Brochure Study at CEVRO Institute for download

 

CEVRO Institute courses for international students

The courses taught in English—listed below—are designed both for international students and CEVRO Institute students, who have been studying social science (or a similar program) at least one year on the undergraduate level. The courses cover a wide range of topics and disciplines such as political science, international relations, history or applied economics. After completion, students are awarded easily transferable European credits (For more on ECTS see below). International students are advised to sign up for about 4 courses in each semester.

 

Germany and Central and Eastern Europe (ECTS 7—8)

The aim of the course is to provide a short outline of the relationship between Germany and Central and Eastern Europe during the last two centuries (from Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to the government of Angela Merkel). This course shows also the positive role of Germany in Europe after WW II and its decisive support for the Eastern Enlargement of the EU after 1990. Germany is a key player in the international politics of Central and Eastern Europe as far as political, economic, security, and other issues are concerned. For these reasons it is necessary to study the relationship between the largest EU member and Central and East European countries.

Party Systems in Western Europe (ECTS 7—8)

The course is focused on the analysis of party systems in Western Europe and their development in the post-war period. The course introduces key methodological and theoretical approaches to party system analysis. These approaches are important especially due to the huge amount of empirical facts that need to be sorted, analyzed, and compared. Various theoretical approaches enable comparing party systems and allow for putting party systems in institutional and societal contexts. The empirical level of the analysis is also given importance. The theoretical tools are always completed with empirical examples in order to provide students with the ability to apply theoretical concepts on the particular cases.

Central European Politics (ECTS 7—8)

This course is based on a comparative approach towards current political developments in countries of (primarily, but not exclusively) the Visegrad Four, i.e. in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Following general discussions of what the notion of Central Europe means and how we can understand it, the course will elaborate historical and social issues helping to shape the region currently known as Central Europe. After historical considerations are taken into account, the region as a whole is put under scrutiny, beginning with communism through regional attempts at integration, up to the accession procedures regarding EU and NATO. Finally, political and social issues in all of the four countries will be presented with topics like foreign policies, major rifts, party systems, institutional arrangements etc.

Post-Totalitarianism (ECTS 7—8)

This course seeks to understand and explain the lingering legacies of totalitarianism. It combines political theory with comparative politics, covering the former Communist countries in comparison with post-totalitarian West Germany and still totalitarian China. The course examines the common legacies of post-totalitarian societies—lasting changes that totalitarianism imprints on different societies, despite their different long term historical legacies and the immediate socio-economic circumstances of their exit from Communism. After totalitarianism, some of the radical revolutionary transformation of society is irreversible. The extermination, enslavement, imprisonment, terror, expropriation, suppression of talent, exclusion from education, and the isolation of society from the outside world live on through their effects.

Politics in the Czech Republic (ECTS 7—8)

In what way does the politics work in a country that has undergone transition from totalitarian to democratic regimes? What is the character of political culture, tools of political mediation, or major controversies? These and many other questions are to be discussed and answered during this course, which should make it possible for students to obtain more thorough insight into political behavior, culture, and also the political practice of the Czech Republic. Among major issued elaborated in class you can find topics like Czech political traditions, sources of political culture, impact of communism, popular perceptions of politics and political parties, major political controversies, relation of the Czech politics to European level of governance, and other all-European questions.

Selected Issues of Comparative Politics (ECTS 7—8)

The aim of the course is to deepen students’ knowledge in the institutional area of comparative politics. Students will gain further theoretical and empirical knowledge related to the government forms around democratic countries. The course analyses perils and virtues of parliamentary, semi-presidential and presidential regimes from different perspectives and discusses different types of regimes. The head of state, cabinet, parliaments, divided government in democratic states are other issues under scrutiny. Study of institutions is, however, embedded in the context of non-institutional factors that have a large influence upon the applicability and portability of particular institutions to other political systems.

