European Studies M.A.*

The module ‘Advanced Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods is divided into two sections, first, on Qualitative Research Methods and, second, on Quantitative Research Methods. Whilst student will have a grounding in both from their bachelor degrees or other previous study, this module is to bring them to a more advanced standard of research. Both sections include a theoretical introduction and the application of the methods covered. Students will learn advanced techniques for collecting, analysing, and interpreting data in both qualitative and quantitative research studies, including advanced sampling methods, experimental design, surveys, interviews, focus groups, content analysis, statistical analysis, and data visualization. Emphasis is placed on understanding how to effectively combine qualitative and quantitative methods to generate insightful and rigorous research findings.

The module on Advanced Academic Writing is designed to help students enhance their writing skills to a higher level of academic proficiency, developing advanced writing strategies and techniques that are essential for successful academic writing in various disciplines. It will offer a general interdisciplinary part on academic writing and a special part covering academic writing in law, in particular the way of organising a case study. Students will learn how to conduct in-depth research, critically analyse sources, and synthesize complex ideas into well-organized and coherent written arguments, refining their grammatical, syntactical, and stylistic skills in order to produce clear, concise, and persuasive academic essays and research papers. They will also reiterate and practice advanced citation and referencing methods, as well as learn how to effectively integrate evidence and quotes from sources into their own writing.

MES students usually come from many regions in Europe and beyond, having diverse regional and cultural backgrounds. Whilst this can be most inspiring, it also poses challenges in terms of working together and understanding one another. This module develops an understanding and appreciation of different cultures, languages, beliefs, and perspectives, making students more open-minded, empathetic, and respectful towards others, able to navigate cultural differences and misunderstandings in a constructive way. It equips students with knowledge and skills both for their MES course of study and for their professional life in diverse teams as they will find them in EU institutions, in business in the internal market and beyond, as well as – more and more – in public administration in EU Member States and beyond.

With the EU starting as an internal market project, though at the same time as a means of procuring and maintaining peace in Europe, professional and managerial skills in business and administration remain particularly important within the EU. This module focuses on developing the essential professional and managerial skills that are necessary for success in the workplace. Students will learn how to effectively communicate, work in teams, solve problems, manage time, make decisions, and lead others. They will also explore topics such as conflict resolution, negotiation, emotional intelligence, and diversity and inclusion.

Challenge- or project-based learning is very important to prepare students for working on real projects, be it professionally or academically. By ‘training on the job’ the project module develops skills such as task management, scheduling, resource allocation, budget tracking, and progress monitoring. Students teams learn to create project goals, define tasks, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, allocate resources, and track project milestones, staying organized throughout the project lifecycle. The MES project should make use of projects within the HSB international university network, in particular within the StarsEU Alliance.

Module 2.1 is divided into 3 sections, EU Institutions (50 %), Integration Theories (25 %) and Challenges of Integration (25 %).

The section on EU-Institutions introduces the legal framework of the EU’s organisational structure, including the institutions’ tasks and powers and working procedures, as well as recent attempts of reform, and different levels of government.

The section on Theories of European Integration and Multi-Level Governance looks more specifically at drivers of and impediments to the European integration process, the distribution of power and democratic legitimacy in the political system of the EU. It analyses the normative visions of good European integration in the light of climate change and digitalization, democratic legitimacy of EU integration and attempts to identify an ‘ideal’ multi-level governance system in the EU.

The section on Current Challenges of EU Integration focusses namely on climate change and digitalization and its impact on both the public and the private sector.

Module 2.2 introduces the legal system of the EU, covering the sources of EU law, the ‘acquis communautaire‘, and general principles and fundamental values of EU Law. In addition, the relationship between the law of the EU and its Member States, the transposition of EU law into Member State law and the approximation of the law of the Member States are addressed.

In substance, the module focusses on internal market law, in particular the fundamental freedoms, the digital internal market, sustainability requirements, basics of EU competition law, external trade law, and allows for an introduction into a specific field of EU law, e.g. EU Labour Law with specific regard to gender equality and diversity, European Environmental and Sustainability law or the legal framework of the digital internal market.

