Course of Study
One Program, Two Degrees
The TransAtlantic Masters program offers a dual degree structure, in which students receive one degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, and one degree from a partner university. Below, we present a breakdown of each track by semester, with course offerings from relevant partner universities for each track.
Semester 1
In the first semester of TAM, all students take core courses to build expertise in the European Institutions, the transatlantic relationship, and research methods, and are also free to take an elective of their choice.
3 Credits
Instructor: Christiane Lemke
Christiane Lemke has been a professor of political science at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, where she was Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Science. She also held the Max Weber Chair at New York University (2010-14). Professor Lemke received her Ph.D. from the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Free University in Berlin and went on to earn her Habilitation Venia legendi in Political Science from the same institution. Professor Lemke has been a visiting scholar at a number of US institutions over the years as she has maintained her permanent faculty positions in Germany. She has taught courses at UNC-Chapel Hill, Stanford University, Harvard University, and Suffolk University. In addition, while on a leave from the University of Hannover from 2006 to 2007, Professor Lemke served as the Director of State Parliament, Lower Saxony. Professor Lemke’s academic areas of expertise include: European Politics, Democracy and Governance in the EU, Transatlantic Relations, Comparative Politics and Political Theory, and American Politics. She is the author/editor of numerous books and articles, including: Internationale Beziehungen: Grundkonzepte, Theorien und Problemfelder, 3rd ed. (International Relations: Concepts, Theories, and Key Issues, 2012); Richtungswechsel. Politik der Obama-Administration (Change: Reform Politics of the Obama-Administration, 2011); Europäische Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (European Foreign and Security Policy, 2010), Menschenrechte und Migration (Human Rights and Migration, 2009).
This seminar will introduce you to key concepts and developments of European integration and critically assess the evolution of the European Union. We will begin with major concepts and theories of integration, then explore the institutions and finally analyze key policies of the EU. Each week we will also discuss current developments in Europe and the European Union such as the impact of the Brexit-decision, migration, health, and populism. Questions we will address in the seminar include: How has the meaning of Europe changed over time? Why do states transfer sovereignty to the European level? What is the role of EU institutions? How does the EU cope with current challenges such as the pandemic and the democratic backlash in some member countries? How are transatlantic relations changing? The format of the class includes introductory lectures, student’s presentations and project work. Please be prepared to actively participate in class. There may also be some special features such as guest lectures.
3 Credits
Professor: Liesbet Hooghe – https://politicalscience.unc.edu/staff/liesbet-hooghe/
Liesbet Hooghe is the W.R Kenan Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Research Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence. She was born and educated in Belgium (KU Leuven), taught at the University of Toronto (1994-2000), and moved to Chapel Hill in 2000. Hooghe has had fellowships & visiting professorships at Cornell University; Nuffield, Oxford; the EUI, Florence; the WZB Berlin; VU Amsterdam; Konstanz University; Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg Delmenhorst; Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona; IAS Vienna; Sciences Po-Paris; the Free University of Berlin. She is a former chair of the European Politics & Society section of the APSA and of the European Union Studies Association. In 2017 she received the APSA Daniel Elazar Distinguished Federalism Scholar Award. Hooghe is PI of a five-year advanced European Research Grant, Transnational – local triggers, social networks, and group identities (2021-2025), which seeks to explain political polarization in Europe and the US. The project is hosted at the RSCAS, EUI.
Hooghe’s research and teaching are chiefly in comparative politics, multilevel governance, international organization, political behavior, and measurement. She has published in the leading journals of political science. From 2010 to 2015, she was co-leading with Gary Marks an ERC-funded project on multilevel governance, summarized in four books published by Oxford University Press, Measuring Regional Authority (2016), Community, Scale and Regional Governance (2016), Measuring International Authority (2017), and A Theory of International Organization (2019).
1 Credit
Instructor: Professor Priscilla Layne
This weekly lecture series draws primarily on the expertise of US-based faculty. Topics focus on EU and/or US foreign and domestic politics as well as on contemporary transatlantic relations. Each week, one or two TAM students are required to research the upcoming topic and speaker; these students introduce the lecturer and lead the discussion following the talk. TAM students also participate in an online discussion forum focused on the lectures.
POLI882_Syllabus_Fall2023
3 Credits
This class is part of a two-semester sequence focused on statistics, methods and research skills.
