De: “Laszlo Kontler” <Kontlerl@ceu.edu
Objet: Central European University: present, future, recruitment

Dear Colleagues,

as you know, in April 2017 Central European University (CEU) became the target of a politically motivated legislative attack by the Hungarian government. In spite of worldwide protest and solidarity within and beyond the academic community – for which we shall ever remain tremendously grateful -, and the fact that CEU has met the conditions, the government refuses to comply with its own law. Instead of signing an agreement with the State of New York as the university’s “country of origin”, which is required for maintaining the permission to operate our US-accredited programs in Hungary, it continues its smear campaign against CEU.

The university therefore recently announced its decision to open from September 2019 a new campus in Vienna, where our highly ranked masters and doctoral programs with US accreditation will be offered to all incoming students. Returning students will continue their studies in Budapest, and students enrolled in Vienna will also be able to spend part of their academic year in Budapest in our accredited Hungarian facility.

I am writing to kindly request you to bring to the attention of potentially interested students the new call for applications to CEU’s MA and PhD programs.

In 1991 CEU was founded with a mission. That mission—educating free minds for a free society—is more urgent than ever. CEU is dedicated to equipping its students with an experience of intellectual freedom and academic excellence that will change their lives. We teach students from over a hundred countries, so those newly admitted will be joining one of the most diverse, open and pluralistic academic communities in the world. As the mission commits us to making world-class graduate education available to all, we also continue to provide generous financial support for qualified applicants.

Let me specifically mention the programs of my own department, History. As most of you know, we run internationally recognized graduate degree programs that focus on Eastern, Southeastern, Central European, and Eastern Mediterranean history, in European and global contexts, from the early modern period to the present day. Our faculty’s expertise extends from the history of the Habsburg, Romanov, and Ottoman Empires to the comparative study of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century; from comparative religious studies to numerous aspects of social, cultural, and intellectual history. In addition, there are a number of specializations and Advanced Certificate programs (Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Jewish Studies, Political Thought, Religious Studies, Visual Studies, etc.) that allow students to pursue their special interests in greater depth. The international faculty and student body at the department (our faculty represents 16 countries, while our current student cohort comes from 29 countries) provide a distinctive possibility of thinking about history across geographical regions, historical periods, and disciplines. Successful applicants will be not only studying, but also making history as the first cohort of graduate students admitted to both Vienna and Budapest!

I am also sending our current recruitment brochure as an attachment. For further information please contact the department’s recruitment assistant, Stefan Gužvica, at history@ceu.edu or guzvica_stefan@alumni.ceu.edu.

Last but not least, your students may also be interested in participating in the 13th Graduate Conference in European History (GRACEH) on “Negotiating Hierarchies: Status and Rank in European History”, https://graceh2019.wordpress.com/ , hosted at CEU in 2019. Please encourage them to submit proposals!

With many thanks for your time and consideration, and best wishes,

László Kontler
Professor, History Department, Central European University (Budapest)
https://people.ceu.edu/laszlo_kontler

European Review of History / Revue d’histoire européenne http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cerh20/current

European Society for the History of Political Thought https://europoliticalthought.wordpress.com/

published in October 2017: http://www.brill.com/products/book/trust-and-happiness-history-european-political-thought