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 meldinto 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.

Balkan, Eurasian and Central European Studies (BECES) is a two-year English-language Master´s degree programme fully accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic. It addresses the English speaking audience with a deep and versatile exploration of "the East", understood as a territory composed of Central Europe, the Balkan peninsula, and the Post- Soviet area, including the Caucasus and Central Asia. Primary attention is paid to modern history, politics and diplomacy, as well as to fundamental social, cultural and economic problems. It also offers students the chance to learn or improve their knowledge of some of the Czech language.

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 programme is deliberately structured to take advantage of the multidisciplinary nature of the Faculty, and students will be encouraged to make connections between different fields of study, learning to combine a global perspective with attention to detail and local interests. It 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.