Professor: Holger Moroff
Holger Moroff is in the UNC-CH Department of Political Science. He has served as DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor at Carolina, and has taught international and comparative politics at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Before that, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for European Politics (IEP) in Berlin. He studied Political Science and Economics at Washington University in St. Louis and the universities of Bochum and Bonn. His research focuses on security theories and European integration as well as on comparative political corruption and the internationalization of anti-corruption regimes. He is the editor of the book “European soft security policies”, co-editor of “Anti-corruption for Eastern Europe” and has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and edited volumes.
Course Overview
This class will introduce students to critical thinking and enable them to apply analytical tools to better understand real-world problems. It introduces students to writing and research techniques that help answer questions in the fields of international and transatlantic relations, comparative politics, and policy analysis. These include how to read published research; collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data; communicate research results; distinguish between empirical, normative, ideological, theoretical, and ethical questions; formulate research questions; and construct an argument. Students will be able to use these techniques to guide their graduate writing and thesis research.
- GEOG 410 – Modeling of Environmental Systems; Prof Song – slight overlap with POLI 882 but doable; MWF 1:25 to 2:15pm
- GEOG 453 – Political Geography; Prof Kirsh; TuTh 12:30 to 1:45pm
- GEOG 470 – Political Ecology: Geographical Perspectives – MoWeFr 1:25PM – 2:15PM Professor to be announced
- HIST 783 – Introduction to Russian, Eurasian, and East European History; Prof. Tasar; Th 5:00PM – 7:30PM
- ECON 440 – Analysis of Public Finance; Prof. Gong; TuTh 3:30PM – 4:45PM
- ECON 468 – Socialism, Planning, and the Contemporary Russian Economy; Prof. ROSEFIELDE; TuTh 8:00AM – 9:15AM
- ENVR 451 – Introduction to Environmental Modeling; Prof. WILLIAM VIZUETE TuTh 2:00PM – 3:15PM
- PUBH 711 – Critical Issues in Global Health; Prof. Marie Lina Excellent and Prof. Karar Ahsan; TuTh 5:00PM – 6:30PM
- POLI 411: Civil Liberties in the US; Prof. McGuire; TuTh 2 to 3:15pm
- POLI 416: Constitutional Policies and the Judicial Process; Prof. Unah; TuTh 2 to 3:15pm
- POLI 432: Comparative Tolerance; Prof. Searing; W 12:20 to 3:10pm
- POLI 444: Terrorism and International Peace; Prof. Bapat; TuTh 12:30 to 1:45pm
- POLI 442: International Political Economy; Prof. Lim; TuTh 3:30 to 4:45pm
- POLI 448: Multilevel Governance; Prof. Hooghe; TuTh 3:30 to 4:45pm
Semester 2
In their second semester, dual degree candidates take a core course in research methodology. Students also have the opportunity to specialize in climate policy in this semester, or pursue other interests with a variety of electives.
Semester 3
Dual degree candidates move from Chapel Hill to their European partner site in year 2, beginning in their third semester. Students can choose one of four partner sites, and have the opportunity to continue a concentration in climate policy in Barcelona, Berlin, or Gothenburg.
- Comparative and European Social Policy
- Social Movements
- Research Internship
- Education Policy and Social Development: Comparative Perspectives
- Youth Unemployment and Labor Market in the EU
- Social movements, democratic participation and transformative politics
- Political actors engaging for the ”rule of law” – the context of EU-enlargement
- Facets of Europeanization
- Cities in states of emergency
- Agricultural policy research
- Intersections of literary and policy climate change perspectives
- Institutional Economics
- Agri-environmental policies
- Research and Data Analysis Seminar
- Fundamentals of Political and Social Research
- Techniques of Statistical Analysis
- Global Environmental Change and Governance
- Governance of Migration
- Comparative Research on Migrations
- European Environment and Energy (15 ECTS credits, code EU2210)
- Europe in the World (15 ECTS credits, code EU2215)
- Social Europe (15 ECTS credits, code EU2220)
- Central or Eastern Europe: Fully European or the European ’Other’? (15 ECTS credits, code EU2131)
- European Integration: Current Research and Theory (5 ECTS credits, code EU2121)
- Integrating European Markets (10 ECTS credits, code EU2120)
- Master Thesis for European Studies (30 ECTS credits, code EU2500)
- European Environment and Energy
- Environmental Governance and Behavior
Thesis Semesters
In most cases, TAM students seeking the dual degree may need to stay at their overseas site for the full academic year overseas, typically through August, or the end of UNC’s Summer Session II.
