Studies in English at Collegium Civitas

BA and MA Programs in English
 
These programs are addressed to those who plan on pursuing careers which require a good command of written and spoken English. Thus they should be considered by international students, foreign nationals living in Warsaw and Poles planning careers in international organizations, research or business as well as Poles living abroad who are considering relocating to Poland and wish to ease their reintegration into Polish society. English has become the international language of social sciences and is now invaluable for a successful professional career and for making scholarly contributions. The studying of social and political sciences requires a firm grasp of current literature, most which is available only in English. No social scientist or international relations analyst is able to succeed without the ability to write clearly and engagingly in English. We believe that the best strategy to meet these challenges is to study in English, rather than trying to master the English language as an entirely separate endeavor. Programs are offered exclusively in English or in a combination of Polish and English language classes. Intensive courses of Polish as a foreign language are available to international students.
 
The courses in English held at Collegium Civitas are not a gratuitous tribute to recent fashion or simply a translated analogue of the courses taught in Polish. They constitute a separate track of study, on which students not only forge their communicative skills in English - thus becoming fully prepared to undertake careers within international organizations and enterprises - but also acquire special knowledge on distinctive subjects from experts at the frontline of theoretical and experimental research in social sciences.

 
Studies in English at Collegium Civitas are comprised of two departments: the Department of International Relations and the Department of Political Science. The departments' faculties embrace lecturers and researchers who are the University's employees, as well as those who work at the Polish Academy of Sciences. The Departments also attract visiting professors from different universities, located from Japan to the United States. Both Departments pursue two primary goals in the creation of their study programs and curricula: to provide solid and comprehensive education in a given field of social sciences and to ensure that students are made conversant with the most topical and significant issues of the modern world.
 
Within Studies in English, potential students may apply twice a year for a place on one of four degree programs:
 

• 2-year MA in International Relations
• 2-year MA in Political Science
• 3-year BA in International Relations
• 3-year BA in Political Science

Upon being accepted as a student by Collegium Civitas, the student will be required to complete 180 credit points if she is a student of the First Cycle (i.e. enrolled on one of the 3-year BA degree programs) or 120 credits points if she is a student of the Second Cycle (i.e. enrolled on one of the 2-year MA degree programs).
 
All courses held within both the Department of International Relations and the Department of Political Science fall into two groups: obligatory and elective. The obligatory courses are usually introductory courses (especially during the first year of study), basic courses, and advanced and specialist courses. The specialist courses are compulsory for students who have chosen their specialization.

For the 2010/2011 academic year, the Department of International Relations is offering three specialization topics, in European Union, Diplomacy, and Strategic Studies, while the Department of Political Science is running five specialization topics, in Globalization, Political Leadership, Studies of Totalitarian Regimes, Comparative Politics and Political Communication. The choice of specialization is contingent upon the choice of a thesis topic. Thus, a students first decides on her/his thesis topic, and then she/he is assigned a supervisor who is a specialist in a given area.
 
Elective courses may earn fewer credit points than obligatory courses, particularly the advanced courses. Collegium Civitas adheres to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). On average, each course completed gains for the student a total of four credit points. The duration of an average course is thirty academic hours, resulting in classes being held once a week for two hours during any given semester. There is an increasing, albeit still small, number of 15-hour courses, which run over half a semester.
 

Apart from the obligatory and elective courses, there are also mandatory language courses worth two credit points each. Students are required to take and complete courses in two different foreign languages during their period of study at Collegium Civitas as MA students and in one foreign language as BA students. Physical education is mandatory during the second year of BA studies and it earns two credit points. The writing and submitting of either a BA or MA thesis provide a student with additional credit points, 10 or 20 respectively. Within one semester a student is required to collect a minimum of 27 and maximum of 33 credit points.