Highlights:
- TAM Track I:
- Bath University, UK
- Carlos III University, Madrid
- Charles University, Prague
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Freie Universität Berlin
- Sciences Po, Paris
- University of Siena, Italy
- TAM Track II:
- VU University, Amsterdam
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
TAM’s Track I operates under the direction of a transatlantic consortium, which includes nine US and European universities: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Washington-Seattle, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Università degli Studi di Siena, Universidad Carlos III-Madrid, Charles University-Prague, Freie Universität-Berlin, the University of Bath, and Sciences Po-Paris. Institutional profiles follow below.
TAM's Track II includes the VU University Amsterdam. For more information about this institution, please see the information below and www.vuamsterdam.com/about_the_VU/
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) first welcomed students in 1795 and became the nation's first public university. With a population of over 50,000, UNC-CH ranks among the great institutions of higher education in the US. UNC's Political Science Department enjoys a strong reputation and is comprised of top-notch professors – many of whom specialize in comparative and European politics. The TAM Program is housed within UNC's Center for European Studies. This Center is also a EU Center of Excellence and serves as the network coordinator for all such centers based in the US.
The Center for European Studies at UNC-CH (CES) is one of only a handful of centers in the US currently recognized and funded both as an NRC and as a European Union Center funded by the European Commission. Our offerings are a testament to the strength of our programs in WE studies and to the research productivity of our WE faculty. Our Center promotes original research and data collection among faculty members and graduate students, funding the development of new WE undergraduate and graduate courses in the Arts and Sciences as well as in the professional schools, and contributing to the nation’s supply of specialists by organizing summer PhD workshops, a Languages Across the Curriculum Program, and curriculum development on Islamic Societies in Europe. The Center has also recently introduced a new undergraduate major in Contemporary European Studies.
University of Washington, Seattle
Founded in 1861, the University of Washington (UW) is the oldest state-assisted university on the Pacific coast. The campus commands magnificent views of Lake Washington, Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountains. The UW Library ranks among the top research libraries in North America and features a European Documentation Centre. UW hosts one of the seven federally funded National Resource Centers for European Studies and one of the ten EU-funded European Union Centers. It is the only university on the West Coast to feature both. Seattle boasts a profusion of international cultural facilities. The headquarters of both Microsoft and Boeing, it is also a vibrant centre of hi-tech industry. TAM students do not currently undertake coursework in Seattle.
VU University Amsterdam
VU University Amsterdam dates back to 1880. The campus and university hospital are located in the south-western section of Amsterdam. VU stands for "Vrije Universiteit" which means "Free University". In this context, the term "free" originally referred to the independence from church and state control. Today, the university strives to be "inspiring, innovative and involved" and seeks to "prepare students for an active role in society". Roughly 19,000 study at VU University Amsterdam each year within the institution's twelve faculties.
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
Freie Universität-Berlin
Berlin has long been one of the most exciting cultural centers in Europe. The two participating Universities reflect the history of the previously divided city: the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) was founded in 1948 as a rival to the communist-dominated University in the eastern sector of the city. Its Otto Suhr Institut has been the home of critical political
science for over 40 years. Following the radical changes of 1989/90, Humboldt Universität (HUB), in the historical heart of the city, underwent an ambitious program of restructuring. The newly-founded Faculty Institute of Social Sciences, which is highly professional and has a strong empirical base brings together political science and sociology. FUB and HUB cooperate closely on the Euromasters and Transatlantic Masters programs.
Università degli Studi di Siena
The University of Siena, founded in 1240, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. It is situated in the heart of one of the most beautiful and best preserved medieval towns in Italy and serves a population of roughly 20,000 students. The Euromasters / TAM courses, designed exclusively for a small number of incoming students, draw on staff from the Faculties of Law (which includes the Department of Political Science), Letters and Economics, and also host specialist Faculty drawn from other institutions. The university library is one of the best-stocked in Italy.
Charles University, Prague
The oldest university in central Europe, Charles University was founded in 1348 by Charles IV, then Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Today, Charles University enrolls over 47,000 Czech students and over 4,500 international students who study in 17 different faculties. The Faculty of Social Sciences was created in 1990 through a fundamental reorganisation of the former Faculty of Journalism. It is the second youngest faculty of Charles University. Its main goal is to develop teaching and research in those aspects of the social sciences, which (directly or indirectly) relate to the public administration, or to the economic and cultural life of society.
University of Bath
The University of Bath's campus is located about a mile from the centre of Bath, a World Heritage City. Founded in 1966, Bath University is one of the UK's leading universities, with an international reputation for research and teaching of the highest academic caliber. Roughly 13,000 students enroll in Bath University each year. The Department of European Studies and Modern Languages serves as the home base of Euromasters (EM), TAM's sister program. The Department was awarded a grade 5 in the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), and is one of the leading centres for European Studies in the country.
Universidad Carlos III Madrid
The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, named after the reform-minded Bourbon king of the 18th century, is a young public university of 10,000 students. The Getafe campus contains the School of Law and Social Sciences, and the School of Humanities and Communication, as well as the President's office. Getafe is 12 kilometres south of Madrid. It has frequent bus and rail connections to central Madrid. A combination of 19th-century buildings and contemporary architectural design make Getafe a particularly pleasant place to study.
Sciences Po, Paris
Sciences Po was founded in 1872 and has long sought to train a merit-based elite for leadership. S-P now enrolls about 7500 students each year. Its campus is composed of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mansions, located in Paris' St-Germain district. In the words of its Director, Richard Descoings, S-P seeks to cultivate "imagination, the capacity for invention and innovation, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances" in its students.
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
The Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) was founded in 1990. This public university is located in Catalonia. The institution, in the center of Barcelona, has grown to include 7,000 students. Committed to civic values and research, UPF takes its name from an individual who worked to standardize the modern Catalan language. Pompeu Fabra (1868-1948) wrote many texts such as Normes ortogràfiques (Spelling Rules) and Gramàtica catalana (Catalan Grammar) as well as the 1932 Diccionari general de la llengua catalana (General Dictionary of the Catalan Language).
Barcelona, with a population of about 1.5 million, is a vibrant European city located on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital of Catalonia and Spain’s second largest city.