The European Politics and Governance track combines an in-depth understanding of the European Union’s institutions, political processes and policy priorities with the broader study of governance and international affairs at The Fletcher School.
During your first year in Bruges, you will examine the political, economic and legal foundations of European integration, explore how EU institutions negotiate and implement policy, and specialise in the policy areas most relevant to your interests. At Fletcher, you can broaden that European perspective through coursework in international law, diplomacy and politics, economics and international business.
MATA-POL students work with their European Political and Governance Studies peers to prepare a presentation for regional officials at the European Collectivity of Alsace during the Strasbourg study trip.
[Compare the second-year routes]
Understand how the EU works
Develop detailed knowledge of the EU’s institutions, political system and policymaking processes. Examine both formal decision-making procedures and the informal relationships through which European policies are negotiated and implemented.
Connect institutions with policy
Explore how institutional structures affect policy choices in areas such as the economy, climate, technology, migration, social affairs, security, foreign policy and enlargement.
Learn through negotiation and simulation
Apply your knowledge through an intensive simulation of EU negotiation and decision-making. Develop practical skills in representing interests, coalition-building, communication and reaching agreement.
Develop your own specialisation
Choose elective courses from four broad areas: EU internal policies, European governance, the EU and its Member States, and Europe’s role in the world.
Add a transatlantic perspective
Complement your European specialisation through the common MATA course, study at Fletcher, a transatlantic internship and a thesis drawing on the academic resources of both institutions.
The track combines MATA’s programme-wide learning outcomes with detailed knowledge of European politics, institutions and public policy. By completing the track, you will learn to:
Analyse European institutions and policymaking
Understand the respective roles of the EU institutions, bodies and Member States, as well as the political, legal and economic foundations of their decisions.
Examine governance from multiple perspectives
Assess how political actors, administrations, interest groups, civil society and citizens shape EU policies and institutional change.
Connect domestic, European and global politics
Analyse how national political pressures influence EU decision-making and how the EU responds to transatlantic and global challenges.
Evaluate policy choices
Use evidence from different disciplines to assess policy options in fields such as climate, finance, technology, migration, security and social affairs.
Negotiate and communicate
Develop clear, evidence-based positions; represent institutional interests; communicate with different audiences; and work toward agreement in complex political settings.
Work across institutions and cultures
Strengthen the professional autonomy, organisational ability and intercultural competence needed to work in European, international and transatlantic environments.
[View the full MATA intended learning outcomes]
| Semester 1: Institutions and foundations | Semester 2: Policy choice and political practice |
Build a strong foundation in the political economic of European integration, EU governance and policymaking, and US-EU relations. You will also choose courses examining specific European institutions and bodies. Options currently include the European Parliament, Council, Commission, European Council, Court of Justice and EU agencies. MATA-POL students will follow 7 courses during the first semester. They also take 5 compulsory POL courses. Each student chooses 1 elective on EU Institutions, Bodies and Administration. These courses are designed to familiarise students with the political and economic rationale for European integration and introduce them to the EU’s main institutions and policy areas. MATA-POL students may voluntarily take “Research Design & Methods in Governance, Politics and Policy-Making of the EU” (no ECTS). | Apply your institutional knowledge through the European Politics and Governance negotiation simulation and the practice-oriented MATA course. Choose electives from four thematic areas and continue developing your thesis and internship plans. In their second semester at the College of Europe, MATA-POL students follow 5 courses. All MATA (Y1) students take the course, “US-EU Relations in the 21st Century: Security and Trade in Practice” (5 ECTS). In the second semester, this course is focused on practical exercises. Students must take 1 POL compulsory course: “Negotiation and Decision-Making in the EU: A Simulation Game”. For their electives, students chose 3 optional courses. In addition to the POL study trip to Strasbourg, all MATA students at the College of Europe participate in the MATA study trip to Brussels. Students will continue to work on their thesis in transatlantic affairs and prepare their internship. At the end of their first year, students submit their thesis proposal. |
[View Semester 1 courses and ECTS] MATA compulsory courses:
POL compulsory courses
Students select 3:
*For this course no mark is attributed but full attendance is compulsory and any absence has to be compensated by a paper assignment. If a student fails, a mark will be attributed and mentioned on the transcript (coefficient 1) and will be taken into consideration in the calculation of a possible compensation.
