Get an overview of all academic schools and departments at CEU
Source: https://www.ceu.edu/departments
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:14
Get an overview of all academic schools and departments at CEU
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Schools and Departments
Department of Cognitive Science
The Department of Cognitive Science is a thriving interdisciplinary department, which offers a PhD program with a comprehensive range of rigorous coursework and active research experience. It is a research-based training program that specializes in – but is not limited to – the study of the social and biological bases of cognition. Research topics include cooperation, communication, social learning, cultural transmission, joint action, developmental social cognition, neural bases of cognition, strategic decision making, visual cognition, statistical learning, and cognitive neuroscience.
Students take courses in cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, cognitive anthropology, computational and biological cognition, vision and linguistics. They receive practical training and join the research programs in the laboratories of the members of the department.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Cognitive Science is 3:1.
Learn more
Department of Economics
The Department of Economics at CEU offers MA, MS, and PhD programs that combine rigorous theoretical training with applied, career-focused skills in economics, finance, and data science. Students can specialize in tracks such as Research, Global Economic Policy, Data Science, and Finance, while MS programs in Business Analytics and Finance address industry needs. The department is internationally recognized for its research, with faculty securing prestigious grants and publishing in leading journals. Graduates pursue careers in international organizations, government, finance, and academia worldwide.
Learn more
Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy
The Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy is a center of excellence in research on environmental policy and management, offering a comprehensive curriculum for ambitious, intellectually advanced graduate students.
Both general academic and specialized knowledge in a variety of related fields are offered. Emphasis is placed on an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems; leading environmental academics from around the world contribute to both the taught curriculum and fieldwork. The programs' focus is on international or trans-boundary problems in sustainable environmental development.
The department also serves as a focal point in a network of collaborating scientists and environmental professionals from developed and developing countries worldwide.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy is 7:1.
Learn more
Department of Gender Studies
The Department of Gender Studies meets the growing demand for expertise in gender issues by providing both master's and doctoral-level programs in gender studies, as well as serving as a base for non-degree studies and other activities in the field.
The department attracts students from a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities, and focuses on integrative and comparative approaches in gender studies. A rich variety of intertwined scholarly interests (such as gender and (post) state-socialist studies, nationalism, theory, cultural studies, transnationalism, and international political movements) are emphasized. With an important (but not exclusive) focus on Central and Eastern Europe, both the master's and doctoral programs seek to contribute to the development of socially relevant knowledge based on these approaches, and to critically interrogate past and present developments related to gender in culture and society.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Gender Studies is 8:1.
Learn more
Department of Historical Studies
The Department of Historical Studies offers programs of considerable breadth, at both the master's and the doctoral level, challenging canons by means of thorough empirical research and cutting-edge methodological and theoretical reflection.
The department seeks to train future scholars, academic and public leaders and professionals with a broad horizon.
Teaching and research focus on the history of Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, from late antiquity to the present, going beyond these geographical and temporal boundaries in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Historical Studies is 6:1.
Learn more
Department of International Relations
The Department of International Relations integrates international relations scholarship with regional expertise in both the Eastern and Western parts of the enlarged European Union together with the wider European neighborhood. The department's commitment to international relations theory—in both its traditional and critical forms, and to the two major sub-disciplines of security studies and international political economy—forms the foundation of the program, complemented by a necessary multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the EU and its role as a global actor.
Its highly competitive programs—which attract top-level graduate students from around the world at both master's and doctoral levels—provide an enriching environment for study and research on issues that concern today's globalizing world. The faculty includes scholars from the disciplines of international relations, history, law, economics and comparative politics.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of International Relations is 8:1.
Learn more
Department of Legal Studies
The Department of Legal Studies provides a high level of advanced legal education. Its programs are among the finest in Europe, enabling students to obtain a firm grounding in fundamental legal concepts before branching out into specific fields, such as the law of the European Union, intellectual property, international dispute settlement, international business transactions, fundamental rights protection vis-à-vis the state, and international and European human rights.
The department's master's program in Comparative Constitutional Law is the only Master of Laws specialization in this subject in the world. The MA program in Human Rights Law remains the first in the region to offer graduate education in international and European human rights law. The Global Business Law and Regulation (GBLR) master's program enables students to become competent participants in international business structures and transactions, and includes a critical examination of the merits and shortcomings of the legal framework that emerged during the period of economic transition within the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Legal Studies is 7:1.