Semester 1
In the first semester of TAM, all students take core courses to build expertise in the European Institutions, the transatlantic relationship, and are also free to take an elective of their choice. Single degree-seekers are not required to take statistics.
3 Credits
Instructor: Christiane Lemke
Christiane Lemke has been a professor of political science at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, where she was Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Science. She also held the Max Weber Chair at New York University (2010-14). Professor Lemke received her Ph.D. from the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Free University in Berlin and went on to earn her Habilitation Venia legendi in Political Science from the same institution. Professor Lemke has been a visiting scholar at a number of US institutions over the years as she has maintained her permanent faculty positions in Germany. She has taught courses at UNC-Chapel Hill, Stanford University, Harvard University, and Suffolk University. In addition, while on a leave from the University of Hannover from 2006 to 2007, Professor Lemke served as the Director of State Parliament, Lower Saxony. Professor Lemke’s academic areas of expertise include: European Politics, Democracy and Governance in the EU, Transatlantic Relations, Comparative Politics and Political Theory, and American Politics. She is the author/editor of numerous books and articles, including: Internationale Beziehungen: Grundkonzepte, Theorien und Problemfelder, 3rd ed. (International Relations: Concepts, Theories, and Key Issues, 2012); Richtungswechsel. Politik der Obama-Administration (Change: Reform Politics of the Obama-Administration, 2011); Europäische Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (European Foreign and Security Policy, 2010), Menschenrechte und Migration (Human Rights and Migration, 2009).
This seminar will introduce you to key concepts and developments of European integration and critically assess the evolution of the European Union. We will begin with major concepts and theories of integration, then explore the institutions and finally analyze key policies of the EU. Each week we will also discuss current developments in Europe and the European Union such as the impact of the Brexit-decision, migration, health, and populism. Questions we will address in the seminar include: How has the meaning of Europe changed over time? Why do states transfer sovereignty to the European level? What is the role of EU institutions? How does the EU cope with current challenges such as the pandemic and the democratic backlash in some member countries? How are transatlantic relations changing? The format of the class includes introductory lectures, student’s presentations and project work. Please be prepared to actively participate in class. There may also be some special features such as guest lectures.
3 Credits
Professor: Liesbet Hooghe – https://politicalscience.unc.edu/staff/liesbet-hooghe/
Liesbet Hooghe is the W.R Kenan Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Research Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence. She was born and educated in Belgium (KU Leuven), taught at the University of Toronto (1994-2000), and moved to Chapel Hill in 2000. Hooghe has had fellowships & visiting professorships at Cornell University; Nuffield, Oxford; the EUI, Florence; the WZB Berlin; VU Amsterdam; Konstanz University; Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg Delmenhorst; Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona; IAS Vienna; Sciences Po-Paris; the Free University of Berlin. She is a former chair of the European Politics & Society section of the APSA and of the European Union Studies Association. In 2017 she received the APSA Daniel Elazar Distinguished Federalism Scholar Award. Hooghe is PI of a five-year advanced European Research Grant, Transnational – local triggers, social networks, and group identities (2021-2025), which seeks to explain political polarization in Europe and the US. The project is hosted at the RSCAS, EUI.
Hooghe’s research and teaching are chiefly in comparative politics, multilevel governance, international organization, political behavior, and measurement. She has published in the leading journals of political science. From 2010 to 2015, she was co-leading with Gary Marks an ERC-funded project on multilevel governance, summarized in four books published by Oxford University Press, Measuring Regional Authority (2016), Community, Scale and Regional Governance (2016), Measuring International Authority (2017), and A Theory of International Organization (2019).
1 Credit
Instructor: Professor Priscilla Layne
This weekly lecture series draws primarily on the expertise of US-based faculty. Topics focus on EU and/or US foreign and domestic politics as well as on contemporary transatlantic relations. Each week, one or two TAM students are required to research the upcoming topic and speaker; these students introduce the lecturer and lead the discussion following the talk. TAM students also participate in an online discussion forum focused on the lectures.
