MA in European Studies
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
09 Mar 2025*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 27,996 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* first application deadline
** UK students: £12,468 per year | International students: £27,996 per year
Introduction
Our European Studies MA course will give you a detailed understanding of the politics, history, economy and societies of Europe. As a full-time student, you may also take either a French or German pathway, which offers you the opportunity to complete a master’s degree within a year while taking modules abroad. Places on these pathways have separate capacity restrictions.
Key benefits
- Develop an in-depth understanding of the major interests, institutions and ideas that shape the politics, economics and societies of Europe
- Study Europe from a variety of perspectives in an interdisciplinary programme hosted by an interdisciplinary department
- Study at a world-class institution, ranked 13th in the world, and 5th in Europe, for politics by the 2023 QS World University Rankings
- Learn from world-leading scholars who contributed greatly to King’s College London being ranked first in the United Kingdom for research power in the field of politics and international relations in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework according to Times Higher Education
- If you are on the French or German pathways, this MA offers you the chance to spend your second semester in a prestigious institution in France or Germany. Our current partners are the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris and the Humboldt Universität in Berlin
Course essentials
Through this course, we offer you an in-depth analysis of major scholarly debates in history, politics, political thought, political economy and international relations of Europe, both within and beyond the European Union. You will study a range of approaches to the topic on one of the two required modules, and then choose from a wide range of specialist modules covering specific regions or issues relating to contemporary Europe, such as EU foreign policy, immigration, economic governance, political economy, lobbying and policy making, nationalism and the EU, Russia, or the EU and Asia.
If you choose the General Pathway, you will spend your whole time with us. If you choose either the French or German Pathway, you will spend your second semester abroad. The overseas institutions will provide a wide range of modules allowing you to further deepen your knowledge of both European and host country institutions, politics and policies.
The course is ideally suited for anyone with a degree in European Studies, Politics, International Relations or International Political Economy. We also welcome graduates from other disciplines in the Humanities, the Social Sciences and Law, as well as those from a professional background.
This course is primarily taught at the King's College London Strand Campus. Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary.
Duration: One year full-time, September to September, two years part-time
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
Required modules
General pathway
Full-time students are required to take:
- Research Design (15 credits)
and either - European Union: History, Institutions and Politics (15 credits)
OR - European Identities and the EU (15 credits)
All students must also take:
- European Studies Dissertation (60 credits)
and 90 credits of optional modules (see below)
French or German pathway
Students must take:
- Research Design (15 credits)
and either - European Union: History, Institutions and Politics (15 credits)
OR - European Identities and the EU (15 credits)
All students must take
- European Studies Dissertation (60 credits)
and 30 credits of optional modules offered in semester 1 and equivalent to 60 KCL credits of optional modules while studying abroad
Part-time
As a part-time student you are required to take one of the 15 credit modules during Year 1, the 15 credits Research Design and Methods module and the 60 credit Dissertation module in Year 2:
- European Union: History, Institutions and Politics (15 credits)
or - European Identities and the EU (15 credits)
and - Research Design (15 credits)
- Dissertation (60 credits)
Optional modules
In addition, you are required to take a range of optional modules totalling 90 credits over the two years.
Part-time students can only follow the General Pathway which means they study at King’s College for the duration of their programme.