Learn more
Department of Network and Data Science
The Department of Network and Data Science at Central European University is a hub for interdisciplinary research and education at the intersection of network science, data science, and the social sciences. The department explores the structure and dynamics of complex networks - from financial markets to urban mobility - by combining foundational and data-driven approaches to complex systems.
DNDS offers a full educational portfolio: a unique PhD program in Network Science, with internationally recognized faculty, focused on fundamental research in network science as well as high-impact applied topics such as epidemic modeling, political polarization, and other areas of computational social science. The MSc program in Social Data Science prepares students to analyze digital societies using computational tools and critical thinking, with specialization options in areas such as economics, political science, and environmental studies. The department also contributes to CEU’s interdisciplinary BA/BSc program in Data Science and Society, equipping undergraduates with a foundation in the theoretical and applied tools of social data science.
All programs are accredited in both Austria and the US and run with small class sizes, with 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Our department provides an international, collaborative educational experience with the goal of preparing graduates for impactful careers in academia, policy, and the private sector.
Learn more
Department of Philosophy
The Department of Philosophy offers a comprehensive program, covering the major areas of philosophical study, leading to master's and doctoral degrees. The MA programs are designed to give broad and thorough training in all of the major fields of philosophy, with the possibility of deeper acquaintance in a chosen field. The department's doctoral program aims to train professionals prepared to undertake academic careers, as researchers or university teachers.
Both MA and doctoral programs promote a scholarly attitude that combines historical and analytical approaches in philosophy. Curricula are designed so that students are required to study each of the major fields of contemporary philosophy. A specialization in the history of philosophy is also available. Graduates gain the rare ability to conduct a dialogue across the dividing lines occasionally fragmenting the philosophical discipline.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Philosophy is 5:1.
Learn more
Department of Political Science
The Department of Political Science invites students wishing to develop the analytical skills necessary to achieve excellence in their areas of study. With original scholarship, basic and applied research, and creative instructors constituting an essential core upon which to draw, graduate work at the department attracts an outstanding selection of uniquely qualified students from throughout the region and the world.
The department's curriculum is unique within Europe, covering almost all areas of political studies and offers in-depth expertise in the comparative politics of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Representing a comprehensive range of academic approaches and expertise, the department's faculty address questions of political philosophy, democratization and regime change, constitutional politics, political economy, media, voting behavior, party politics, human rights and Europeanization, in a comparative manner.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Political Science is 5:1.
Learn more
Department of Public Policy
The Department of Public Policy (DPP) is a multidisciplinary graduate institution focused on the study of global public policy issues both in theory and in practice. Through excellence in teaching and research, DPP aims to create an educational experience that involves not only the acquisition of skills and knowledge but also the cultivation of a mindset that emphasizes entrepreneurship, innovation, cultural awareness and commitment to the public good.
The Department offers four master's degrees in public policy and the public policy track of the Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science program. The degree programs are tailored for students from around the world seeking careers in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors at the local, national, European Union and international levels. The Department boasts a team of outstanding resident faculty and world-class visiting faculty consisting of top researchers and practitioners in the public policy field who bring a wide array of academic and practical subjects to DPP's diverse classroom.
Learn more
Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology
The Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology offers an integrated program aiming to go beyond the disciplinary boundaries between sociology and anthropology, asking new questions about social analysis, regionalizations, and of sociology and anthropology as disciplines.
The department is committed to a non-Eurocentric perspective. By analyzing the complex process of globalization at both the macro- and micro-level, students learn to recognize the global and the local as mutually constitutive processes.
Students are further equipped with a critical and comparative perspective on our contemporary world through a broad range of courses: social theory, place making, post-colonialism, research methods, urban processes, meanings and practices of gender, social inequalities, dynamics of power and resistance, and the cross-border flow of people, ideas and commodities within the structures of the globalizing world.
In addition to CEU's resources, the department draws upon an international network of scholars, providing students with the opportunity to broaden their intellectual horizons.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology is 6:1.
Learn more
Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations
The Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations offers a doctoral program in political science, which is accredited in the United States and Austria. It has five areas of specialization: Comparative and International Political Economy, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, and Public Policy. Our students come from 36 different countries, and the student-faculty ratio is 3:1.
Learn more
School of Undergraduate Studies
Join students from around the world to study in small classes with top-notch professors in Vienna, one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, and earn a CEU undergraduate degree that's both Austrian and American. At CEU, we will nurture your curiosity, enable you to exchange views with peers and professors and provide you with the critical skills and the confidence to think for yourself and become a leader in whatever career path you choose. With a CEU undergraduate degree in hand, you’ll be ready to shape not only your future but the future of our world.
