European Studies is een Engelstalige opleiding. Je krijgt dus je vakken in het Engels. Om die reden zijn de beschrijvingen ook in het Engels. Kom je er niet uit? Laat het ons weten!

Semester 1

Kwartiel 1

The Institutional Development of the EU
Throughout the different courses in the first ES bachelor year all kinds of institutional aspects of European integration will be brought up. This course has three steps. First, students are expected to get familiar with the Union's organizations and operations. Secondly, students should be able to understand why the Union has developed as it has. To that end, the course puts EU institutionalism theory at the centre.

Introduction to economics
In this introductory course we learn the basics of Macro-Economics. Course fundamentals include the way markets work, the role of efficiency and welfare, market failure, and the economics of the public sector. Moreover, we apply these tools to the practice of the European internal market by considering some examples. In so doing, we get further insights into the working system of the European Community.

Introduction to research methodology
This course is a general introduction in the principals of social scientific research. Various research designs (experimental and non-experimental) will be discussed. Further topics in this course are: frequently applied modes of concept formation and measurement like Likert scaling, modes of qualitative and quantitative observation and data handling (questionnaire research, content analysis, grounded theory), practices of data collection (sampling, small and large groups).

Kwartiel 2

European economic integration
‘European economic integration’ presents the steps that were taken in the past in order to get a common market. The course will pay attention to the main EU policies involved (trade policy, competition policy) as well as to the coordination of national policies (especially tax coordination). The analysis of this has been made from the beginnings till the last developments in near past. In a few assignments we have to apply the things learnt and transfer them to topical EU policies.

Introduction to political science
This course gives us an introductory view on the field of a political scientist. Political science is that part of the social sciences which focuses on collective decision-making. Most political scientists look at 'states'; areas with boundaries, inhabitants (citizens) and a sovereign government. The main questions addressed by political scientists are related to (1) the emergence and internal stability of states, (2) internal decision-making within democratically organized states and (3) cooperation and conflicts between states.

Introduction to sociology
In this introductory course we learn the different sociological concepts of societies that exist in sociology. Thereby special attention is given to the definitions and concepts of eminent sociological theorists like Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Alexis de Toqueville etc.

Semester 2

Kwartiel 3

European social integration
The most important question discussed in this course is whether there is a process of social integration in Europe or not. Every week we have to prepare specific questions on the basis of texts and discussed those in class. We look therefore into a lot of different subjects concerning the social perspective. For example: different welfare state-systems or the topic of immigration. We discuss that on an independent manner and learn therefore a lot.

Quantitative research skills
It is nowadays inescapable for professionals of any kind to have a minimum understanding of statistics. On the other hand it is not necessary to be a statistician in using and even analyzing quantitative data as long as you have basic knowledge of statistical inference or what we may call 'statistical thinking'. The goal of this course is that students learn how to deal with statistical information, how to interpret the outcome of statistical tests and even how to analyze data by hand as well via a statistical program. This will be done in a context of practical research questions.

Introduction to law
In the European Union various legal systems exist. Some of these systems have much in common, others vary significantly. The last two decades the law of the Member States has been increasingly developed in interaction with EU law. Vice versa, EU law is strongly influenced by legal solutions of the Member States. In this course major fields of law are introduced. This course aimes at offering basic knowledge in the field of law. We get to know the various fields: like constitutional law, administrative law and private law.

Kwartiel 4

Project 1: Introduction to policy analysis
In this course, the centre of attraction is not so much the policy content as such but the policy process. Hence, one mainly dealt with questions concerning the development of policies. In what ways do policy issues pop up on the agenda? Why do they become important at a specific point in time and not at anytime? How do different interests compete and finally negotiate with each other? Does “output” eventually determine “outcome”? How can policy making in the real world be explained? What are the analytical components of policy programmes? How do policies affect citizens? And how can this be analyzed and evaluated?

European political integration
This course aims to provide basic knowledge of and insight in the political dimension of European integration, international organization and EU decision-making. One of the branches within Political Science focuses on the study of international organization. In this course, we analyze EU decision-making using the theories and terminology introduced in the introductory course on Political Science. The EU does not have sovereign status, yet has powers far beyond those of other international organizations, which turns it into a unique political entity.

European legal integration
This course aims to provide an introduction to the legal approach to European integration. It will deal with the starting points of European Union law and discuss the main characteristics of the EU and the way in which these have been addressed and established by the European Court of Justice. The course will focus on the institutional structure of the European Community and the European Union, the decision-making procedures, the legal instruments, European legal protection and selected substantive issues related to the free movement of goods and persons.

En in het tweede jaar volg je bijvoorbeeld…

A history of Europe: science and technology
In this course we learn how the image of Europe has been emerging long before there was anything like a European organization of nation states. For example the creation and (shared) use of scientific knowledge and technologies such as railroads, highways, electricity and the telephone created cognitive, institutional and material links between European nation states. This course focuses on the construction and use of cognitive and material infrastructures in the context of European political and cultural history to show the long term construction of Europe.