BALKAN, EURASIAN AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES (BECES)

The end of the Cold War and the Eastern enlargements of NATO and the EU have represented turning points in the history of Eastern, East-Central and South-Eastern Europe. Although once called “the East”, this area has in recent years moved to “the West”, raising many questions as to its identity and prospects. Will “the East” change and meld into the globalising world, or relapse into obscurity and its typical old diseases? Straddled between “the East” and “the West”, Prague is an ideal place to ask these questions and to seek answers to them.

The core courses provide an overview of crucial segments of the area from an analytical and multidisciplinary perspective, while the elective classes allow students to create their own specialisation. The aim of the programme is to help students write a Master’s thesis of sufficient quality to merit publication. Through the university’s network of exchange programmes, talented students may also be offered the opportunity to make a brief research visit to another country in the area. By developing the student’s knowledge of the Czech milieu and language, the programme may also serve as an access-point to some of our Ph.D. programmes.

The BECES programme is an excellent stepping stone in developing an academic career in any of the Faculty’s academic disciplines, as well as a valuable source of analytical skills and practical background knowledge that can be applied in professional life.