Learn more
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Skip to main content
Search
Schools and Departments
Department of Cognitive Science
The Department of Cognitive Science is a thriving interdisciplinary department, which offers a PhD program with a comprehensive range of rigorous coursework and active research experience. It is a research-based training program that specializes in – but is not limited to – the study of the social and biological bases of cognition. Research topics include cooperation, communication, social learning, cultural transmission, joint action, developmental social cognition, neural bases of cognition, strategic decision making, visual cognition, statistical learning, and cognitive neuroscience.
Students take courses in cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, cognitive anthropology, computational and biological cognition, vision and linguistics. They receive practical training and join the research programs in the laboratories of the members of the department.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Cognitive Science is 3:1.
Learn more
Department of Economics
The Department of Economics at CEU offers MA, MS, and PhD programs that combine rigorous theoretical training with applied, career-focused skills in economics, finance, and data science. Students can specialize in tracks such as Research, Global Economic Policy, Data Science, and Finance, while MS programs in Business Analytics and Finance address industry needs. The department is internationally recognized for its research, with faculty securing prestigious grants and publishing in leading journals. Graduates pursue careers in international organizations, government, finance, and academia worldwide.
Learn more
Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy
The Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy is a center of excellence in research on environmental policy and management, offering a comprehensive curriculum for ambitious, intellectually advanced graduate students.
Both general academic and specialized knowledge in a variety of related fields are offered. Emphasis is placed on an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems; leading environmental academics from around the world contribute to both the taught curriculum and fieldwork. The programs' focus is on international or trans-boundary problems in sustainable environmental development.
The department also serves as a focal point in a network of collaborating scientists and environmental professionals from developed and developing countries worldwide.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy is 7:1.
Learn more
Department of Gender Studies
The Department of Gender Studies meets the growing demand for expertise in gender issues by providing both master's and doctoral-level programs in gender studies, as well as serving as a base for non-degree studies and other activities in the field.
The department attracts students from a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities, and focuses on integrative and comparative approaches in gender studies. A rich variety of intertwined scholarly interests (such as gender and (post) state-socialist studies, nationalism, theory, cultural studies, transnationalism, and international political movements) are emphasized. With an important (but not exclusive) focus on Central and Eastern Europe, both the master's and doctoral programs seek to contribute to the development of socially relevant knowledge based on these approaches, and to critically interrogate past and present developments related to gender in culture and society.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Gender Studies is 8:1.
Learn more
Department of Historical Studies
The Department of Historical Studies offers programs of considerable breadth, at both the master's and the doctoral level, challenging canons by means of thorough empirical research and cutting-edge methodological and theoretical reflection.
The department seeks to train future scholars, academic and public leaders and professionals with a broad horizon.
Teaching and research focus on the history of Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, from late antiquity to the present, going beyond these geographical and temporal boundaries in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Historical Studies is 6:1.
Learn more
Department of International Relations
The Department of International Relations integrates international relations scholarship with regional expertise in both the Eastern and Western parts of the enlarged European Union together with the wider European neighborhood. The department's commitment to international relations theory—in both its traditional and critical forms, and to the two major sub-disciplines of security studies and international political economy—forms the foundation of the program, complemented by a necessary multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the EU and its role as a global actor.
Its highly competitive programs—which attract top-level graduate students from around the world at both master's and doctoral levels—provide an enriching environment for study and research on issues that concern today's globalizing world. The faculty includes scholars from the disciplines of international relations, history, law, economics and comparative politics.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of International Relations is 8:1.
Learn more
Department of Legal Studies
The Department of Legal Studies provides a high level of advanced legal education. Its programs are among the finest in Europe, enabling students to obtain a firm grounding in fundamental legal concepts before branching out into specific fields, such as the law of the European Union, intellectual property, international dispute settlement, international business transactions, fundamental rights protection vis-à-vis the state, and international and European human rights.
The department's master's program in Comparative Constitutional Law is the only Master of Laws specialization in this subject in the world. The MA program in Human Rights Law remains the first in the region to offer graduate education in international and European human rights law. The Global Business Law and Regulation (GBLR) master's program enables students to become competent participants in international business structures and transactions, and includes a critical examination of the merits and shortcomings of the legal framework that emerged during the period of economic transition within the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Legal Studies is 7:1.
Learn more
Department of Network and Data Science
The Department of Network and Data Science at Central European University is a hub for interdisciplinary research and education at the intersection of network science, data science, and the social sciences. The department explores the structure and dynamics of complex networks - from financial markets to urban mobility - by combining foundational and data-driven approaches to complex systems.
