Schools and Departments

The Department of Economics and Business is dynamic and expanding, well established as a leading department in the region, with faculty members from top American and European universities. The department offers innovative, mission-relevant and research-led business, economics, finance, and management education in its MA (in Economics, Economic Policy and Global Economic Relations), MSc (in Business Analytics, Finance and Technology Management) and PhD programs (in Economics and Business Administration). 

In our MA and Economics PhD programs rigorous coursework includes core economic theory (microeconomics and macroeconomics) and econometrics, as well as study of many applied fields, including labor economics, health economics and economics of education, industrial organization, international economics, law and economics, corporate governance, among others.

In our MSc and Business PhD programs, quantitative professionals learn critical leadership and business skills, while business leaders learn to integrate key technology trends and issues in their strategic thinking. Our objective is to put business leaders and quantitative professionals in the same classroom so that they can inspire and learn from one another. Our vision also recognizes the growing social significance of management professionals.

The Department of Gender Studies meets the growing demand for expertise in gender issues by providing both Master's and doctoral level programs in gender studies, as well as serving as a base for non-degree studies and other activities in the field. The department attracts students from a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities, and focuses on integrative and comparative approaches in gender studies. A rich variety of intertwined scholarly interests (such as gender and (post) state-socialist studies, nationalism, theory, cultural studies, transnationalism, and international political movements) are emphasized. With an important, but not exclusive, focus on Central and Eastern Europe, both the Master's and doctoral programs seek to contribute to the development of socially relevant knowledge based on these approaches, and to critically interrogate past and present developments related to gender in culture and society.

The Department of International Relations integrates international relations scholarship with regional expertise in both the Eastern and Western parts of the enlarged European Union together with the wider European neighborhood. The department's commitment to international relations theory, in both its traditional and critical forms, and to the two major sub-disciplines of security studies and international political economy, forms the foundation of the program, complemented by a necessary multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the EU and its role as a global actor. Its highly competitive programs, which attract top-level graduate students from around the world to both the Master's and doctoral levels, provide an enriching environment for study and research on issues that concern today's globalizing world. The faculty includes scholars from international relations, history, law, economics, and comparative politics disciplines.

The Department of Medieval Studies offers multidisciplinary courses on both the Master's and the doctoral levels to medievalists from diverse backgrounds (history, art history, archaeology, philology, philosophy and theology). The program focuses on late antique and medieval civilization in Europe (c. 300-1550 AD), dealing with different methods of communication, migration of peoples, mobility of objects, texts, and ideas in the larger medieval oikumene, including Asia and North Africa. Students are provided with a broad grounding in these areas as well as training in advanced research methodology with special reference to interdisciplinary, comparative and supranational issues.

The Department of Philosophy offers a comprehensive program, covering the major areas of philosophical study, leading to Master's and doctoral degrees. The MA programs are designed to give broad and thorough training in all major fields of philosophy, with the possibility of deeper acquaintance in a chosen field. The department's doctoral program aims to train professionals prepared to undertake academic careers, as researchers or university teachers. Both MA and doctoral programs promote a scholarly attitude that combines historical and analytical approaches in philosophy. Curricula are designed so that students are required to study each of the major fields of contemporary philosophy. A specialization in history of philosophy is also available, including the possibility of specialization in ancient philosophy. Thus, graduates gain the rare ability to conduct a dialogue across the dividing lines occasionally fragmenting the philosophical discipline.

The Department of Public Policy (DPP) is a multidisciplinary institution focused on the study of global public policy issues both in theory and in practice. Through excellence in teaching and research, DPP aims to create an educational experience that involves not only the acquisition of skills and knowledge but also the cultivation of a mindset that emphasizes entrepreneurship, innovation, cultural awareness and commitment to the public good.

DPP aims to work with students, faculty, researchers and practitioners who are unafraid to challenge prevalent assumptions in the world of public policy and brave enough to propose new solutions. The Department strives to equip these individuals with the tools to construct a community of "purpose beyond power."

The Doctoral School is an academic community home to more than 50 permanent faculty members and over 90 doctoral students. The Doctoral Program in Political Science has been established by the School of Public Policy and Departments of Political Science and International Relations with the aim of contributing to a spirit of cooperation between faculty and students and foster the consolidation of a common academic community across the three departments. The Doctoral School offers and administers the Doctoral (PhD) Program in Political Science. The PhD program aims to provide the theoretical and methodological skills necessary to facilitate a broader comparative perspective which will mediate and engage scholarship and practices from both European and non-European contexts. We expect applicants who are ready to meet the challenges of critical thinking, academic excellence, social responsibility and inter-contextual perspective.

The Romani Studies Program responds to the growing interest for expertise and interdisciplinary knowledge in Roma related issues by offering an advanced certificate program for MA and PhD students who are enrolled in other CEU programs. The advanced certificate program offers an opportunity to engage with broader theories, policies, legislations and research methodologies which are fundamental to understand the complex situation of Roma and other racialized groups and the multifaceted challenges that policy makers are facing in designing equality, social justice and social inclusion policies. The courses will cover theoretical and policy issues faced by Roma ranging from identity to race/ ethnicity, gender, sexuality, from diversity to racialization, from poverty to racial discrimination, from structural discrimination and inequality to political mobilization and participation, and from recognition to redistributive justice. Our curriculum pays a specific attention to studying the racialization of Roma, the social construction of racial differences and its relation to the perpetuation of racism and racial domination. 

The Center for Religious Studies (CRS) is an academic forum at CEU fostering the study of religion. The mission of the center is to initiate and to coordinate research and to disseminate the results of research by mounting and fostering academic events, and publications that address religion-related questions in critical ways.
The CRS collaborates with CEU departments and academic units and is a hub of work in the Humanities. It crosses the borders of disciplines, confessional and geo-political categorizations, and covers periods from ancient to modern times. With an international advisory board and institutional contacts throughout the region and worldwide, the CRS provides an important site for academic research and communication.

The Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies, coordinated by the Center for Religious Studies, awards a non-degree certificate in Religious Studies to MA and PhD students enrolled in participating CEU departments. As part of their studies, participating students engage in the study of religious phenomena from a historical point of view, from Late Antiquity to modernity, and a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives.

The Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies was launched in 2007 by the Center for Religious Studies (formerly the Religious Studies Program). Its diverse course offerings cover the three monotheistic religions, over a vast span of time, and from multidisciplinary perspectives. To this end, departments participate through their course offerings, including History, Medieval Studies, Philosophy, Jewish Studies, Sociology and Social Anthropology, International Relations and European Studies.