About the EPA Programme:

What is EPA?

The Maastricht Master's Programme in European Public Affairs (EPA) was established in 1999. It provides advanced professional training for people interested in internationalising their curriculum in a scholarly manner. The objective is to enable students to learn to think in European terms, i.e. they become able to collect and utilise information concerning the public domain in the EU and the EU member states. Growing interdependence in Europe is generating an increased demand for people who have a solid understanding of the European dimension of policy-making. Today, policy problems transcend national borders and national problem-solving capacities. The European Public Affairs master’s programme is designed to give you, as a student or a professional, an understanding of the complexity of Europe and the EU, and to help you reformulate intricate problems in manageable and achievable terms. From a multi-disciplinary perspective (with the emphasis on political science, law, economics, culture science and public administration), the programme delves into contemporary policy problems that transcend national borders.  One of the main assets of the EPA Master is its ‘hands-on-approach’ via our cooperation with the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht. The profile of the Maastricht Master programme has the following characteristics:

Graduates of this programme may develop their careers in public organisations with European or transnational missions. They may also work as managers and staff analysts in non-profit organisations, in public affairs divisions of private corporations, in private firms performing 'privatised' government functions, in consulting firms etc.

Education

To provide an opportunity for students to 'Europeanise' their expertise in a scholarly manner, the programme crosses borders, in four aspects.

European countries

First, students learn to think in European terms and backgrounds. 'European' not only relates to the European Union, but also to the domain of national and regional differences within the territory called 'Europe'. What are the similarities and the differences between societies and political styles of European countries?

Multi-disciplinary

Second, the programme crosses the borders of academic disciplines. In the public domain of Europe, there is a great variety of institutions and solutions for problems. The Germans deal differently with problems in the field of health care or the labour market from the English or the French. The fact that one country uses a particular legal instrument and another does not, is often related to a difference of political culture or socio-economic relations. European developments can only be understood within a wide context, i.e., against the background of a number of different disciplines. To retain coherence in the programme, modules focus on a common theme or topic. All disciplines provide knowledge and skills that contribute to the clarification of a specific problem or problem field. Topics from the European public domain provide the opportunity to place matters within an international context. Such problems make it possible to link various disciplines, but also tie in with current affairs and practical problems and professional practice.

Practice-oriented

Third, the programme crosses borders between theory and practice. Many postgraduate programmes are discipline and research oriented. 'Practice' often appears as a description of reality in a textbook. The Maastricht Masters is based on future career needs. As an academic programme it is research-based, but oriented toward professional practice. A practice-oriented approach means the development of the capacity to apply ideas. Students learn how to analyse problems in their context, as well as to design and assess proposed solutions.

The practical or professional orientation implies that the programme focuses strongly on developing skills that are important for current or future professional career.

Problem-based

Fourth, learning skills is more than practising techniques, such as language fluency or writing and discussion techniques. It is also a question of educational methodology. Today's students will be in active professional practice well into the coming decades. Especially in the European context, they will practice during a period of accelerating and massive change in public sector management. This means that the knowledge students acquire during their education will become outdated during their professional practice.

Changes in society and in their profession will make self-directed learning throughout their career a sine qua non. Adapting to, and participating in, change requires the development of a number of component competences, such as the skills of communication, critical reasoning, a logical and analytical approach to problems, reasoned decision making, and self-evaluation. Problem-based learning is an excellent tool in this case, as it is designed for 'learning to learn' and for finding solutions for actual problems.

The crucial point in professional education is to combine the knowledge base and methods of scientific disciplines and the craft to solve real life policy problems. The direct application of scientific tools to policy problems is rare.

For a professional programme the question is how to bridge the academic theory and the methods on the one hand and the political reality of public practice on the other. Professionals learn to craft solutions to the problems they face. However, 'learning by doing' usually takes place on the job. The challenge is to create a learning environment that integrates academic expertise with 'learning by doing'.