German and Central European Studies

a full-time double Master’s degree program 

 

DOUBLE DIPLOMA FROM: 

PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY IN KRAKÓW 

CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE 

 

German and Central European Studies is a joint program of the Pedagogical University in Kraków and Charles University in Prague that results in students receiving a diploma from each institution, which increases the prestige of the degree. The program features Polish, Czech and German academic lecturers. Classes take place in Kraków and Prague, where students from Poland spend a semester through the Erasmus+ exchange. 

This new and unique major is our answer to the challenges resulting from the ever-increasing importance of the Federal Republic of Germany in Europe and in the world as well as from the fact that a growing number of political, economic and educational partnerships at state, regional and local level connect Poland to Germany and other countries of the German-speaking region (Austria Lichtenstein, Switzerland). 

The current job market needs not only individuals with a good command of the German language but also those with an additional knowledge of the German-speaking region’s political and legal systems, its cultures and traditions, and its past and contemporary relations with Poland. Moreover, our alumni are able to evaluate, plan, and carry out independent tasks that result from multiple Polish-German partnerships. 

Our program is conducted in three languages (Polish, Czech and German); the learning of these languages is therefore an important part of the studies. An important condition for being accepted into the program is the ability to speak high-school-level German (B1). 

We teach on campus and remotely, and we work with students if they wish to pursue independent study, which constitutes our response to the needs of the present and future. 

 

We offer: 

• in-depth courses in the history of the German-speaking region and East-Central Europe; 

• lessons on the political system of these areas; 
• discovery of the cultures and traditions of the German-speaking region; 
• practical German learning aimed at a significant increase of language competence; 
• Czech language classes; 
• partnership with scholars from the Charles University in Prague; 

• cooperation with experts in Polish-German relations; 
• a third-semester exchange stay at the Charles University via Erasmus +. 

 

Alumni will be qualified to: 

• carry out tasks related to Polish-German political and educational cooperation at the state, regional and local levels; 

• work in Polish-German organizations and institutions that require not only German and Czech language competence but also knowledge of the culture and economics of the German-speaking region; 
• work in organizations and institutions responsible for promoting and popularizing the historical and cultural heritage of the German-speaking region. 

 

For more information, please e-mail the program’s director, Prof. Małgorzata Świder, at: malgorzata.swider@up.krakow.pl