Study track: European Interdisciplinary Studies

See Europe and transatlantic affairs from a wider perspective

The European Interdisciplinary Studies track at Natolin brings together politics, international relations, law, economics, history and regional studies. It is designed for students who want to understand complex transatlantic challenges in their broader European, historical and geopolitical contexts.

During your first year at the College of Europe, you will build interdisciplinary foundations and explore Europe’s relations with its neighbours and the wider world. At The Fletcher School, you can complement this perspective through coursework in international law, diplomacy and politics, economics and international business. 

Natolin + Fletcher · Interdisciplinary foundations · Two specialist majors · Regional study trips · Internship and thesis

MATA-EIS students during the Natolin Career Day, April 2026. 

[Explore the two majors]
[View courses and ECTS]

Why choose European Interdisciplinary Studies?

Understand complex issues across disciplines
Contemporary transatlantic challenges cannot be understood through politics, law, economics or history alone. MATA-EIS teaches you to bring these perspectives together, identify connections and produce more complete analyses of complex events and policy choices.

Place current developments in context
Examine how history, geography, institutions, identities and regional dynamics continue to shape contemporary Europe, its transatlantic relationships and its engagement with neighbouring regions.

Develop a distinctive regional perspective
Study in Natolin and gain particular insight into Central and Eastern Europe, the EU’s eastern and southern neighbourhoods, enlargement and Europe’s changing geopolitical environment.

Create your own academic pathway
Begin with a broad interdisciplinary foundation before choosing a major and specialist courses aligned with your interests. The curriculum allows you to explore subjects ranging from trade, diplomacy and climate governance to migration, human rights, neighbourhood policy and digital politics. 

Add an American and international perspective
Continue your studies at Fletcher, complete a transatlantic internship and develop a thesis drawing on perspectives from both institutions.

What will you learn?

The track combines the programme-wide MATA learning outcomes with an interdisciplinary understanding of Europe, its neighbouring regions and its international relationships.

Bring together different disciplines
Use concepts and methods from politics, international relations, law, economics, history and regional studies to examine a common transatlantic question.

Understand Europe in its regional context
Analyse European integration alongside the historical, political and social dynamics of Central and Eastern Europe and the EU’s wider neighbourhood.

Examine the EU’s global role
Assess how the EU operates as an international actor through diplomacy, trade, development, migration, climate policy, external relations and security cooperation.

Connect historical developments with current choices
Understand how borders, identities, conflicts, institutions and past relationships influence contemporary political debates and policy decisions.

Compare perspectives and interpret complexity
Evaluate questions through European, American and regional perspectives while remaining open to different interpretations, disciplines and cultural contexts.

Research and communicate practical responses
Develop evidence-based analysis, design independent research and communicate clear recommendations to academic and professional audiences.

[View the full MATA intended learning outcomes]

 

Your first year at Natolin

Semester 1Semester 2

Build interdisciplinary foundations

Begin with introductory courses in political science, international relations, law, economics, European integration, interdisciplinarity and European history. These short courses create a shared foundation for students entering MATA from different academic backgrounds. 

You will then deepen your knowledge through assessed courses addressing Central and Eastern European history and selected political, legal, economic or interdisciplinary questions. The first-semester study trip provides an opportunity to examine regional developments and policies in context. 

Develop your specialisation

Choose one of two majors and select four specialist courses within it. You will also continue the joint MATA course, participate in a study trip and develop your thesis proposal and internship plans. 

[View Semester 1 courses and ECTS]

Compulsory MATA courses

  • Dimitris Skiadas, US-EU Relations in the 21st Century : Multidisciplinary Analysis of Transatlantic Affairs, 5 ECTS

Introductory Courses (no ECTS)

  • Sebastian Steingass & Amel Hammami, Introduction to Political Science, 10h
  • Tobias Schumacher, Introduction to International Relations, 10h
  • Peter Van Elsuwege, Introduction to Law, 10h
  • Barbara Bobrowicz, Introduction to Economics, 10h
  • Wolfgang Wessels, Introduction to Theories and Strategies of European Integration, 10h
  • Rick Szostak, Introduction to Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity, 10h
  • Edward Hunter Christie, Elementary Foundations in Economics and Econometrics, 10h
  • Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski, History of European Civilization, 10h

Compulsory EIS course

  • Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski, East-Central Europe 1815-1940, 3 ECTS

Assessed core courses:

Pluridisciplinary Option

  • Christopher Lord, EU Institutions and Decision-making, 4 ECTS

  • Peter Van Elsuwege, The EU Legal Order: Rights, Norms and Values, 4 ECTS

  • Wolfgang Wessels, EU Economic Governance, 4 ECTS

Interdisciplinary Option

  • James Henderson, Energy in a Globalised World: Economics, Politics and Policies, 4 ECTS

  • Jean-Pierre Cassarino, International Cooperation and the Governance of Migration, 4 ECTS