The range of optional modules may typically include:
- Foreign Policies of the European Union (15 credits)
- Democratic Legitimacy of International Cooperation (15 credits)
- Capitalism, liberalism and democracy (15 credits)
- European Union: History, Institutions and Politics (15 credits)
- The Political Economy of International Migration (15 credits)
- Global Politics: Transatlantic, Transpacific and Eurasia (15 credits)
- Lobbying and Policy Making in the EU (15 credits)
- International Political Economy of Energy Markets (15 credits)
- The Political Economy of Europe: Political Science Perspectives (15 credits)
- Research Methods for Social Sciences (15 credits)
- Platform capitalism: platform firms and the state (15 credits)
- States and Citizens in Political Anthropology (15 credits) (Only for general pathway)
- The International Political Economy of Production (15 credits)
- The Middle East In The Global Political Economy (15 credits)
- The European Union & Global Capitalism (15 credits)
- Power and Poverty in Africa-EU Relations (15 credits)
- Foreign Policy Analysis (15 credits)
- Global Governance & International Organisations (15 credits)
- Political Economy of Development in Muslim Societies (15 credits)
- The Political Economy of Development (15 credits)
- The Political Economy of the Financial Crisis (15 credits)
- The Politics of Economic Inequality (15 credits)
- Comparative Capitalism: Eastern & Western Models (15 credits)
- Quantitative Research Methods (15 credits)
- Lived Democracy (15 credits)
- Postcolonial Political Economy (15 credits)
- Multinational Corporations and Global Supply Chains (15 credits)
- Evaluating Public Policy (15 credits) [Political Economy]
- Liberty, Equality and Justice: Political Theory and Public Policy (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Media Elections and Campaigning (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- From Blair to Brexit: Britain since 1997 (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- The Political Economy of Corruption (15 credits) [Political Economy]
- Gender Politics and Public Policy (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- The New Political Economy of the Media (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Ethics and Public Policy (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Business and Politics (15 credits)
- Comparative Political Economy (15 credits) [Political Economy]
- Quantitative Methods in Political Economy (15 credits) [Political Economy]
- The Political Economy of Organised Crime (15 credits)
- Institutions and Economic Development (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Economic History (15 credits)
- Political Economy of Discrimination (15 credits)
- Experimental Economics (15 credits)
- The Political Economy of Economic Ideas (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Climate Change Economics and Policy (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Climate policy and global energy transitions (15 credits)
- The Political Effects of Climate Change (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Parties, Voters and Political Culture in Britain 1945-2010 (15 credits)
- Britain & Europe Since 1945 (15 credits) [Political Economy]
- Election Campaigning Public Opinion and Politics in Britain (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- Islam, Politics & Society (15 credits) [Political Economy]
- People, Protest and Mobilisation: Exploring Social Movement Theory (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
- African Crisis and Opportunity (15 credits)
- Gender, Society and Development (15 credits) [Department of International Development]
- Advanced Quantitative Methods for Causal Inference (15 credits) [Department of International Development]
- Advanced Qualitative Methods (15 credits) [Department of International Development]
- Industrial Economics and International Development (15 credits) [Department of International Development]
- Displacement and Development in the Contemporary Era (15 credits)
- Environment and Development: Crises, Power, and Transformations (15 credits)
- Money and Financial Crisis in Global Perspective (15 Credits)
- Contemporary Brazil (15 credits) [King’s Brazil Institute]
- Contemporary India (15 credits)
- India in Global Politics (15 credits)
- Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change in China (15 credits)
- Doing Business in China (15 credits)
- China's International Relations (15 credits)
- China's International Relations, 1949-Present (15 credits)
- Contemporary Chinese Society: Change and Transformation (15 credits)
- China and Global Governance (15 credits) [Lau China Institute]
- Contemporary Chinese Politics (15 credits)
- Open Markets and Barriers to Trade: The EU Model for Integrating Private and Public Markets your European Internal Market (15 credits) [School of Law]
- Divided Cities, Contested States: Urban Violence and Transformation in the Middle East (15 credits) [School of Security Studies]
- Disruptive Technology and the Global Order (15 credits)
- Ethics in International Relations (15 credits) [School of Security Studies]
- The United States and China (15 credits)
- Cyber Security: Privacy, Ethics and Human Rights (15 credits) [School of Security Studies]
- Oil, Gas & Modernization in Russia (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
- Politics of Energy Security in Eurasia (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
- Governance and Economic Growth in Transition (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
- Contemporary Ukrainian Politics & Policy (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
- Russia’s War in Ukraine (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
- New & Emerging Security Threats in Post-Soviet Eurasia (15 credits)
- Russia and the European Union (15 credits)
- Clandestine Side of Globalisation: Organised Crime, Terrorism and Corruption (15 credits)
Students may also take a non-assessed 15-credit language module from the King's Language Centre.
King’s College London reviews the modules offered regularly to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, the modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.
Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place for all students who elect to study this module.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Students undertaking this course will be ideally placed to work in European institutions, but also in government and international organisations, particularly in departments working on European affairs. In the private sector, our graduates have a strong track record of finding employment in business (including but not limited to the City), consultancy, recruitment and the media. Some of our graduates carry on with their studies, undertaking doctoral research at King’s or other prestigious universities.