6 ECTS credits
160 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 6021211FNW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Institute for European Studies
Educational team
Florian Trauner
Ilke Adam (course titular)
Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
Course Content

This course examines EU policy in the field of migration and asylum. The EU policy field of migration is highly salient and sovereignty sensitive. Admission of non-citizens to the state territory used to lie at the heart of national sovereignty. Over the past 25 years, EU integration has changed this relation significantly. Borders were dismantled and free movement for EU citizens was established. Member States started co-operating on admission conditions for third country nationals, migrants as well as asylum seekers. EU member states also created the general Area of Freedom, Security and Justice with the Schengen area as an integral part of this new concept, as well as establishing the Dublin system at the heart of the Common European Asylum System. However, the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015 has shown that the implementation of the Schengen and Dublin agreements, the Common European Asylum System, the common immigration policies is far from consolidated. The EU and its member states still struggle to balance competencies, functions and effectiveness of those policies. Several EU member states again oppose EU decision-making on migration. The very future of the EU integration project seems to depend on the question whether legitimate and effective cooperation can be established.

Explanations for the why and how of cooperation in this policy area cover essential questions of European studies. The policy field will be approached from a different angles, looking at institutional dynamics of decision making, the legal and policy implications and the impact of EU policies on national policies and politics.

Additional info

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Learning Outcomes

General Competences

Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

  1. understand the difficulties that the EU and its member states face in balancing the requirements of openness and restrictive policy pressures;
  2. understand the context and history of EU cooperation regarding migration  and asylum;
  3. acquire in-depth knowledge on the main policy actors in the field of EU migration, their interests and ideas;
  4. acquire in-depth knowledge on the main EU policy instruments on migration and asylum;
  5. understand how and why EU member states cooperate (or not) on migration issues;
  6. understand how and why EU migration policies influence national policies.

Transferable/Key Skills:

Upon completion of this module, students will have had the opportunity to:

  1. learn to manage time pressure, and make concise explanation of their arguments through the essay research and writing process and/or the presentation exercise;
  2. develop their critical capabilities to assess policy documents, and to structure their arguments in a coherent, structured and persuasive way;
  3. develop their critical capabilities to summarise and critique academic writings;
  4. perform their cultivated inter-personal skills and oral and written communication skills through seminar participation, and increase their confidence in making oral arguments. The seminar format will further encourage discussion and debate of different viewpoints.

 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 60% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 40% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 60 which comprises 60% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Other Exam with a relative weight of 40 which comprises 40% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:

  1. Written Exam: determines 60 % of the final mark. It will be a closed book exam with a choice from several essay questions.
  2. 10 min. presentation OR 2500-word paper: comprises 20 % of the final mark
  3. Participation in class through active and informed participation in the discussion of the required readings determines 20 % of the final mark.

To obtain a high mark, students are expected to be present in the courses, to have read the required readings and to actively participate in the Q&A.

Each student also once prepares three questions for discussion on the required readings.

Assignments will be attributed during the first lecture .

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of European Integration: Track 1: European Economy - Migration and Europe
Master of European Integration: Track 4: Migration and Europe - European Environmental Governance
Master of European Integration: Track 5: European External Relations and Security Policy - Migration and Europe