  • Erwan Lannon, The EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Strategies: a Geo-Legal Approach, 4 ECTS

  • Angelo Martelli, Political Economy of Europe in a Changing World Order, 4 ECTS

Study Trip: Coordinator: Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka; Professors: Georges Mink, Andriy Tyushka, Thomas Mayr-Harting, Marek Cichocki, Sławomir Dębski & Pascaline Winand, Study Trip Modules, 2 ECTS

Non-assessed contextual courses (up to 2 may be selected, no ECTS):

  • Philippe Portier, La religion dans l’Europe contemporaine

  • Anneli Kimber Lindwall, Strategic Communication in a Digital Age

  • Ayman Mhanna, Grands enjeux de la liberté de la presse

  • Patrycja Sasnal, Climate Induced Migration

  • Rémi Brague, Orientalisme

  • Ewa Krukowska, Media and Climate: Communicating the Energy Transition

  • Marek Aleksander Cichocki and Slawomir Debski, Cold War Strategies from the Central Eastern Europe Perspective

Non-assessed seminar (no ECTS):

  • Sebastian Steingass (coordinator), Barbara Bobrowicz, Natalia Chaban, Theofanis Exadaktylos, Kerry Longhurst, Georges Mink, Jason Rozumalski,  Rick  Szostak, Peter Van Elsuwege, Matia Vannoni, Pascaline Winand, Research Strategies and Tools

Simulation game (no ECTS):

  • Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowsk, The Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20 

  • Vicky Marissen, EU Decision-making and Interest Representation in Practice / Le processus décisionnel de l'Union européenne et la représentation d'intérêts

[View Semester 2 courses and ECTS] 

Compulsory MATA courses:

  • Benedetta Berti & Michael Koplovsky, US-EU Relations in the 21st Century : Security and Trade in Practice, 5 ECTS

Study Trip: Coordinator: Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka; Professors: Georges Mink, Andriy Tyushka, Thomas Mayr-Harting, Marek Cichocki, Sławomir Dębski & Pascaline Winand, Study Trip Modules, 2 ECTS

Voluntary courses for all majors: Cooperation with external partners

  • Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza, Introduction to International Humanitarian Law within the framework of a seminar organized with the International Committee of the Red Cross - open to external participants 

  • Workshops in history organized in cooperation with the Max Weber programme of the European University Institute.

Choose your major

The EU and the World

 

Examine the European Union as a global actor and explore its relationships with international institutions, regions and partners.

Develop a pathway across subjects such as:

EU external relations and diplomacy;

trade and economic relations;

climate governance;

human rights and development;

migration and asylum;

NATO and European defence;

digital politics and emerging technologies;

relations with China, the Indo-Pacific and the Global South.

The EU in the Wider Europe and its Neighbours

 

Explore the EU’s relationships with surrounding countries and regions and examine how history, geopolitics, law, migration, energy and identity shape those relationships.

Develop a pathway across subjects such as:

enlargement and neighbourhood policy;

Eastern Europe and the Southern Mediterranean;

migration and border governance;

energy and climate;

minority rights and identity;

the legal dimensions of Wider Europe;

Russia and the Eastern neighbourhood.

[View courses in The EU and the World ]

Specialist courses for the Major, The EU and the World:

  • Karen E Smith, The International Relations of the EU, 4 ECTS

  • Steven Blockmans, The Legal Dimension of EU External Relations, 4 ECTS

  • Rupert Schlegelmilch, EU Trade Policy from Rules based Trade to Trade Wars, 4 ECTS
  • Thomas Mayr-Harting, The European Union and Bi- and Multilateral Diplomacy, 4 ECTS

  • Youssef Nassef, International Climate Governance: Foresight and Transformative Change, 4 ECTS

  • Pascaline Winand, Comparative Regionalism, 4 ECTS

  • Patrycja Sasnal, Human Rights in International Politics, 4 ECTS

  • Jillian York, Politics in the Digital Age: Power, Platforms, and Participation, 4 ECTS

  • Stefan Fröhlich, After Liberal Hegemony - Transatlantic Relations at a Crossroad, 4 ECTS

  • Jean-Pierre Cabestan, China and the World, 4 ECTS 

  • Sandra Lavenex & Florian Trauner, EU Asylum and Migration Policy in Global Context , 4 ECTS

  • Maurizio Carbone, The European Union, the Global South and the Politics of International Development, 4 ECTS

  • Thierry Tardy, NATO and European Defense Policy, 4 ECTS

Compact seminars for the Major, The EU and the World (no ECTS):

  • Paul Watkinson, The Central Role of International Cooperation in Strengthening Climate Action

  • Shada Islam, The EU and the Indo-Pacific

  • Véronique Dimier, L'Etat post-colonial en Afrique à l'épreuve des politiques européennes de développement

  • Gian Luca Gardini    The International Relations of Latin America and its Interaction with the EU

