European University Institute

The Economics Department provides teaching and supervision to PhD students. The research activities of the department reflect the interests of the faculty and are concentrated in micro, macro and econometrics. Weekly research seminars are given by scholars from around the world. The teaching in the doctoral programme is based on formal coursework at a level which will allow researchers to pursue academic careers in universities or to follow professional opportunities in international organisations. In their third and fourth years researchers work on their thesis projects under the guidance of their supervisor while attending research workshops and seminars.

The Department of History and Civilisation (HEC) offers a programme of transnational and comparative European history. The doctoral programme studies the construction of Europe's boundaries and the diversity and complexity of experiences within them.

The department's central concerns are the interlinking of European societies since the Renaissance and the complex cultural legacies that have shaped contemporary Europe. The HEC community is also committed to exploring the place of Europe in the world through the study of empires, global processes and institutions.

The variety of research approaches and themes, as well as the broad background of its professors, enable the department to recruit Ph.D. candidates and to host outstanding research fellows.

The Department of Law is European and international in character. It is committed to the study of law in a comparative and contextual manner, with a special focus on European and international law.

Courses and seminars are interactive, research-oriented and designed to cover the main subject areas of the department's work. Researchers gain experience in presenting their work, and are encouraged to participate in conferences, workshops and the department's working groups.

Within the department, the Academy of European Law (AEL) offers advanced-level summer courses in Human Rights Law and EU Law. It also manages research projects and runs a publications programme.

The EUI Law Department also jointly hosts, with Harvard Law School, the Summer School on Law and Logic. This summer school was launched in 2012 and is also sponsored by the University of Bologna (Italy), the University of Groningen (the Netherlands), the European Academy of Legal Theory, and a grant from the Erasmus Lifelong Learning Programme.

The research programme of the Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) places emphasis on political and social change within Europe at the national, sub-national and transnational level. The research interests of the department range across the four sub-disciplines of comparative politics, sociology, international relations, and social and political theory.

Courses in both quantitative and qualitative methods are available as options in the first and second year, while field work and data collection normally take place in the second and third year.

The School of Transnational Governance was launched in 2017. The School is concerned with problems of governance beyond the state, and offers Executive Training seminars, high-level policy dialogues, fellowships, and a masters programme in transnational governance. It is supported by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission.

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies was launched by the European University Institute in 1993 building up on the experience of an already existing Policy Unit, created by Joseph Weiler. It is named for Robert Schuman. The first director of the newly established Centre was Yves Mény (1993–2001), followed by Helen Wallace (2001–2006), Stefano Bartolini (2006–2013), Brigid Laffan (2013–2021) and Erik Jones (2021-). The initial set up was composed of one director, one assistant and two secretaries, but over the years the centre has grown into a larger research centre pursuing interdisciplinary research into the key political challenges facing Europe and the EU today and bringing together academics and practitioners, in both policy dialogues and executive training. The centre's mission is to "contribute to research on the major issues facing contemporary European society, including questions associated with the construction of Europe." The centre has several main programmes.

The Global Governance Programme brings together academics, diplomats, public officers and officials from international organisations to connect the worlds of research and policy-making. It tackles a wide range of issues, including human rights, international trade, development, climate change, internet governance and regional integration.

The programme hosts a series of events, including policy seminars, where participants can exchange ideas.

A display table associated with the Florence School of Regulation in 2012.

The Florence School of Regulation (FSR) is a centre of excellence for independent research, training and policy dialogue. The FSR was founded in 2004 as a partnership between the EUI's Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, the Council of the European Energy Regulators (CEER) and the Independent Regulators Group (IRG). The school also works closely with the European Commission.

The FSR organises policy events dealing with key regulatory issues, provides academic training for practitioners, produces regulation research and promotes networking and the exchange of ideas in the areas of:

• Energy and Climate
• Communications and Media
• Transport
• Water

Policy and business decision-makers, regulators, regulated companies and academics from different countries are encouraged to share their experiences through the school.

The European Governance and Politics Programme (EGPP) is an international hub of theoretical and empirical academic research on Europe's politics and governance. The programme is committed to combining solid theoretical foundations to analyse the interaction between European integration and national politics with empirical analysis based on data collection. Launched in 2018, EGPP was established as the successor programme to the European Union Democracy Observatory (EUDO), active between 2006 and 2016. In 2020, Daniele Caramani took over the directorship of EGPP from Brigid Laffan, who was founding director from 2018 until 2020.

The Migration Policy Centre has been founded in January 2012[8] and conducts policy-oriented research on global migration, asylum and mobility. It serves governance needs at European and global levels, from developing, implementing and monitoring migration-related policies to assessing their impact on the wider economy and society.

