The European Union is a major actor on the global stage. It exerts a particularly strong influence on the nations that aspire for its membership. The EU remains a central issue within the politics, economics and law of the countries embarking on the long-term agendas of European integration. 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 institutions, politics, and policies. More specifically, it looks at the EU and its relationship with the neighboring regions from the ‘outside’ perspective, giving future graduates the tools that they will need to engage with the EU from their careers in government, diplomacy, private sector, legal service, think tanks, nonprofits, and public affairs consultancies.

MA in European Union and Eastern Partnership 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 and International Relations at a graduate level.

The program’s objective is to equip students from diverse backgrounds with a firm academic and empirical 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 political science theory.

The program’s strengths derive from the acclaimed lecturers of respective fields, direct engagement with the practicing professionals, a strong focus on acquiring transferable skills, opportunities for internship and international mobility through exchange semesters in several European universities.

MA in European Union and Eastern Partnership aims to develop a comprehensive perspective to analyze the dynamic transformations in and around Europe’s vast neighborhood and combine this with a discussion of the meaning and relevance of political and economic developments at the global level to 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 in the current context.

The program is appropriate for those who wish to embark upon an academic career, as well as for those looking to embark on practitioner’s careers in the media, politics, law, public administration, civil service, finance, teaching, and the nonprofits.

The program aims to offer advanced engagement with various aspects of the academic study of European Studies. It will provide with a critical understanding of a range of issues involved in the study of these disciplines, primarily through a mixture of lectures and research-driven seminars, as well as a direct interaction with the career professionals of respective fields.

The program prepares students for a broad range of career options. The graduates can seek professional careers in international organizations, European institutions, foreign diplomatic services and other governmental bodies, multinational corporations, and NGOs. Those who are fascinated by concepts, theories or empirical research may decide to continue with an academic career in the field of International Relations or European Studies.

Among graduate courses in international relations and politics at Georgian universities, the NVU’s MA in European Union and Eastern Partnership 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 law, politics and European Studies. The program brings a strong added value with its sharp regional focus.

The taught part of the course aims to familiarize students with the range and variety of disciplines required for a critical understanding of the field in all its complexity and of the means and methods that have been devised to understand it better.

The program is suitable both for students who have just completed their first degree and for mature students from, for example, industry, teaching, the civil service, or the armed forces. The Department is looking to attract around twenty qualified candidates for the MA program each academic year.

• An in-depth knowledge of the EU institutions, structures, and policies;
• A critical analysis of the EU’s governance issues internally and externally;
• A focus on the Eastern Partnership, its peculiarities and political complexities;
• Sharpened skills in public speaking, research, and writing;
• Understanding of policy-making in the European Union, including legislation and the implementation of EU law;
• Discussion of topical governance issues such as foreign policy instruments, market and trade regulations, and sectoral policies;
• An analysis of how the EU influences political systems and policies of both EU and partner States in the domains of democratization, market integration and regulatory alignment;
• An ability to help businesses and institutions to operate internationally with the EU’s legal and regulatory framework in focus.

By the end of the course participants will have:

• Developed a critical view of the contributions made by the study of European Studies, and their related disciplines, to law and social science more broadly conceived and to practice.
• An in-depth knowledge of specific subjects and themes in law, politics and European Studies.
• Become familiar with some of the main themes of the contemporary analysis of politics and international studies.
• Sharpened research skills through dedicated courses, assessed though essays in which students consider specific methods relevant to their interests.
• Tested their ability to produce a piece of advanced scholarship in conformity with the scientific methods, research techniques, standards of argument and accepted style of presentation of an academic discipline. They will thus be prepared to continue, if necessary, with research at the doctoral level.

• A fully English-based teaching program
• A field trip to Brussels
• An international internship
• Exchange semesters at European universities
• Acclaimed Georgian and International Lecturers
• Engagement with the experts and practitioners through additional events
• A strong emphasis on transferable skills

• European Union: Institutions and Politics
• EU External Relations – Neighborhood and Eastern Partnership
• European Politics, Policy, and Law in Practice (Practitioners invited to deliver on a given topic/lecture)
• Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
• Academic and Policy Writing
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Public Speaking
• Thesis

• Induction crash courses in International Relations, Economics, Law and Advanced English
• Internship
• Democracy and Democratization
• Political Theory and Ethics
• Advanced Research Methods

• European Union and the Caucasus
• European Union and Eurasia
• EU-Russia Relations
• Current Foreign Policy and Security Issues
• Energy Policy and Politics
• Transport and Connectivity
• European Integration and Enlargement
• EU in the Wider World
• Europeanization and Governance
• The Transformation of Politics in Europe
• Populism and Disinformation
• EU Policy-Making
• EU Digital Governance
• Human Rights in the EU

• EU Internal Market
• European Trade Policy
• International Political Economy
• Economic and Monetary Union
• Competition and Consumer Protection
• Agricultural Policy
• Law and Regulation/Foundations of the EU Law (EU Law)
• Contracts, Trade and Competition
• Intellectual Property Law (Implementation of the Association Agreement)
• European and International Trade Law
• Investment Law
• Business Law
• Comparative Corporate Law
• International and European Sales Law