  • Andrea Renda (tbc) Regulation of Emerging Technologies

Simulation games for the Major, The EU and the World (no ECTS):

  • Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski, Creating a System of European Security: The Congress of Vienna 1814-15

  • Lukas Andriukaitis, Disinformation in Diplomacy

[View courses in Wider Europe and its Neighbours]

Specialist courses for the Major, The EU in the Wider Europe and its Neighbours:

  • Tobias Schumacher, Whither Neighbourhood? The EU, Eastern Europe, and the Southern Mediterranean in Times of Peace and War, 4 ECTS

  • Adam Łazowski, Enlargement Policy of the European Union, 4 ECTS

  • Jean-Pierre Cassarino & Daria Davitti, Contested Migration Governance: Policies, Norms, and Human Rights at the Border, 4 ECTS

  • Aron Buzogany, EU Energy Governance in the EU's Neighbourhood, 4 ECTS

  • Christophe Hillion, The EU’s Relation(s) with a Wider Europe – The Legal Dimension, 4 ECTS

  • Joshua Castellino & Kathleen Cavanaugh, Minority Issues, Nationalism and Identity Politics in the EU’s Neighbourhood, 4 ECTS

  • Andriy Tyushka, The EU, Russia and the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood: Power, Performance, and Perceptions, 4 ECTS

Compact seminars for the Major, The EU in the Wider Europe and its Neighbours (no ECTS):

  • Natalia Chaban, External Perceptions of the EU and EU Public Diplomacy: Views from the EU’s Neighbourhoods and around the World

  • Rana Sabbagh, Investigative Journalism in the Southern Neighbourhood

Simulation game for the Major, The EU in the Wider Europe and its Neighbours (no ECTS):

  • Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski, Creating a System of European Security: The Congress of Vienna 1814-15

  • Luca Franza, Energy and Climate in the Neighbourhood

A shared MATA classroom

Examine transatlantic affairs with students across both institutions

All first-year MATA students participate in the shared course on US–EU relations. The first-semester course provides multidisciplinary analysis of transatlantic affairs, while the second-semester component moves toward applied work on security and trade. 

This course gives MATA-EIS students a common transatlantic foundation while allowing them to bring Natolin’s interdisciplinary and regional perspective into discussions with the wider MATA cohort.

Study beyond the classroom

Experience regions, borders and policies in context

Natolin study trips allow students to examine how history, identity, institutions and public policy interact in particular places. Through discussions with officials, experts and local actors, students connect academic concepts with developments on the ground.


A MATA-EIS student joins European Interdisciplinary Studies peers for a roundtable discussion during the 2025–2026 study trip to Tunis.

Fletcher and the second-year routes
Continue your academic journey at Fletcher

At Fletcher, students can complement their Natolin foundation through coursework in:

  • International Law and Organizations;
  • Diplomacy, History and Politics;
  • Economics and International Business.
Route 1: Fletchter > Internship
Route 2: Internship > FletcherRoute 3: Full year at Fletcher
  • S3 Coursework
  • S4 Internship

Internship: YES

  • S3 Internship
  • S4 Coursework

Internship: YES

  • S3 Coursework
  • S4 Coursework

Internship: NO

View route detailsView route detailsView route details

Alumni profile
From transatlantic policy research to the World Bank and European Commission

During MATA, Pau completed his internship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. He later worked with Baltic countries at the World Bank and completed a Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission, where he contributed to Europe’s Technology Sovereignty Package.

His trajectory demonstrates how MATA-EIS can connect interdisciplinary study, regional expertise and transatlantic professional experience with work in international and European institutions.

“MATA-EIS gave me an interdisciplinary perspective that has been invaluable throughout my career. The Natolin study trip to the Baltic region directly supported my early work with Baltic countries at the World Bank. The programme’s focus on US–EU relations, technology, security and industrial policy also prepared me to contribute to Europe’s Technology Sovereignty Package during my Blue Book traineeship.” Pau Alvarez Aragones, MATA ’24, Policy Officer, DG CNECT, European Commission

 

MATA-EIS: Where can this track take you?

The European Interdisciplinary Studies track prepares you to approach complex policy questions from multiple disciplinary, historical and regional perspectives. Its combination of academic breadth, regional expertise, field-based learning and professional experience can support careers in:

  • EU and international institutions;
  • international development organisations;
  • diplomacy and national government;
  • enlargement and neighbourhood policy;
  • think tanks and policy research;
  • regional and geopolitical analysis;
  • migration, climate and energy policy;
  • human rights and civil society;
  • international cooperation and development;
  • consulting and political-risk analysis;
  • academic research.

Through study at Natolin and Fletcher, regional study trips, a high-level internship and a transatlantic thesis, students learn to connect politics, economics, law, history and regional studies when analysing challenges that do not fit within a single policy area.

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.

[Apply to MATA]

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