DNDS offers a full educational portfolio: a unique PhD program in Network Science, with internationally recognized faculty, focused on fundamental research in network science as well as high-impact applied topics such as epidemic modeling, political polarization, and other areas of computational social science. The MSc program in Social Data Science prepares students to analyze digital societies using computational tools and critical thinking, with specialization options in areas such as economics, political science, and environmental studies. The department also contributes to CEU’s interdisciplinary BA/BSc program in Data Science and Society, equipping undergraduates with a foundation in the theoretical and applied tools of social data science.
All programs are accredited in both Austria and the US and run with small class sizes, with 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Our department provides an international, collaborative educational experience with the goal of preparing graduates for impactful careers in academia, policy, and the private sector.
Learn more
Department of Philosophy
The Department of Philosophy offers a comprehensive program, covering the major areas of philosophical study, leading to master's and doctoral degrees. The MA programs are designed to give broad and thorough training in all of the major fields of philosophy, with the possibility of deeper acquaintance in a chosen field. The department's doctoral program aims to train professionals prepared to undertake academic careers, as researchers or university teachers.
Both MA and doctoral programs promote a scholarly attitude that combines historical and analytical approaches in philosophy. Curricula are designed so that students are required to study each of the major fields of contemporary philosophy. A specialization in the history of philosophy is also available. Graduates gain the rare ability to conduct a dialogue across the dividing lines occasionally fragmenting the philosophical discipline.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Philosophy is 5:1.
Learn more
Department of Political Science
The Department of Political Science invites students wishing to develop the analytical skills necessary to achieve excellence in their areas of study. With original scholarship, basic and applied research, and creative instructors constituting an essential core upon which to draw, graduate work at the department attracts an outstanding selection of uniquely qualified students from throughout the region and the world.
The department's curriculum is unique within Europe, covering almost all areas of political studies and offers in-depth expertise in the comparative politics of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Representing a comprehensive range of academic approaches and expertise, the department's faculty address questions of political philosophy, democratization and regime change, constitutional politics, political economy, media, voting behavior, party politics, human rights and Europeanization, in a comparative manner.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Political Science is 5:1.
Learn more
Department of Public Policy
The Department of Public Policy (DPP) is a multidisciplinary graduate institution focused on the study of global public policy issues both in theory and in practice. Through excellence in teaching and research, DPP aims to create an educational experience that involves not only the acquisition of skills and knowledge but also the cultivation of a mindset that emphasizes entrepreneurship, innovation, cultural awareness and commitment to the public good.
The Department offers four master's degrees in public policy and the public policy track of the Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science program. The degree programs are tailored for students from around the world seeking careers in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors at the local, national, European Union and international levels. The Department boasts a team of outstanding resident faculty and world-class visiting faculty consisting of top researchers and practitioners in the public policy field who bring a wide array of academic and practical subjects to DPP's diverse classroom.
Learn more
Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology
The Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology offers an integrated program aiming to go beyond the disciplinary boundaries between sociology and anthropology, asking new questions about social analysis, regionalizations, and of sociology and anthropology as disciplines.
The department is committed to a non-Eurocentric perspective. By analyzing the complex process of globalization at both the macro- and micro-level, students learn to recognize the global and the local as mutually constitutive processes.
Students are further equipped with a critical and comparative perspective on our contemporary world through a broad range of courses: social theory, place making, post-colonialism, research methods, urban processes, meanings and practices of gender, social inequalities, dynamics of power and resistance, and the cross-border flow of people, ideas and commodities within the structures of the globalizing world.
In addition to CEU's resources, the department draws upon an international network of scholars, providing students with the opportunity to broaden their intellectual horizons.
The student/faculty ratio for the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology is 6:1.
Learn more
Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations
The Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations offers a doctoral program in political science, which is accredited in the United States and Austria. It has five areas of specialization: Comparative and International Political Economy, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, and Public Policy. Our students come from 36 different countries, and the student-faculty ratio is 3:1.
Learn more
School of Undergraduate Studies
Join students from around the world to study in small classes with top-notch professors in Vienna, one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, and earn a CEU undergraduate degree that's both Austrian and American. At CEU, we will nurture your curiosity, enable you to exchange views with peers and professors and provide you with the critical skills and the confidence to think for yourself and become a leader in whatever career path you choose. With a CEU undergraduate degree in hand, you’ll be ready to shape not only your future but the future of our world.
Learn more
Image
Want to Learn More?
We’re here to help! Reach out today to get the answers you need.
Contact Us
Chat with CEU Students