Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE)
Nice / Berlin / Rome

Master in Advanced European and International Studies

The Master in Advanced European and International Studies (MAEIS), trilingual branch is targeted at students who have completed their undergraduate studies. Its objective is to give students an overarching, encompassing vision of the political, social, economic, and cultural problems of today’s modern world. The programme follows an original approach which distinguishes it from other Master's courses in European Studies and International Relations.

Studying in three languages, living in three places

The MAEIS is a one-year-programme, subdivided into three terms, and takes place in three different study locations: NICE – BERLIN – ROME. Courses are taught in three languages: English, French, and German.

The curriculum includes the following four modules:

+ International Relations
+ European Integration
+ Economy and Globalisation
+ Federalism and Governance

Qualifications awarded

Students who successfully complete the programme receive at the end of the academic year two certifications.

+ The Master in Advanced European and International Studies. This is the diploma of the CIFE, certifying the successful completion of the academic curriculum and granting 60 ECTS credits at Master level.

+ The degree qualification "Chargé de Mission en Organisations Européennes et Internationales" (Policy Officer in European and International organisations). This qualification is recognised by the French state. It is registered in the French national register of professional qualifications (RNCP), which lists all diplomas, degrees and professional titles recognised by France. The qualification is recognised as a degree at Master level (level 7 of the European qualifications Framework EQF).

An academic and professional approach

The programme is designed to offer a teaching method which is academic and at the same time directed towards the professional world. It aims to give students the ability to enter into dialogue with decision-makers from both the economic and the political world, stakeholders, diplomats as well as officials from international and European organisations. This broad outlook is made possible by the wide variety of our lecturers, the visits organised to different European countries and our relationship with our carefully selected international partners. The in-house panel of experts contributes to the rich content of the modules.

The international composition of the student group enables students to gain maximum advantage from participating each year in various role games to enhance their understanding of problems of collective action and the art of negotiation in different environments such as the EU, the UN and federal states. Research for the thesis at the end of the programme will enable students to delve into a specific subject in more detail and acquire important skills for the job market. In the documentation centre, reviews, books and a great number of electronic resources are at the students’ disposal. The lectures are accompanied by an online learning management system, facilitating communication between students, lecturers and staff.

Skills and competences

Among the skills and competences which students will acquire over the academic year are the following:

+ Negociating in an international context
+ Drafting position papers, policy recommendations, syntheses
+ Designing, planning, proposing and managing an international project (Project cycle management)
+ Defending the position of an organisation
+ Following the legislative process in the European Union


About the Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE)

CIFE is a private institution of higher education and research with its head office in Nice and branch offices in Berlin, Bruxelles and Istanbul. It is one out of six institutions to receive a special funding in the framework of the Jean Monnet Programme of the European Union. Founded in 1954, CIFE has a long tradition and is one of the most reputed institutes of European Postgraduate Studies.

Every year, students from all continents and a great variety of countries enroll in its programmes, which lead to a degree at Master level (EQF 7) recognised by the French state. Since 1954 over 2000 students from more than 100 countries have graduated with one of CIFE’s Master’s programmes. They now work as Senior officials in European institutions, policy officers within the UN framework, administrators, diplomats, consultants, researchers for think tanks, lobbyists, and academic experts.

CIFE embraces an interdisciplinary approach, which makes students, with their specialised and often divergent academic backgrounds, aware of the complex problems in our societies. Various practical workshops (simulations, preparation of European projects), as well as the intercultural, multinational exchange, are of further advantage to CIFE’s programmes, providing the students with the skills and abilities needed on the job market.

The breadth of its geographical engagement and the variety of its academic programmes testify to CIFE’s major commitments: to a confident, future-oriented vision of Europe, to an innovative concept of teaching and to an openness towards the challenge of a changing world.

CIFE and its departments are committed to:

- Academic excellence: Its faculty consists of renowned academics providing students with expert knowledge

- Professionalisation: Our aim is to transmit not only academic knowledge but also those professional skills and competences required in European and international organizations

- Interdisciplinarity: all problems are dealt with from the perspective of different academic disciplines in order to gain an all-embracing understanding of today's world

- Internalionality: each year students come from all over the world, representing on average 15-20 nationalities

- Tolerance: in an international community, we owe each other respect and the recognition of our differences

- Learning and living Europe: students not only learn about European integration, but experience the continent from different perspectives by living in Berlin, Nice, Istanbul or Rome.