The Faculty of Economics at Corvinus University of Budapest offers students the opportunity to participate in the International MA in Economy, State and Society (IMESS) with Reference to Central and Eastern Europe Programme. The highly competitive IMESS is a two-year, English-language master’s programme, in which students spend the first year at University College London, UK and continue their studies at Corvinus University of Budapest. Upon successful completion, students are awarded a double-degree from both institutions.

Besides our university, students have the option to spend the second year of the programme and gain a degree at the following IMESS partner institutions:

• Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
• Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
• University- Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
• University of Helsinki, Finland
• University of Tartu, Estonia
• University of Belgrade, Serbia

The IMESS consortium offers students scholarships that cover the tuition fee and contribute to accommodation and living expenses. For more information on scholarships, please visit www.imess.eu.

Budapest & London

What is the aim of IMESS and who is the programme designed for?

IMESS wishes to attract the brightest international students who would like to gain an in-depth understanding of the economies, states and societies of the expanding European region. Besides giving students the chance to develop cultural and linguistic knowledge about the wider European region, the main objective of the program is to provide students a combination of discipline-based area studies and rigorous research methodology training. One of the great advantages of the programme is that it not only guarantees high-quality tuition but it also gives students the rare opportunity to gain first-hand experience both in Western and in Central or Eastern Europe. Although the programme specifically focuses on the Central and Eastern European region, the discipline-based skills it helps to acquire are generic. Therefore, IMESS gives students a global skill set suitable for entering a career in the private or public sector or for developing a research career in the academia.

If you would like to learn about the experiences of the current and former IMESS students, please click here.

The structure of IMESS: University College London and Corvinus University of Budapest

In the first year of IMESS, students study at University College London. They take courses in area research methodology, complete specialist electives in their preferred study track, and participate in a dissertation workshop. Students are required to choose their dissertation topic and, with the help of an advisor from University College London, produce a preliminary proposal by the end of the spring semester. 

IMESS offers three distinct interdisciplinary study tracks students have to choose from already upon application:

• Economics and Business;
• Politics and Security;
• Nation, History and Society.

Each track combines specialist electives (in economics, politics, society or history) and research methodology training (in social sciences or humanities). Students are required to earn 120 ECTS in each track over the two years of the programme.

A List of IMESS Dissertations and Advisors 

UCL & Corvinus

IMESS at Corvinus University

In the second year at Corvinus University, students continue to have special electives in their preferred study track and take courses in area research methodology. Emphasis in the second year is especially on producing the M.A. dissertation. Besides the supervisor from University College London, students are assigned an advisor from Corvinus University as well. Students have regular consultation sessions with their advisor at mandatory dissertation seminars. Students prepare their dissertation by the end of the spring term. The oral defense of the thesis work happens in front of a committee of professors from Corvinus University.

Mandatory foreign language modules in the IMESS program: In the two years of IMESS, students are required to gain a minimum of 12 ECTS and a maximum of 24 ECTS in one of the foreign languages of the program: Hungarian, Czeck, Polish, Russian, Finnish, Estonian, or Serbian.

The IMESS program stresses the importance of combining academic training with real-life practice and, therefore, encourages students to work as interns during their studies. IMESS students have numerous internship opportunities in the two semesters they spend at Corvinus. Click here to find out more.

IMESS students at Corvinus University

If you would like to learn about the experiences of the current and former IMESS students at Corvinus University, please click here.

General admission requirements:

IMESS welcomes the application of students from all countries. The requirements each applicant has to meet are a bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject area and evidence of proficiency in English. In case the bachelor’s degree is in an unrelated area, it is essential that applicant demonstrates their interest in IMESS in the application package.

Application procedure:

Application packages should be sent directly to University College London, the coordinating partner of IMESS.

Please see the details of the application procedure at http://www.imess.eu/apply-for-programme/.

Deadlines

For the 2013/2014 academic year, the deadline of sbumitting applications is the following:

March 15, 2013 for applicants applying for IMESS Scholarship Funding Category A and B
August 2, 2013 for self-funded applicants

For more information about the IMESS Programme, please visit the official IMESS website at http://www.imess.eu

Contact us

For more information about the second year of IMESS at Corvinus University of Budapest, please contact our programme coordinator, Ms. Eszter Nucz. Please, send your e-mails to eszter.nucz(at)uni-corvinus.hu or call (+36) 1 482 5231.

IMESS Alumni Association

Read about our IMESS graduates on the IMESS Alumni Association website at www.imessaa.eu.

Last modified: 2013.04.22.