Human mobility is at the heart of social change. Particularly, international migration has a significant impact on the economic, political and social agendas of sovereign states, intergovernmental agencies and civil society groups. This track on migration studies program provides a broad, theoretical understanding of human mobility and the role of both internal and international migration in economic and political processes, social change and globalization, as well as an overview of the major debates and literature on contemporary migration from different disciplinary perspectives in the social sciences and humanities. Through a focus on global transformations, the courses in the program addresses issues related to governance such as human rights, state policies, migration management, migration-development nexus as well as lived experience of international migration including displacement, transnationalism, economics of migration, citizenship, integration and cultural diversity in societies of settlement.

Migration Studies has been acknowledged as the interdisciplinary field par excellence. The field has traditionally encompassed a variety of disciplines, such as Sociology, International Relations, Economics, Law, History, Psychology and Literature among others. The interdisciplinary structure of the track program will help students to develop a broad understanding of academic research related to international migration, forced migration and refugees, as well as critical thinking and sound evaluation tools. Students will gain the ability to plan, organise and carry out research into aspects of migration and refugee studies as well as the skills necessary to convey theoretical and policy aspects of international migration to a variety of different audiences. They will also gain skills in critical analysis and research, should develop an ability to contribute new perspectives to the study of migration, and an understanding of the dilemmas facing policy-makers at local, national and international levels. Offering a strong foundation, the program will prepare students for graduate studies in areas related to migration studies, and for a career in public and private, national and international organisations
concerned with migration issues.

Certificate Program Requirements

Undergraduate students with a strong academic standing are eligible to apply for admission to this track program designed in joint affiliation with four departments (Sociology, International Relations, English Language and Comparative Literature, and History). Students who complete in total five (5) courses among those listed below will be awarded the Migration Studies Track along with the Bachelor of Arts degree upon their graduating from the university provided that they have satisfied the following requirements:

a) their average grade attained from these five courses is at least 2.70
b) at least two (2) of these courses have been offered by a department outside their own

For students participating in an Erasmus exchange, at most one (1) relevant Erasmus course may be counted toward the track program, as long as it has been recognized as such by the relevant committee. Upon approval by the student’s advisor and the Migration Studies Track Program committee, the student may substitute one of the five courses with an undergraduate honorary thesis or an independent study.

Among the courses listed below, students are required to take at least 5 courses:

SOSC 105: Migration and Globalization
SOCI 350: Selected Topics in Sociology: International Migration and the ‘Crisis’
SOCI 411: Sociology of Migration
SOCI 552: Selected Topics: The Politics of Population
INTL 409: Migration Policies
INTL 435: International Migration in a Global World
INTL 475: Politics of Ethnicity and Nationalism
LITR 319: Minority Voices in Literature
LITR 431: Migration and Narrative
HIST 327: Comparative Urban History
MAVA 335: European Cinema: “The Politics of Contemporary European Cinema “
NURS 316: Healthcare for Vulnerable Populations
LAW 328: International Human Rights Law