The Making of European Idea (ECTS 7—8)

The primary objective of the course is to offer some insights into various understandings of what Europe is. Therefore, the course presents a critical analysis of the key features accompanying the formation of European society and the system of states and presents theoretically grounded views on the processes related to their evolution. Moreover, the course intends to ground its explanations in the general, sociological understanding of history, thus transcending the “mechanical” enumeration of more or less important events, discussing instead long-term developments, bearing within themselves values and opinions justly understood as core elements of European culture and identity. The course is not intended to produce a single explanation of “Europe,” but rather to highlight cornerstones of our contemporary understanding of Europe.

Security in Africa (ECTS 7—8)

This course aims to provide the participants with a detailed understanding of the diverse issues pertaining to security in Africa. It will adopt a broad view of security and include the analysis of internal and external threats to African states and institutions as well as to groups and individuals. Particular emphasis will be placed on armed conflicts on the continent, their causes, consequences and possibilities of their solution. Further attention is given to the application of theoretical concepts on particular examples. Lectures are completed with follow-up seminar discussions of selected case studies from across the continent.

Economics and the Law (ECTS 7—8)

Students are introduced to the historical overview and contemporary approaches to broadly defined (not only Chicago School) law-and-economics. The course explains the link between economics and existing institutional settings, identifies the impacts of competition upon the quality of institutional environment, and clarifies the limits of market co-ordination mechanism. The framework is applied to the problems of quality of justice, growth and development, environmental quality, transition, and desocialisation.

Economics of Public Sector I and II (ECTS 7—8)

The course systematically analyzes the reasons for and impacts of state interventions in the economy. It deals with the typology of interventions and economic justifications of arguments for interventions in the economy in the area of price and product regulation, monetary and fiscal policy, government revenues, and expenditures, and in the production of public goods. The course highlights both the intended and the unintended consequences of governmental policies, explains the essential difference between the market and bureaucratic management, and identifies the structure of motivations of the actors in the case of particular state interventions. A second part of the course is devoted to a series of case studies explaining the nature of reform proposals for deregulating different sectors of the economy such as health care, social security, and schools.

Current Issues in the Global Economy (ECTS 7—8)

The course builds on knowledge of basic economic principles and applies it to explain the effects of globalization on development, quality of life, poverty, culture, foreign trade, environmental quality and the power of national governments. It focuses on causes and consequences of globalization as well as on its different manifestations in different parts of the world. The overarching aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of contemporary changes, trends and processes affecting the global economy, countries, regions, and industries. One of the most important goals is to develop a critical understanding of the “global economy,”—its origins and operation.

Grading system

There are a couple of ways to evaluate study results. Courses are usually ended by oral or written examination, presentations or course papers. CEVRO Institute uses the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), which is a credit system based on relative student workload. The workload includes lectures, seminars and self-study. The standard number of credits per academic year is 60 credits, i.e. 30 credits per semester. As for the evaluation, CEVRO Institute gives grades from “A” (the best grade) to “E” while “F” means “failed.”
The courses are usually one semester and may be held in either the fall or spring semester. This depends on the number of students who wish to attend the course. Each course consists of weekly lectures (about 80 minutes). Some courses may be coupled with seminars at which students present their papers. In most courses students are required to elaborate a course paper. The second requirement for the course is an exam (written test or oral examination).

Application procedure and entry requirements

The entry requirements for exchange students are basically set by partner universities of CEVRO Institute. CEVRO Institute only expects that students have good study results and a good command of English in order to follow English-taught classes. For coming to CEVRO Institute, we encourage international students to have successfully finished at least one academic year at their home university.
As for the application process, students can apply through their home university/faculty (international office or a similar office). Then their university/faculty will send us the application form, on which the students mark the courses they wish to study at CEVRO Institute. We will then send them an acceptance letter, where we confirm that they have been admitted to the study at CEVRO Institute for one or two semesters.

Application deadlines

Basically, there are two deadlines for applications: (1) winterterm and (2) summer term. Since the application forms are sent through the students’ home university, students are advised to ask their faculty coordinator or international office beforehand for exact dates of application deadlines.

Internet and computers

CEVRO Institute is equipped with wireless Internet. Students are recommended to bring their laptop. On their arrival students receive login information to enter the school system. There is also a computer lab available at the college.