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Study program: New double degree course connects Munich and Prague
21 Oct 2026
Study in two places and two languages: LMU and the Charles University in Prague are collaborating to deliver the new master’s degree program.
The entrance to the Faculty of Arts at the historic Charles University in the heart of Prague.
© Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy
The German-Czech master’s degree course “East-Central Europe: History, Politics and Culture” commences at LMU in the winter semester. Students will spend two semesters at LMU, followed by two more at Charles University in Prague. Tuition will be in German and Czech. After four semesters and having achieved 120 ECTS points, graduates will be awarded one master’s degree from LMU and another from Charles University.
The first cohort already combines a variety of perspectives: Some of the students are from Prague, others have completed their bachelor’s degrees at LMU or another university. All are enrolled for the master’s degree course in East European Studies, on which the new double degree builds. The East European Studies course has been in existence at LMU since 2004.
“We had been thinking about designing a dual master’s program with a partner in Eastern Europe on this basis for some time,” explains Dr. Felix Jeschke, who coordinated the launch of the double degree program at LMU. The decision to partner with the Faculty of Arts at Charles University stemmed from collaboration that was already close. The program director and holder of the Chair of East and Southeast European History, Professor Martin Schulze Wessel, has long been working together with colleagues such as Michal Pullmann and Matěj Spurný in Prague. In 2021, for example, they jointly organized the lecture series “Thinking About East-Central Europe,” which addressed topics such as nationalism, state socialism and the history of Czechoslovakia.
Munich’s own research traditions were another argument in favor of cooperating with Prague. “The Bavarian capital has been a central hub of research and tuition around Czechia for decades,” Jeschke explains. Munich is also home to the Collegium Carolinum, a research institute for the history of the Czech lands and Slovakia. “So, the double master’s degree course is building on a firm foundation.”
“The double degree course gives students a very attractive opportunity: the chance to study on a transnational basis for a program coordinated between Munich and Prague,” Schulze Wessel notes. “This is a major step forward for the development of the East European Studies course at LMU. It moves us toward interlocking our own research and tuition with that of our partners at Charles University, one of the leading universities in Central Europe.”
Preparations underway since 2019
Preparations for the study course have been ongoing since 2019. “To get to this point, we obviously had to design a program of study,” Jeschke says. “But above all, we also had to do the legal groundwork.” In Czechia, that meant establishing and accrediting a new course of study. A cooperation treaty between the two universities was also needed. “Given the differing legal frameworks and the program’s interdisciplinary nature, it was a complex process that took a long time.”
In the first year of the course, the double degree students join with the other students on the wider course to attend lectures at LMU. These include an East European Area Studies methods course, a project course, events in a major and minor subject area chosen by the students themselves, and language tuition. In addition, a summer school is held at a different East European location and with a different topic every year. The 2027 summer school will be in Liberec.
The students meet at least once a weekDr. Felix Jeschke
The time the students spend together is not confined to the seminars alone. “The people on the course meet at least once a week,” Jeschke reports. And then there are excursions, talks and various other events. The alumni association AMUROst likewise organizes regular meetings and social get-togethers for students past and present.
Support is provided to anyone arriving in Munich for the first time. The semester begins with an introductory week. Additionally, students can access the services of the International Office. Each year, the Student Union also makes one room in a hall of residence available for a Czech student taking part in the double degree course.
At the end of the first year, the entire cohort moves to Prague. Here, they attend scientific seminars on the history, politics and culture of East-Central Europe, research seminars on social and cultural history and various other teaching units. The program is rounded off by elective events chosen from the range on offer, language tuition and a compulsory internship worth six ECTS points. The master’s thesis too forges a link between the two study venues and is supervised jointly by one academic from Munich and one from Prague.
Wanted: A keen interest in the humanities or the social sciences
The study course targets students who have a good or very good initial university degree and a passion for East-Central Europe. Jeschke stresses that good language skills alone are not enough: “First and foremost, the students should have a very keen interest in the humanities or the social sciences in the East-Central European context.” The aim, he adds, is for graduates to subsequently “feel at home and be employable in both academic systems and both labor markets”.
Anyone applying for the course via LMU will go through the selection procedure for the master’s degree course in East European Studies. When applying, candidates should specify that they are applying for the double degree. Where candidates are uncertain of their own language skills, the course coordinators can help them find preparatory language courses. A variety of funding options are also available for study phases in the foreign country, including Erasmus+ and Bavarian-Czech exchange programs such as those run by the Bavarian-Czech Academic Agency (BTHA).