A joint programme

During the first term, each student will study at one of the participating universities, and during the second and/or third term, at a different participating university:

• University of Granada (Spain)
• Leipzig University (Germany)
• University of Graz (Austria)
• Vilnius University (Lithuania)

Physical mobility is greatly encouraged but is not compulsory in this programme. Preference is given to candidates who choose a physical mobility track within their application. Applicants can indicate a preference for the study places in the application. However, the selection committee makes the final decision on the mobility track with respect to the applicant’s preference, qualifications, and specialization. A further criterion for deciding an applicant’s mobility track is the joint policy within the Consortium regarding the student body balance between the participating universities. Once students have enrolled in the programme, their mobility track becomes part of the study agreement and can only be changed from both sides in the case that substantial changes are necessary due to extraordinary circumstances.

Additionally, students have the possibility to apply for an exchange term at one of the Arqus Universities (outside the European Studies Consortium) and at universities outside of the Arqus alliance. This exchange term abroad will be an additional opportunity but will not replace the mobility track in the programme.

Despite the privilege to study at a second or third participating university, the transnational learning experience of the programme can also be realized via participation in virtual mobility, which continues after the foundational courses (first term) to provide academic specialization across the consortium.

In the third semester or optional during the fourth semester, there is the possibility of completing an internship outside the universities or a research internship in one of the participating universities in order to establish a relationship between the topic choice for the Master’s Thesis and the world of possible later work opportunities. The programme encourages students to benefit from the chance to discover the practical part of research during an internship. Those students who will not do an internship will complete an elective module in order to receive the required credits. The internship/ research internship will be accomplished in a period of 300 hours (=10 ECTS) or 150 hours (=5 ECTS).

Students of the Joint Master´s Programme have the opportunity to take part in a large number of research projects in the field of European Studies at each study place. Alternatively, they can also complete a self-organized internship in order to supplement their academic and theoretical knowledge with practical experience and skills in this field.

After successfully completing the module, students will write an internship report that describes the tasks, process and experiences of the internship as well as it reflects on the context of practical and research study in the field of “European Studies”.

Support, Coordination and Recognition

From the beginning of the study programme, students can contact the local coordinators at each study place and the programme coordinator in Leipzig, to ask for information and assistance for an internship. The coordinators provide students with information about scholarships, part-time jobs and internships.

At all study places, several companies and organization as well as media houses/ services that a related to the field of European Studies are well represented.

Additionally to local offers of guidance and support, the well-elaborated Arqus Internship Mobility Guidebook includes comprehensive information about study locations and the particular regulations as well as guidance through the whole process of doing an internship.
The Arqus Internship Portal serves as beneficial access to announcements of internships among all Arqus university locations.

In order to deliver the appointed credits for the implemented research internship/ internship, Leipzig University as the coordinating institution of the study programme , will recognize the internships which was taken at the partner institutions. The process is harmonized with the general procedure of the recognition of prior learning.

Students are assessed based on the exam regulations of their current host university. The study and examination system in the Arqus European Studies Consortium reflects the transnational character of the programme. It consists of a set of relevant regulations at national, university and departmental level, following all the Bologna standards but sometimes differ in terms of hierarchy, structure and terminology.

Essays are still the dominant form of assessment across the programme consortium. Therefore, all students are introduced to the standards of academic writing and research during the first semester. Other common types of examination are oral exams, presentations or written exams, depending on the disciplinary approach and the local regulations of each university. In order to accomplish the qualification goals of this programme, stronger emphasis on portfolio for the assessment of students will be established. Portfolios in the Joint Master’s Programme group different achievements and are intended to reflect the different subjects of the courses and how the students work on them. With the portfolio, students will demonstrate the ability to develop, implement and present concepts and, if necessary, to work in a team (project work). Here, the examination candidates should show that they can define goals for a larger task and develop interdisciplinary solutions and concepts. Examples of requirements in the portfolio are: presentations, book reviews, reaction papers, podcasts includes, project work, etc. The composition of the portfolio is announced by the lecturers at the beginning of the module.

Grading schemes systems differ according to national academic regulations. The consortium has agreed to use a common conversion table for grades to ensure a fair and common recognition of grades and credits for the Joint Master’s Programme. The overall grade for the Master’s programme is calculated by the programme coordinator (Leipzig) in agreement with the local coordinators at the partner institutions. The overall grade corresponds to the German grading system and represents the arithmetic mean of the grades of the module examinations and the master’s thesis weighted with credit points. The grading scales and the detailed description of the national grading systems are explained in the Diploma Supplement.