MA programmes

Scholars affiliated with CEURUS are actively involved in teaching and developing curricula for several MA programmes at the University of Tartu, with the goal of developing strong, attractive English-language study programmes in the field of Russian and East European studies and EU-Russia relations,  as well as to strengthen Eurasia- and Russia-related components in other relevant curricula. We seek to attract highly motivated, academically promising students from Estonia and abroad to the University of Tartu.

Relevant MA programmes include:

  • International Relations and Regional Studies;
  • Politics and Governance in the Digital Age;
  • European Union Studies (partly in Estonian);
  • IMESS – International Masters in Economy, State and Society;
  • IMCEERES – Erasmus Mundus International Masters in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies

International Relations and Regional Studies

This MA programme provides extensive instruction about contemporary international relations and traditional and critical approaches to security policy, foreign policy analysis, conflict management and resolution mechanisms and international law, politics, society and relations. It combines these with an in-depth understanding of particular geographic regions (the European Union, Russia and Eurasia and the Baltic Sea region), in order to help students to evaluate these topics in a regional context. 

See also: International Relations and Regional Studies website

Politics and Governance in the Digital Age

This MA programme integrates empirical and theoretical understanding of democracy and governance, the two essential parameters of political development in the contemporary world. In-depth knowledge about the history of democracy, modern democratic institutions, public policy and governance, elections and political behaviour, ethnopolitics, and ethics is reinforced by training in analytical logic, quantitative and qualitative research techniques and written and oral English skills.

See also: Politics and Governance in the Digital Age website

European Union Studies

The objective of the MA programme in European Union Studies is to offer specialist knowledge and training on European integration, European institutions and EU policies. The interdisciplinary programme, combining the perspectives of economics, law and the social sciences, is designed for graduates who plan to enter positions in EU institutions, other international organizations, national administration, national/multinational companies or non-governmental organizations. The working language of the programme is Estonian, although a significant share of the courses are offered in English. The European Studies programme combines regular classes with distance-learning elements, in order to accommodate the needs of degree-seeking working adults.

See also: European Union Studies website

IMESS – International Masters in Economy, State and Society

The University of Tartu is a member of the consortium of leading European universities offering the two-year, Erasmus Mundus sponsored International Master’s degree in Economy, State and Society (IMESS). All students on this joint programme spend the first year at UCL in London and the second at one of seven universities in the region, including the University of Tartu. On successful completion of the degree students will be awarded a double degree from UCL and University of Tartu.

See also: IMESS programme’s website; IMESS at University of Tartu

IMCEERES – Erasmus Mundus International Masters in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies

The University of Tartu is a member of the IMCEERES consortium, made up of eight partner universities (University of Glasgow, University of Tartu, Corvinus University in Budapest, Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, KIMEP University in Almaty, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy) which offers a two-year Master’s programme. The programme is structured around the first three semesters each at different universities across Europe, Russia, and Eurasia, followed by a fourth semester designated for independent study.

This challenging and innovative programme enables students to understand the history of the Soviet and European communist systems and why they collapsed, through which students gain an informed knowledge of the process of economic and political transformation in the former communist states. The programme aims to develop world class researchers specialising in one or more of the following critical geopolitical areas: Central Asia; the Caucasus & Caspian Sea Basin; Russia; Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic Region.

See also: IMCEERES programme’s website or University of Glasgow’s website for the programme.