POLI882_Syllabus_Fall2023
- GEOG 410 – Modeling of Environmental Systems; Prof Song – slight overlap with POLI 882 but doable; MWF 1:25 to 2:15pm
- GEOG 453 – Political Geography; Prof Kirsh; TuTh 12:30 to 1:45pm
- GEOG 470 – Political Ecology: Geographical Perspectives – MoWeFr 1:25PM – 2:15PM Professor to be announced
- HIST 783 – Introduction to Russian, Eurasian, and East European History; Prof. Tasar; Th 5:00PM – 7:30PM
- ECON 440 – Analysis of Public Finance; Prof. Gong; TuTh 3:30PM – 4:45PM
- ECON 468 – Socialism, Planning, and the Contemporary Russian Economy; Prof. ROSEFIELDE; TuTh 8:00AM – 9:15AM
- ENVR 451 – Introduction to Environmental Modeling; Prof. WILLIAM VIZUETE TuTh 2:00PM – 3:15PM
- PUBH 711 – Critical Issues in Global Health; Prof. Marie Lina Excellent and Prof. Karar Ahsan; TuTh 5:00PM – 6:30PM
- POLI 411: Civil Liberties in the US; Prof. McGuire; TuTh 2 to 3:15pm
- POLI 416: Constitutional Policies and the Judicial Process; Prof. Unah; TuTh 2 to 3:15pm
- POLI 432: Comparative Tolerance; Prof. Searing; W 12:20 to 3:10pm
- POLI 444: Terrorism and International Peace; Prof. Bapat; TuTh 12:30 to 1:45pm
- POLI 442: International Political Economy; Prof. Lim; TuTh 3:30 to 4:45pm
- POLI 448: Multilevel Governance; Prof. Hooghe; TuTh 3:30 to 4:45pm
- POLI 788:Statistics & Data Analysis; Prof. Moroff
Semester 2
In their second semester, single-degree students can go abroad to one of four partner sites, or remain at UNC. Students also have the option to specialize in German-Turkish studies at UNC-Chapel Hill or Middle East Technical University in Ankara.
- Organized Crime in Europe
- International security
- Economic Foreign Policy and International Trade Regulation
- Theories of Conflict and Conflict Resolution
- Britain and Europe
- International Organizations in World Politics
- The Politics of Risk
- Migration and International Politics
- Die Europäische Union: Policy-Making in Zeiten von Finanz und Flüchtlingskrise (The European Union: Policy Making in Times of Financial and Refugee Crisis)
- Die Außenpolitik de EU: Probleme von Erfolg und Misserfolg (The Foreign Policy of the EU: Problems and Success and Failure)
- Die Türkei und die EU: Herausforderungen und Gelegenheiten (Turkey and the EU: Challenges and Opportunities)
- Europeanisation of public policies
- Politiques européennes de l’environnement
- Droit social de l’Union européenne
- Contentieux européen
- Economic Governance
- EU External Action
- Welfare State in Europe
- GEOG 448: Transnational Muslims
- Independent Study in German-Turkish Studies
- Security in Turkey; Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and Eurasia
- German-Turkish Joint Seminar
Semester 3
In their third semester, single-degree students can remain at their partner site, or move to a different parter site, with the additional option of University of Siena. Students specializing in German-Turkish studies continue their studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
- Comparative European Politics
- Memory Culture – Memory Politics
- Governance, Security and Development in East and South East Asia
- Russian Politics in Comparative Perspective
- The Cultures of Globalization
- International Terrorism
- Foreign Policy Analysis
- International Relations Theories
- International Security: Theories and Concepts
- Scopes and Methods of Politics and International Relations
- Comparative Public Policy and Social Welfare: Cross-National, European and Global Perspectives
- Redrawing the political map of Europe
- Theories and Practices of Political Participation
- Erfolge und Grenzen der Mittelmeerpolitik (Successes and limits of Mediterranean Policy)
- Contemporary Germany: Institutions, Actors and Political Change
- Theory and Methods of Migration Policy
- Turkey and the EU: Challenges and Opportunities The Current Refugee Crisis in Europe: Causes, Trends, Debates and Policies European Language Policy and Language Education Policy
- Migration, State, Citizenship
- Research Questions and Research Design – How to Prepare the MA Thesis
- Facets of Democratic Theory and Practices in Europe
- Contemporary Institutions, Actors and Political Change
- Governing Wider Europe
- International Institutional Reform and Domestic Politics
- Public Opinion in the EU
- Interest groups and collective action in the EU
- Parliaments and Parties in the EU
- Les entreprises et les sociétés dans l’Union européenne
- Séminaire EU Law and Politics
- The Relations between Europe and the US Since World War II
- Global Governance and the European Scenario Fragile States, Political Islam, and Migrations from Africa: Western Strategies and African Perspectives
- Political Change and Ideological Challenge in Inter-War Europe
- Organized Crime in Italy and Beyond
Thesis Semesters
In most cases, TAM students seeking the single degree may complete their thesis research at any partner site of their choice, typically graduating in May of their second year, in line with US academic calendars.