Una Europa Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS)
Kraków, Poland
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 6,900 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* non-EEA | EEA and swiss applicants: 2,000 EUR/year
Key Summary
Una Europa Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS) is an innovative interdisciplinary programme co-designed and co-taught by eight leading European universities, all members of the Una Europa alliance. The programme provides an extensive education on sustainability, its various complexities and the interdependence of divergent disciplines with the aim to equip its graduates with necessary tools to forge a better future and fill the growing niche on the market for professionals with a cross-cutting understanding of sustainable development.
All students of the programme will begin at the same starting university – Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie for the current edition of the programme – studying there during the entire first year of the programme. During these semesters, the students will take introductory courses, which will familiarise them with the core concepts and frameworks of sustainability, as well as transversal courses, which will equip them with core academic skills and competencies.
Then, starting with the second year, the students will follow one of the six three-semester-long specialisation tracks, each coordinated by one of the degree-awarding partners of the programme. The tracks are:
- Sustainable Chemistry & Physics (coordinated by Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet)
- Economy & Geography (coordinated by Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
- Law & Politics of Sustainability (coordinated by Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie)
- Environmental & Life Sciences (coordinated by Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
- Economics, Management & Engineering (coordinated by KU Leuven)
- Social Sciences & Humanities (coordinated by the Universität Zürich)
During the last semester of the programme, the students can engage in optional mobility and apply to study at one of the eight universities associated with the programme, which includes the six abovementioned degree-awarding partners and two mobility partners, the University of Edinburgh and Freie Universität Berlin. Being a joint programme means that the students will be formally enrolled at all of the degree-awarding partners and upon graduation, will be awarded a single, joint diploma.
Studies can be undertaken by people who hold:
- International secondary education document (a document entitling its holder to undertake first- or long-cycle studies in its country of issue),
- Polish Matura (2005–2025),
- International Baccalaureate Diploma,
- European Baccalaureate Diploma,
- Polish maturity certificate (issued up until 2005).
Qualified candidates must hold the document entitling them to undertake the studies at the time of the enrolment.
The programme is divided into three parts: Common Core, Track and Final Semester. All students take the same subjects during the first year of the programme (Common Core) and stay at the host university for the first two semesters – for the current edition of the programme, Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie will serve as the host university. Then, for semesters three, four and five, students disperse across six partner universities to follow one of the Tracks, each of which focuses on the perspective of a given discipline on sustainability studies. The Final Semester is designated for the writing and completion of a bachelor’s thesis, with optional student mobility to one of the eight universities associated with the programme also being available.
Semester 1
- Introduction to Economic Development
- Introduction to Environmental Challenges
- Introduction to Social Issues
- Introduction to Sustainability Dilemmas
- Basic Statistics
- Mathematical Tools for Sustainability
- Introduction to Research Design
- Scientific Information Acquistion
Semester 2
- Academic English: Research and Presentation
- Introduction to University Etiquette, Official Correspondence & Composition of Academic Texts
- Introduction to Environmental & Life Sciences
- Introduction to Sustainable Chemistry & Physics
- Introduction to Economics, Management & Engineering
- Introduction to Geography & Economics
- Introduction to Humanities & Social Science Perspective on Sustainability
- Introduction to Law & Politics of Sustainability
Track: Environmental & Life Sciences
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Life Systems | Ecology and Ecosystems | Water Resources |
| Earth System Science | Biodiversity and Conservation | Environmental Technology |
| Statistics for Environmental Sciences | Environmental Sustainability in the Field | Sustainable Management of Natural Resources |
| Sustainability in Food Production | ||
| Land Management | ||
| Environmental Assessment and Environmental Footprint |
Track: Sustainable Chemistry & Physics
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Earth System Interactions for Sustainable Future | Organic Chemistry | Future Materials for Sustainability |
| Mathematical Tools for Sustainable Chemistry & Physics | Interactions and Bodies | Renewable Energies |
| Inorganic Chemistry | Basics of Thermophysics | Physical Basis of Climate Change |
| Laboratory Works in Chemistry | Basics of Atmospheric Chemistry | |
| Sustainable Chemistry |
Track: Economics, Management, & Engineering
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Microeconomics | Energy Economics and EU ETS | Strategic Management & Sustainability |
| Behaviour Change | Materials: Properties, Selection and Sustainability | Sustainable Finance |
| Environmental Economics | Sustainable Energy Systems | Circular and Ecological Economics |
| Physics – Mechanical Energy and Thermodynamics | Supply Chain Management | |
| Econometrics | ||
| Applied Sustainability Assessment | ||
| Corporate Social Responsibility |
Track: Geography & Economics
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 |
|---|---|---|
| European Geosystems | Systemic Analysis of Environmental Issues 1 | Systemic Analysis of Environmental Issues 2 |
| Core Economics and Sustainable Development 1 | Core Economics and Sustainable Development 2 | Core Economics and Sustainable Development 3 |
| Techniques and Methods 1 | Techniques and Methods 2 | Econometrics and Impact Evaluation |
| Environmental Economics and Sustainable Finance | ||
| Sustainable Development | ||
| Spatializing and Modelling SDGs Indicators & Regional Narratives |
Track: Social Sciences & Humanities
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Sustainability Ethics | Anthropological Perspectives on Sustainable Development | Sustainable Research in Social Sciences and Humanities III |
| Sociology of Sustainability | Introduction to Sustainable Finance | Thematic focus – Justice, Responsibility, and Rights |
| Sustainability Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities I | Sustainability Research in Social Sciences and Humanities II | Thematic Focus – Cultures, Spaces, and Transformations |
| Disciplinary extension – Choice of courses from political science, philosophy, law, geography, and religious studies | Disciplinary extension – Choice of courses from political science, philosophy, law, geography, and religious studies | Thematic Focus – Social Structures, Actors, and Strategies |
| Thematic focus – Governance, Policies, and Politics |
Track: Law & Politics of Sustainability
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental and Energy Law & Politics | International Investment Law in the Context of Sustainability | Globalisation in the Context of Sustainability |
| International Trade Law in the Context of Sustainability | Private Law, Business, and Innovation | Ethics of Sustainability |
| Introduction to International Trade and Investment Law – workshops for interdisciplinary students | Legal Clinic 1 | Cultural Dimensions of Sustainability |
| New Frontiers in Jurisprudence | ||
| Scientific and Technological Developments in the Context of Sustainability | ||
| Legal Clinic 2 |
The Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS) programme has been accredited in accordance with the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes procedure by an international panel chaired by the Polish Accreditation Committee, which also issued the official accreditation documentation.
Throughout the programme, BASUS students will gain knowledge pertaining to various aspects of sustainability, from the physical basis of climate change, through sustainable development goals and circular economy, to its ethical paradigm, all of which are becoming increasingly pertinent across sectors. As the programme centres on an interdisciplinary and cross-cutting approach, BASUS graduates will be uniquely predisposed to foster and facilitate dialogue between disciplinary specialists.
Moreover, the programme’s supplementary emphasis on transversal skills, particularly language and communication skills, will ensure that the graduates have all the necessary competencies to find gainful employment both in the public and private sector, in positions such as Chief Sustainability Officer, Compliance Officer, Sustainability Consultant, Sustainability Communication Manager, and more.