Instituto de Estudos Politicos - Universidade Católica Portuguesa

MA in the European Union and the Atlantic

In a world undergoing accelerated change, the European Union (“EU”), is a reality whose knowledge is necessary and without which it is not possible to understand the world in which we live, despite all its weaknesses and fragilities, but also in its accelerated process of integration, at once paradoxical and complex.

Acknowledging the relevance and urgency of studying and researching on these topics, the Institute of Political Studies of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa presents a new MA program, open for students who have completed their BA in law, international relations and political science, but also economics and social sciences:

To offer multidisciplinary training combining different scientific areas, which will equip students with the skills needed to understand and contribute to decision-making processes in different contexts, at different levels of governance and as a response to various social problems both at national and European levels.
To prepare students to perform different functions in the public, private and non-governmental sectors, at national, international or supranational (European) level, namely as political analysts, consultants, advisors, researchers, among others.

This MA Program is designed for students with a multidisciplinary profile from different scientific areas who are interested in the EU development and future challenges; want to understand the relevance and contribution of the Atlantic space to the EU development and future stability and prosperity; and who want to contribute to developing multidisciplinary and sustainable solutions to the complex socio-economic challenges facing the EU today.

The program focuses on an essential subject for Portuguese and European future decision makers – the EU and its challenges in a world undergoing accelerated change.

If you are interested in studying and researching on EU & Atlantic related topics, join this MA. By the end of this program, you will:

• get acquainted and develop concepts concerning the EU, the Atlantic geopolitical environment, and basic concepts of EU main policies;
• recognize and understand the role of the different EU institutions and agents;
• know and interpret the main models and theoretical approaches to the EU, understand the multidisciplinary nature of the concepts, politics, policies and processes involved, from a multidisciplinary point of view;
• understand the challenges faced by the different protagonists, including the evaluation of the European challenges and risks from the Atlantic perspective;
• have acquired analytical skills and ability to generate new approaches and explanations;
• be capable of recognize and analyse the way the different sources of power within the context of the EU, and particularly its Atlantic relations, interact and influence policy outcomes; and
• have acquired competences to participate in the development of proposals concerning the future of Europe.