The module ‘European Economic Integration’ includes an introductory section (50 %) with a brief history of European – regional – economic integration and the essentials of economic integration theory and practice, including its economic foundations (single Market, in particular the fundamental freedoms) and key policy areas, such as the industrial, external trade and environmental policy.

Further sections offered according to students’ choices (25 % each) will be a more in-depth study of Competition Policy in the EU, Transition Economies (analysing the continued impact of the transition of centrally planned economies to free markets) or Current Economic Affairs in the EU.

The EU funding programmes are highly in demand in practice. This module gives an insight into the basics of EU funding, its influence on policy development and an overview over the current programming period, looking at the EU funding programs for

• research (namely Horizon),
• regional policy (namely European Fund for Regional Development EFRD),
• business and economy,
• education (Erasmus+),
• further specific programs e.g. regarding digital autonomy, European Social Fund (ESF), Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) etc.

The practice part on applying for Funds in the EU is based on a recently published call for proposals and offers three practice workshops:

• preparing the project proposal,
• treating the financial questions in setting up the financial plan,
• defining the selection criteria.

Der Praxisteil zur Beantragung von Fördermitteln in der EU basiert auf einem kürzlich veröffentlichten Aufruf zur Einreichung von Vorschlägen und bietet drei Praxis-Workshops:

• Vorbereitung des Projektvorschlags,
• Behandlung der finanziellen Fragen bei der Erstellung des Finanzplans,
• Definition der Auswahlkriterien.

Modules 2.5 and 2.6 are alternative modules, allowing students to focus on either law or interdisciplinary study. Both include the Brussels Intensive Seminar as their Unit 1, with a focus either on law or on interdisciplinary visits. Following a briefing session on the workings of the EU in practice with its overall structure and institutions and diplomatic, political, commercial and/or civil society organisations or associations or other actors observing and interacting with the EU institutions the excursion to Brussels offers visits to the EU institutions, organisations and associations, with practitioner/experts presentations on the work of their institution and on topical EU issues currently in the focus of their work, and the chance for a discussion with the experts. Visits usually include:

• EU Commission
• EU Council
• EU Parliament
• Committee of the Regions
• Economic and Social Committee
• Representative of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen to the EU
• Think Tank
• Transparency International
• Commercial and/or Ecological lobbying organisations.

The second unit in the law module 2.5 builds on module 2.2 and focusses on Energy Law in the European Union, offering an in-depth study of a very topical and highly regulated area of EU law and its operation in practice. Based on case studies and mock negotiations it introduces key principles and objectives, the impact of EU energy policy and law on member states and non-EU countries, the legal framework governing the whole value chain, namely regulatory instruments used to promote security of supply, environmental protection and competition, and legal challenges under the fragmented regime of EU energy law and policy.

Modules 2.5 and 2.6 are alternative modules, allowing students to focus on either law or interdisciplinary study. Both include the Brussels Intensive Seminar as their Unit 1, with a focus either on law or on interdisciplinary visits. Following a briefing session on the workings of the EU in practice with its overall structure and institutions and diplomatic, political, commercial and/or civil society organisations or associations or other actors observing and interacting with the EU institutions the excursion to Brussels offers visits to the EU institutions, organisations and associations, with practitioner/experts presentations on the work of their institution and on topical EU issues currently in the focus of their work, and the chance for a discussion with the experts. Visits usually include:

• EU Commission
• EU Council
• EU Parliament
• Committee of the Regions
• Economic and Social Committee
• Representative of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen to the EU
• Think Tank
• Transparency International
• Commercial and/or Ecological lobbying organisations.

The second unit of the interdisciplinary module 2.6 looks at Intercultural Aspects of International Team Building and Project Management from a theoretical perspective to start with, followed by the practical experience of planning and managing an event as a type of project. The theoretical part includes the Theories of Culture (Hofstede, Hall, Trompenaars etc.), a reflection on one’s own culture, group presentations on German culture specificity with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the individual German cultural standards, as well as the basics of successful workings in teams with different cultures (R. Lewis). Project management is covered theoretically first, with theory, methods, techniques and potential issues linked to project management, to prepare the practical project experience.

