Study Regulations
for the post-graduate Master's programme in
"Baltic Sea Region Studies"

In accordance with § 17 of the Provisional Constitution of the Humboldt University of Berlin (Amtliches Mitteilungsblatt der HUB Nr. 08/2002), the Faculty Council issued the following Study Regulations for the post-graduate Master's programme in "Baltic Sea Region Studies."

§ 1 Applicability

These Study Regulations standardise the goals, the content and the structure of the post-graduate Master's programme in "Baltic Sea Region Studies" at the Nordeuropa-Institut of the Philosophische Fakultät II of the Humboldt University of Berlin. The post-graduate Master's programme in "Baltic Area Studies" is being offered by the Humboldt University in co-operation with the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald and the international partner universities: the University of Gdansk, the University of Vilnius, the University of Latvia (Riga), the University of Tartu, the University of Helsinki, the University of Turku, Södertörns Högskola (Stockholm) as well as the University of Copenhagen. Additional universities may join at a later time after receiving the consent of all the currently participating universities.

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§ 2 Admissions Commission

(1) Preliminary selection and decisions concerning admission to the programme in accordance with the Admissions Regulations for the post-graduate programme in "Baltic Sea Region Studies", as well as the organisation of the tasks identified by the Examination Regulations, are the responsibility of the Admissions Commission in accordance with § 1 of the Study Regulations. The Admissions Commission is made up of one professor from the Humboldt University, the project director of the Ostsee-Kolleg in Berlin, one professor from the partner universities, one co-ordinator of the post-graduate Master's programme as well as one student. The members are appointed by the Faculty Council for the period of one year. The Commission makes its decisions on the basis of a simple majority.

(2) The Admissions Commission appoints a chairperson from among the professors.

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§ 3 Structure and scope of the post-graduate Master's programme

(1) In accordance with § 2 of the Examination Regulations, the post-graduate Master's programme in "Baltic Sea Region Studies" has a duration of twelve months and is divided into three trimesters. It begins on the first of January of each respective year. In the first two trimesters the students participate in courses which are described in the Curriculum (appendices 1-4). The writing and defence of the Master's thesis are planned for the third trimester (see Curriculum, appendices 1-4).

(2) In the first trimester, all students will jointly participate in the two modules of the introductory phase, which are intended to impart basic knowledge on the history, politics, economics, culture and media of the Baltic Sea Region.

(3) In the second trimester, following the joint Module 3, students will specialise in politics/culture or economics. In the alternatively chosen Modules 4 or 5, individual and regionally specific questions will be examined in detail and solutions will be developed within the framework of topically related seminars and project papers. This leads to a deepening of the students' knowledge of the Baltic Sea Region.

(4) In the third trimester a written Master's thesis is written which corresponds to the demands of scientific studies on a self-chosen topic and thus provides evidence of both the students' regional knowledge and their ability to pursue independent scientific research.

(5) The students complete the post-graduate Master's programme in "Baltic Sea Region Studies" at the Humboldt University of Berlin. The "Ostsee-Kolleg Berlin" project, which operates at the Nordeuropa-Institut, co-ordinates the one-year full-time programme and the teaching capacities granted to it by the partner universities. The programme of studies is assembled from the courses of the partner universities. Doctoral students (at least one year), junior professors (for six months to two years) and visiting professors (for up to three months) from the partner universities as well as adjunct professors are invited to Berlin to offer courses to the Master's students.

(6) The post-graduate Master's programme in "Baltic Area Studies" is designed on a modular basis and has a total scope of 1,800 working hours. This corresponds to 60 Study Points (SP). 20 Study Points devolve to the first, second and third trimester respectively. One study point corresponds to 30 hours of study time for the students.

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§ 4 Programme goals

The specific programme goals are:

• the imparting of knowledge on both the historical and current political, economic and cultural conditions of the Baltic Sea Region in regard to the regionalisation of Europe,
• the imparting of knowledge on the changing patterns of national and international co-operation among the states surrounding the Baltic Sea,
• the imparting of knowledge on political, economic and other forms of co-operation as well as on the region's future perspectives,
• qualifying students for professional fields requiring regionally specific knowledge,
• qualifying students for interdisciplinary scholarly work,
• qualifying students for intercultural communication and co-operation within a European framework,
• preparing students for career activity in politics, economics, administration and media within a European framework.

