The first semester courses deal with the historical, philosophical, legal and geopolitical dimensions of Europe. Students can thus become more familiar with the foundations of European History, the history of European integration, the concept of European values, the pan-European system set up to protect human rights and minorities, or with geo-political challenges deriving from the emergence of the “wider Europe”.

The second semester seminars address more specific topics not covered by each of the specialised Master’s programmes such as economic governance in and the social dimension of the EU, the political sociology of European politics, immigration issues, the relations between the European Union and developing countries (including development policy), and comparative economic regional integration.

Courses and seminars of the European General Studies Programme account for 25 contact hours each.
Their relative workload is set by the respective study programme which they complete.