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) was set up to raise awareness of media diversity and freedom issues in Europe. Co-financed by the European Union, it is composed of experts in legal studies, new media policies, media markets and economics, political science and political communications. Through its programme of research, debate, training and dissemination of results, the CMPF works with academics, policy makers, regulators, market stakeholders, journalists and others interested in the debate.

Middle East Directions Programme

The Middle East Directions Programme (MEDirections) is a research programme that promotes multidisciplinary research on the Middle East and North Africa to address turbulent changes in the region that profoundly impact its peoples and cause repercussions for Europe.[9] Based on fieldwork findings and collaboration with researchers from the region, MEDirections seeks the new paradigms and the new research focus that are needed to analyse the region and its on-going transformations to better guide policy-making.

The EUI prepares researchers for developing and defending a doctoral thesis in the fields of economics, history and civilization, law, and political and social sciences. Around 150-160 research grants are awarded annually by the EU Member States and other European national authorities to successful candidates. A Ph.D. from the European University Institute is an internationally recognised qualification.

While each department structures its own four-year programme, in all researchers are involved in seminars and other events where they are encouraged to participate and present their work. During their Ph.D. students may travel within the EU and further afield to conduct research, while there are also exchange opportunities.

There are funding options available to researchers, with the majority of EU member states offering grants which cover living costs and tuition fees. There are additional agreements with non-EU member states, while the Italian and Spanish ministries of foreign affairs provide grants to a number of countries. Academics not covered by grants pay €12,000 each year in tuition fees and be able to guarantee at least €1,200 monthly to cover living costs, although fees may be reduced or waived for candidates from developing countries.

For all persons except for PhD and LLM researchers, grants or salaries are paid by the EUI. These persons – trainees, administrative staff, Fellows and Professors – are paid equally. By contrast, PhD and LLM researchers' grants are determined (and generally paid) directly by the Member States. Whilst the EUI Convention's Declarations says that States should aim for grants to be 'comparable',[11] there is wide variation in grants. This is in addition to wide variation in conditions (such as healthcare, parental leave and other grants). Additionally, whilst the EUI pays the same grant to all fourth-year PhD researchers (€1,365, the amount it estimates as necessary to live in Florence[12]), several States top this up.

As of 2020/21, the basic grant/salaries (and top-ups) stood as follows:[13]

Since 1984 the European University Institute has offered law students a one-year programme leading to the degree of Master in Comparative, European and International Law (LL.M. degree level).

The majority of students and professors are multilingual; all are required to have a good knowledge of English although French and Italian are also regular working languages and the institute is committed to accommodating other languages where possible.

The Max Weber Programme is Europe's largest postdoctoral programme in the social sciences and is funded by the European Commission.

Max Weber Fellowships are designed for junior post-docs who would like to pursue an academic career, concentrate on their own research and enhance their academic practice in a multidisciplinary environment. Max Weber Fellowships are for one or two years and are open to candidates who have received a doctorate in the social sciences (economics, law, political science, sociology, history and related fields) within the last five years.

Through its Jean Monnet Fellowship Programme the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies offers fellowships to mid- and late-career scholars (while previously the Jean Monnet was a post-doctoral fellowship, it is now available only to those who received their PhD at least five years prior). During their stay at the RSCAS, fellows work on a research topic that fits well in the overall research profile of the RSCAS and participate in the academic life of the centre and of the EUI. Jean Monnet Fellowships have a duration of one or two years and are open to candidates who have received a doctorate more than five years prior.

Fernand Braudel Senior Fellowships provide a framework for established academics with an international reputation to pursue their research at the EUI. Fellowships last for up to ten months in one of the EUI's four Departments which in turn invite fellows to participate in departmental activities (seminars, workshops, colloquia, etc.).

The EUI (the departments and the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies) acts as a host institution for Marie Curie Fellowships which are awarded by the European Commission.

The Canon Foundation and the EUI jointly award one Canon Foundation Fellowship each year for post-doctoral research at the EUI. The fellowship is open to candidates of Japanese nationality or permanent residents of Japan.

The Academy of Finland awards fellowships for post-doctoral research at the EUI. A project to be funded shall serve Finnish research and society or international collaboration.

The Australian European University Institute Fellowships Association Inc awards annually one six-month Postdoctoral Fellowship for the period January–June. The Postdoctoral Fellowship is available to those who have graduated with a PhD qualification within the last five years, and is open only to Australian citizens or residents employed in Australian universities.

The State of the Union is an annual forum for high level reflection on the European Union organised by the EUI since 2011.[15] The conference acts as a bridge between academia and policy making at the highest level in Europe, bringing together heads of state, EU representatives, academics, policy-makers, business and opinion leaders and civil society representatives to discuss and debate the key challenges and opportunities facing Europe and Europeans each year. Presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, as well as presidents of the European Commission and European Parliament have taken part in the event over the years.[16][17]