The Programme in Refugee Studies is a one-year programme of study and practical work experience. The first five months of academic training in Prague and Krakow are followed by six months of working at partner institutions in non-industrialized countries as well as in countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Refugee Studies provides the only multidisciplinary academic training in the forced migration and refugee field in Central and Eastern Europe.  The main idea behind this programme is to link high quality innovative research with improving the conditions, rights and lives of the ever-growing number of refugees and other forced migrants. It aims to achieve this via rigorous academic training and relevant practical internships leading to first-hand experience and networking. 

The programme is attractive to a wide range of students, academics, policy makers and professionals engaged in reform regarding issues relating  to forced migration and refugees.

Programme objectives 

Refugee Studies aims to offer high-quality training in the field of forced migration through an interdisciplinary approach and first-hand access to refugee communities worldwide via practical training, as well as co-operation with other renowned academic institutions and links with their diploma programmes.

Programme structure

The Refugee Studies Programme is a one-year course organized around two semesters which encompass two mutually interlinked founding pillars of the studies: academic study  and practical placement. The first semester lasts five months and focuses on obtaining the necessary theoretical background in the mandatory fields. In the second semester, students undertake six-month-long practical work placements at establishments of partner institutions in non-industrialized countries and in countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Pillar I: Academic study

The academic part of the programme lasts five months and takes place predominantly in Prague, the Czech Republic. Students also spend nine days in Krakow, Poland. It is organized into three mutually interconnected parts.  

1. All students receive an introduction to refugee studies and insight into the contemporary issues in forced migration, grounding in psycho-social consequences of forced migration, as well as substantive knowledge of refugee law and human rights issues related to refugees.  

2. In addition, students select two elective courses from a list prepared and approved by the Academic Advisory Board for each academic year. They shall choose one elective course from the category of regional studies/country of origin information and one course from the general category of electives. For each elective students shall complete a research project that focuses on forced migration and refugee issues.

3. Finally, all students are trained in skills crucial to all workers in the field of refugees and forced migration, such as the art of interviewing, working with interpreters, testimony taking, country of origin research, methodology of research, and development of legal argumentation skills in the Clinics: Practice of Refugee Law course.

Pillar II: Practical placements 

The purpose of this programme component is to provide students with practical experience which complements their studies, enhance their professional development and – at the same time – benefits partner institutions in non-industrialized countries and in countries of Central and Eastern Europe active in the refugee problematic, whilst ensuring much-needed dissemination of knowledge and information regarding refugee and forced migration issues.  

The mandatory internship approach promotes a better understanding of major global problems confronting the contemporary world among the students, while giving them an insight into the workings of the partner institutions, and exposing them to some of the most efficient policies and programmes in this field.

At the same time the students represent a pool of qualified interns whose work lessens some of the most pressing problems faced by the partner institutions in non-industrialized countries, such as a severe lack of human resources, an expanding workload, insufficient research resources and limited access to information and training. 

Finally, the dissemination of refugee and forced migration related information in CEE countries is enhanced due to the emergence of a well-informed and knowledgeable group of graduates who are motivated through the connections and networking made during their practical traineeships.