the mobility and specialization offers throughout their studies, and (e) seek joint-supervision on their bachelor thesis by staff from two involved partner institutions. Furthermore, students will graduate with (f) an internationally regarded degree that will be a competitive asset on the job market and in terms of their access to graduate studies programmes.
Overall then, the added value of this joint programme is particularly evident when we look at its academic and transversal learning outcomes.
The learning outcomes of the BAES are aligned with the core qualifications of bachelor graduates, as set out by the Framework for Qualifications in the European Higher Education Area (FQ-EHEA).
At the end of the BAES Programme, students should:
understand the different disciplinary approaches to European Studies, including the way in which the different disciplines interact and enrich each other so that they can grasp the richness of disciplinary perspectives on Europe and reflect on the added value of
multidisciplinary knowledge to understand Europe;
have multidisciplinary knowledge on the fundamental aspects and values of the European Union and European integration as well as of European states and societies, which allows students to grasp the multi-dimensional issues, interests and ideas that are necessary to understand Europe as a political, economic, cultural and societal process in past and present times;
be able to reflect on the role of Europe in the world, not the least by being equipped to grasp the complex multi-dimensional historical and contemporary relations between Europe and other countries, societies and regions and/or continents
be able to grasp the need for a general knowledge of different conceptual, theoretical, and methodological perspectives to analyse and understand the European Union, and consequently:
- use various conceptual frames, theoretical approaches and methodological tools that
attempt to provide answers to the fundamental and practical questions that the
European project is confronted with;
- utilize means of comparison to answer to which degree similarities and differences
across Europe exist, and how they define Europe at large;
express themselves in at least one European language besides their mother tongue and English so that they can engage in European multilingual realities;
have developed a large set of transversal skills which students need to master in their future domestic and international work environments, so that they are equipped to use organizational, intercultural communication, language and information skills, when
confronted with the needs of daily professional practice;
have acquired analytical skills to conduct research under supervision, as well as present and report, clearly and comprehensively, both orally and in written form knowledge concerning questions of European Studies so that, overall, students are able to formulate research questions, understand academic literature, collect and analyse data, critically reflect on research findings and weave this into the scientific-academic presentation of their own research results;
have insight in European Studies as a multidisciplinary field of scholarship and education, so that students are aware:
- of the importance of the academic knowledge development of various disciplines that
feed into the understanding and explanation of Europe;
- of utilizing the knowledge provided by these various disciplines, including their diverse
conceptual, theoretical and methodological perspectives, in their own academic
careers and/or professional work environments.