Centre Européen de Recherches Internationales et Stratégiques (CERIS) is a private

Private university

Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...

 graduate university located in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. The university was founded in 1985 on the initiative of a group of university professors, diplomats and senior civil servants. The objective of CERIS is to promote research and post graduate education in the field of international relations.

History

Centre Européen de Recherches Internationales et Stratégiques was established in 1985 in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 by group of university professors, diplomats and senior civil servants. In 1988 CERIS began offering its flagship Master of Arts in International Politics program. CERIS began offering a distance learning option for this program in 2008. Also in 2008, CERIS began its partnership with the Institut de Hautes études Internationales & du Dévelopement. In 2009, CERIS broadened its offerings and started a Masters program in International Development.

Education

CERIS offers two Masters degrees, a Master of Arts in International Politics and a Master of Arts in Development, as well as post graduate certificates. Both its degree programs are taught partly in English and partly French. Rather than the typical class format, CERIS consists a series of guest lecturers come and give lectures on their area of expertise. The lectures are supplemented with readings, essays, and a residential seminar. Graduation at CERIS requires a Masters thesis and the passing of a cumulative oral exam at the end of studies. CERIS has strategic partnerships with the [Collège des études Interdisciplinaires de l'Université Paris Sud-11|Paris-Sud_11_University] and the Institut de Hautes études Internationales & du Dévelopement in Genève, Switzerland. As CERIS is not only an institute of higher learning, but also a research institution, CERIS publishes its own trade journal covering key topics in international politics.

Student body profile

Due to its location in the capital of Europe, the majority of CERIS students are Brussels based diplomats, EU or Nato officials, corporate executives and journalists. Two third of the student base are from European Union member states or applicants countries, with the third coming from north and south America, Sub-Sahara Africa, South and East Asia. The average age of those attending courses lies at around 32. Two thirds of them are aged between 25 and 34, but more than a quarter are over the age of 35. Approximately 50% of CERIS students studied politics, economics, or business administration in their undergrad studies.

Notable Lecturers and Alumni

Among the notable individuals who have taught at CERIS are: Thierry de Montbrial

Thierry de Montbrial

Thierry de Montbrial is a French economics and international relations specialist and researcher.-Biography:He is the son of François de Montbrial, inspector-general of the Bank of France and Monique Lecuyer-Corthis. He married Marie-Christine de Montbrial in 1967, who is a movie producer and...

, Alexander Dubcek

Alexander Dubcek

Alexander Dubček , also known as Dikita, was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia , famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring...

, Petre Roman

Petre Roman

Petre Roman is a Romanian politician and a former Prime Minister of Romania. He served from 1989 to 1991, when his government was overthrown by the intervention of the miners led by Miron Cozma. Roman is a member of the Club of Madrid, grouping 66 democratic former heads of state and government...

, Hélène Carrère d'Encausse

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse is the permanent secretary of the Académie Française and a historian specializing in Russian history....

, Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...

, Bronislaw Geremek

Bronislaw Geremek

Professor Bronisław Geremek , was a Polish social historian and politician.- Early life and education :...

, Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour, is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda...

, Javier Solana

Javier Solana

Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...

, Réginald Moreels, Erkki Liikanen

Erkki Liikanen

Erkki Liikanen is a Finnish social democratic politician and the Governor of the Bank of Finland.-Career:...

, Shiekh Hassina

Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina is a Bangladeshi politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Awami League, a major political party, since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh and widow of a reputed nuclear...

, Francis Wodié

Francis Wodié

Romain Francis Wodié is an Ivorian politician. A professor and human rights activist, he led the Ivorian Workers' Party from 1990 to 2011. During that time, Wodié served as a Deputy in the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire from 1990 to 1995 and as Minister of Higher Education from 1998 to 1999...

, Robert Cooper, Ion Iliescu

Ion Iliescu

Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....

, and Robert Kagan

Robert Kagan

Robert Kagan is an American historian and foreign policy commentator.-Early life and education:Kagan graduated from Yale University in 1980 where he was tapped by Skull and Bones, studied history, and founded the Yale Political Monthly. He later earned an MPP from the John F...

.

CERIS alumni include Réginald Moreels and Erkki Likanen

Erkki Liikanen

Erkki Liikanen is a Finnish social democratic politician and the Governor of the Bank of Finland.-Career:...

.