Modules 3.1 and 3.2 are alternative modules, giving students the choice as to whether they want to focus more on the public sector and perspectives in EU institutions or public administration or government (3.1), or whether they are aiming at doing business in Europe, focussing on the private sector (3.2).

Module 3.1 consists of two units of equal weight. Unit 1 considers the EU as a Global Player in external relations, trade, sustainability and development policy, including:  

• The European Union`s Common Commercial Policy, Neighbourhood and Development Policy and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP),
• EU relations to the ”near abroad”: neighbourhood programs and relations
• the EU´s foreign relations with the developing world
• EU relations with the Americas: EU and USA, NAFTA, MERCOSUR and Latin America
• EU relations with East and Southeast Asia: ASEAN, ASEM, SAARC

Unit 2 offers an in-depth study of EU Decision making, how to influence it and how it is or should be communicated: EU Law making processes – formally and informally, Stakeholders, NGOs, LOBBYING in the EU, EU communication and Member State communication on the EU, and public opinion and civil participation.  

Modules 3.1 and 3.2 are alternative modules, giving students the choice as to whether they want to focus more on the public sector and perspectives in EU institutions or public administration or government (3.1), or whether they are aiming at doing business in Europe, focussing on the private sector (3.2).

Module 3.2 consists of two units of equal weight. Unit 1 considers management and challenges of doing business in the EU and beyond, including market-oriented business strategy, customer and consumer behaviour, tools and approaches for country market related research.

Unit 2 adds the legal framework for doing business in Europe, i.e. EU business law governing legal relationships between private entities, namely

• principles of contractual freedom and private autonomy
• basics of company law in the EU
• International contract law
• basics of the law governing product liability and liability for environmental damage

These will be applied in case studies in exemplary topical fields, such as

• digital internal market law,
• environmental protection and sustainability in internal market law,
• consumer protection law (e.g. rules on unfair contract terms, product safety, consumer rights),
• regulatory law,
• intellectual property law.

Module 3.3 adds a flexible module to allow for focus according to student choices. As a container module on Current Issues of EU law, politics and economics it should relate to, e.g., Climate Change, sustainable development and supporting framework, social policy, migration, digitalisation, EU in a multi-polar world, or other current topic of the EU. Students should either choose from the university master modules of other courses of study related to the EU, participate in the challenge modules offered in the STARS EU European University with HSB’s participation, contribute a project to the Europe Weeks of the Bremen Government, prepare and present a Conference Contribution (e.g. at a DTX cluster Conference on the EU Green Deal), or join an excursion (e.g. offered by the EU institutions or the Bremen government) with relevant contents. In order to be recognized, the chosen module needs to be related to EU issues of a legal, political or economic nature.

The module framework includes an introduction to current issues of EU law, politics and economics, plus a supervised choice of a module,  and supervised participation in chosen module, as well as a ‘Lessons learned’ session.

The Master Thesis module consist of a Master Thesis Colloquium, guiding students to the choice of their field of research and, finally, Master Thesis topics. The colloquium offers support during the writing of the thesis namely with regard to planning and doing research, academic writing/no-plagiarism rules etc.

Students write the Master Thesis with individual coaching by the supervisors. Students will have to work intensively at a research project, case study or literature research, from the fields of law, politics or economics, or interdisciplinary, and put the results of their research in writing in the form of an academic paper.

[Translate to English:]

The fourth semester is a practical study semester. Students attend a 22-week to 6 months internship, which may also feed into the master thesis, after completion of modules 1.1 – 3.3. The internship must be related to EU topics, but students are free to choose an EU institution, a public sector entity, a charibtable organisation or a business entity. At the end of the internship students present the internship in a written academic internship report (15-20 pages) describing the placement, the institution or entity, their tasks, challenges and solutions, and lessons learned.

The internship semester is compulsory for students joining MES with 180 ECTS from their previous course of study only. For students joining with 210 or 240 ECT it is optional, but remains an integral part of their studies, in particular if feeding into the Master Thesis.