Voluntary seminar in research design (no ECTS)
Students may follow any of the non-assessed Workshops in Professional Development (6h) and they may apply to participate in any of the extracurricular activities offered by the European Political and Governance Studies Department. During this semester, students will also start preparing their thesis proposal on transatlantic affairs as well as their internship. The primary thesis supervisor will be allocated by the POL department. | [View Semester 2 courses and ECTS] MATA compulsory courses:
POL compulsory courses:
Optional courses Each student chooses 3 optional courses from 4 different clusters. Each course counts for 4 ECTS. Cluster: EU Internal Policies
Cluster: European Governance
Cluster: EU and the Member States
Cluster: Europe and the World
Workshops in professional development Workshops in Professional Development are an ‘added value’ of the programme. Participation is voluntary, though once registered students are expected to attend all sessions. No ECTS are attributed to these workshops.
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Students in the MATA programme will participate in the MATA study trip to Brussels to visit transatlantic stakeholders and the POL study trip to Strasbourg to visit European and international institutions.
The compulsory negotiation and decision-making simulation places students inside the dynamics of European policymaking. Working from assigned roles and institutional positions, students negotiate priorities, respond to competing interests and work toward an agreed outcome.
The simulation develops:
Final Conference of the POL Simulation Game, January 2025
The analytical and communication skills developed throughout the European Politics and Governance track are also central to professional work in transatlantic affairs. Students learn to understand institutional interests, navigate political constraints and communicate policy positions to different audiences.
“Effective transatlantic policymaking requires rigorous analysis, persuasive communication and the ability to navigate changing institutional and political environments.”
Professor Michael Koplovsky
Visiting Professor, MATA
Senior Advisor, Kreab International
Former senior US diplomat and trade negotiator
Brussels
MATA students meet transatlantic stakeholders and explore the organisations shaping EU–US cooperation.
Strasbourg
European Politics and Governance students visit European and international institutions and connect their study of governance with institutional practice.
Meeting with College of Europe alumnus and MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin during the POL study trip, February 2026
At Fletcher, students select courses from:
Students may also be able to substitute one Fletcher course with a relevant course elsewhere at Tufts University or Harvard University, subject to programme rules.
This allows students to complement their detailed knowledge of European governance with American and international perspectives on politics, law, diplomacy and economics.
Choose your second-year route:
Route 1: Fletchter > Internship | Route 2: Internship > Fletcher | Route 3: Full year at Fletcher |
Internship: YES |
Internship: YES |
Internship: NO |
| View route details | View route details | View route details |
Turn academic interests into professional experience
The MATA internship enables students to apply their understanding of institutions and policy in a professional environment. It can also help students refine their career interests and connect professional experience with their thesis topic.
Alumni profile
From a Washington internship to Brussels
Cecilia completed her MATA internship at the Tax Foundation in Washington, DC, where she continued working after graduation. She later transferred to the organisation’s Brussels office before moving to the European Commission, building a transatlantic career in economic and trade policy.
“MATA has been essential to my work in trade and economic policy. It gave me both the substantive knowledge to understand complex transatlantic issues and the practical skills to present them clearly and engage with different perspectives. Just as importantly, the programme gave me a deep understanding of the institutions, policymaking cultures, political dynamics and working methods on both sides of the Atlantic—an asset I draw on every day.”
Cecilia Perez Weigel, MATA ’23
Policy Officer, European Commission
MATA-POL: Where can this track take you?
The European Political and Governance Studies track prepares you to understand how institutions make decisions, how political interests shape policy and how European priorities connect with transatlantic and global developments. Its combination of institutional knowledge, policy specialisation, negotiation practice and professional experience can support careers in:
Through study in Bruges and at Fletcher, an intensive EU negotiation simulation, study trips, an internship and a transatlantic thesis, students learn to analyse policy choices, represent different interests and contribute to decision-making in complex institutional environments.
Career paths vary according to each student’s academic interests, prior experience, internship choices and professional objectives. The examples above illustrate sectors and functions for which the track develops relevant knowledge and skills.