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§ 5 Structure of course offerings

(1) In order to achieve the study goals, the course offerings have been structured as follows:

1st Trimester (20 SP) - Introductory phase
This phase consists of two modules:
Module 1: Historical Developments in the Baltic Sea Region (6 SP)
Module 2: Basic Regional Knowledge in Politics, Culture, Economics and Media (14 SP)

2nd Trimester (20 SP) - Deepening phase
This phase consists of two modules:
Module 3: Regions and Regionalism: Theoretical Introduction (8 SP)
Module 4: Specialisation I: Politics and Culture (12 SP)
Or as an alternative to Module 4
Module 5: Specialisation II: Economics (12 SP)

3rd Trimester (20 SP) - Completion phase
This phase consists of one Module:
Module 6: Final paper: Master's thesis (16 SP), defence (2 SP), research colloquium (2 SP)

(2) Modules 1 to 3 serve to equalise the knowledge of the students of one graduating class, to impart basic knowledge of the history, politics, culture and economics of the Baltic Sea Region as well as to make practical application of methodological knowledge. Modules 4 or 5 serve to specialise knowledge.

(3) All teaching units of the 1st and 2nd trimester are either mandatory or elective courses. As a general rule, the language of instruction and examination is English. The sequence, distribution and scope of the modules and courses can be seen in the Curriculum (appendices 1-4). The courses are conducted in varying teaching forms appropriate to the subject of study (lectures, introductory courses, basic courses, advanced seminars, colloquia). The instructors are scholars and persons from selected practical fields from Germany and the partner universities of the neighbouring Baltic states. Course attendance is mandatory.

(4) All modules are covered in the Master's examination. Further details are regulated in the examination rules.

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§ 6 Modules

Modules are combinations of courses with limited goals and content. The courses within the individual modules are related to one another both in regard to their subjects and to their methods and questions.

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§ 7 Courses

(1) The following course forms are offered:

a) Lectures (VL)
Lectures provide an overview and/or examine essential problems on the basis of selected examples.

b) Introductory courses (UE)
Introductory courses centre on the training of scientific work and the acquisition of various presentation techniques.

c) Basic courses (GK)
Basic courses offer an in-depth view of scientific work and convey specialised basic knowledge and skills using selected subjects as examples.

d) Advanced seminars (HS)
Advanced seminars are aimed at a deepened examination of theoretical positions and/or an intensified focus on specific questions and thus expand methodological and specialised knowledge. Advanced seminars also offer thematic preparation for the Master's thesis.

e) Colloquia (CO)
Colloquia are aimed at the reflection and discussion of fundamental questions of the subject and lead to a close involvement with the current state of research. In addition, they help prepare students for writing the Master's essay and/or accompany the writing stage as a work forum.

(2) A set number of Study Points is assigned to each course.

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§ 8 Study Points

(1) The awarding of Study Points occurs on the basis of the study time required for each course. One study point corresponds to 30 study hours.

(2) Over the course of the programme, a total number of 60 Study Points must be earned with a time expenditure of 20 SP per trimester in three trimesters of study time. This corresponds to 1,800 study hours.

(3) The following Study Points are awarded for the course forms cited in § 7 (1) with a volume of 2 trimester weekly hours each (1.5 study hours of courses per week during the trimester):

• Lecture (VL) - 2 SP
• Introductory Course (UE) - 3 SP
• Basic Course (GK) - 4 SP
• Advanced Seminar (HS) - 5 SP
• Colloquium (CO) - 2 SP

(4) Each module is completed by means of a module completion exam (cf. § 7 of the Examination Regulations). The grades from the Module Completion Exams, evaluated according to the number of Study Points, are included in the overall programme grade.

(5) Documentation of the awarded Study Points occurs in the form of study certificates.

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§ 9 Study certificates

The study certificates for courses are:

• Course certificates
• Module completion certificates

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§ 10 Course certificates

In each course, work performance is demanded as the requirement for the awarding of the Study Points listed in § 8 paragraph 3. General work performance generally includes the preparation and subsequent assessment of a course as well as regular and active participation (at least 80% of a course must be attended). Beyond this, additional performances such as oral presentations, working papers, tests etc. can be demanded in introductory courses, basic courses and advanced seminars as the requirement for the awarding of the respective Study Points. The number of awarded Study Points is derived from the course certificates.

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§ 11 Module Completion Certificates

(1) A Module is considered to be complete when all Study Points have been earned and/or when all course certificates have been presented and the Module Completion Exam has been successfully passed (cf. § 7 of the Examination Regulations).
(2) The Module completion certificates indicate the courses attended, the work performance, the acquired Study Points as well as the evaluation of the Module Completion Exam.

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§ 12 Effective date

These study regulations go into effect on the day following their publication in the "Mitteilungsblatt der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin."

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