Central European University (CEU)
MA in History in the Public Sphere Dual Degree Program (Vienna-Tokyo)
Vienna, Austria
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 12,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* payable in one or two installments, non-refundable initial tuition fee installment (€500 EUR) is paid to confirm your acceptance of our offer of admission and is credited towards the 1st tuition fee installment in year 1
Key Summary
History in the Public Sphere is a two-year master's program, run by Central European University and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. It focuses on the ways the past is represented, contested, and negotiated in the public sphere, exploring various contexts from the early modern period to the present in a comparative and transnational way. It is organized around four thematic foci, which cover the most pressing questions historians and practitioners have been faced with in an increasingly connected, globalized world:
- the institutionalization of memory and the politicization of history;
- visual representations and medialization of history;
- histories of inclusion and exclusion;
- and entanglements between national, regional, and global frameworks of history.
The program aims to bring together historical scholarship and civic engagement to prepare students for careers in producing, translating, and disseminating historical knowledge through museums, journalism, archives, broadcasting, and digital communication. It also lays special emphasis on developing skills and social competencies through study trips, practitioner workshops, and internships, which enable graduates to work with non-experts and civic actors in the process of disseminating historical knowledge. Concerning the final product of the program, students can choose between writing an academic thesis and making a capstone project. The curriculum of the program is based on the former History in the Public Sphere Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree program (HIPS).
The first academic year is spent at CEU PU in Vienna and the second at TUFS in Tokyo.
Financial Aid
CEU offers a variety of degree scholarships, including tuition waivers and stipends to supplement the cost of living in Vienna. Funds to support the research of MA students are also available. TUFS also offers stipends to selected students based on merit.
Central European University (first year)
Core Course
- History in the Public Sphere: An Introduction I and II (4+4 ECTS)
Mandatory Thematic Courses (2 / semester)
- “Historical Politics: Debating the Twentieth Century” (“Memory”)
- “History in the Visual Mode: Methods and Practices of Documentary Storytelling” (“Visual representation and media”)
- “Inclusion and Exclusion: Perspectives on Humanity and Race in Modern European History of Ideas and Science” (“Inclusion and exclusion”)
- “Comparative, Transnational and Global Histories: Rethinking Geographical and Temporal Scales” (“Entanglements”)
- (4 ECTS each)
Elective Courses
Including optional source language (for max. 4 ECTS) and elective courses offered by other departments (for max. 8 ECTS)
Practical Experience and Skills
- OSA internship in Budapest (Transforming Documents: Theories and Practices of "Translation"; 6 ECTS)
- Skills courses, practitioners’ workshops; audio-visual skill-building
Research and Research Training
Prospectus writing seminar and prospectus defense
TUFS Tokyo (second year)
Core Courses
- "Comparative Memory Politics” (4 ECTS)
- “Japanese History in Transnational and Comparative Perspective” (4 ECTS)
Elective Courses
- Memory
- Visual and media
- Inclusion and exclusion
- Entanglements
Practical Experience, Internship, Skills, and Intercultural Experimental Learning
Thesis-Related Activities
- Thesis writing and consultation (8 ECTS)
- Thesis writing workshop (early April) (4 ECTS)
Submission and Defense of the Final Capstone Project/Thesis (10 ECTS)