Programme structure
General information
Due to the international and interdisciplinary nature of BASUS, the study programme has a unique structure that allows students to learn about sustainability from multiple foci and to integrate various aspects of disciplinary knowledge into a truly cross-cutting perspective.
The programme is divided into three parts: Common Core, Track and Final Semester. All students take the same subjects during the first year of the programme (Common Core) and stay at the host university for the first two semesters – for the current edition of the programme, Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie will serve as the host university. Then, for semesters three, four and five students disperse across six partner universities to follow one of the Tracks, each of which focuses on the perspective of a given discipline on sustainability studies. The Final Semester is designated for the writing and completion of a bachelor’s thesis, with optional student mobility to one of the eight universities associated with the programme also being available.
All BASUS students will be entitiled to all services and facilities customarily available on campus at the university of their stay. For more information and direct links, go to the Student Life section of FAQ.
Common core
Semester I
Introduction to Economic Development
5 ECTS
Introduction to Environmental Challenges
5 ECTS
Introduction to Social Issues
5 ECTS
Introduction to Sustainability Dilemmas
5 ECTS
Basic Statistics
4 ECTS
Mathematical Tools for Sustainability
3 ECTS
Introduction to Research Design
2 ECTS
Scientific Information Acquisition
1 ECTS
Semester II
Academic English: Research and Presentation
4 ECTS
Introduction to University Etiquette, Official Correspondence & Composition of Academic Texts
2 ECTS
Introduction to Environmental & Life Sciences
4 ECTS
Introduction to Chemistry & Climate Physics
4 ECTS
Introduction to Economics, Management & Engineering
4 ECTS
Introduction to Geography & Economics
4 ECTS
Introduction to Social Sciences & Humanities
4 ECTS
Introduction to Law & Politics of Sustainability
4 ECTS
Tracks
At the end of the second semester of the programme, students designate their track preference. As each track can admit maximum 30 students, students are admitted on the basis of the grades they received from the respective Introduction to Track source. If a student does not qualify for their top choice track, they will be assigned to either their second or third track of choice.
Track: Environmental & Life Sciences
This track is coordinated by Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Go to the university website.
Semester III
Life Systems
5 ECTS
Earth System Science
5 ECTS
Statistics for Environmental Sciences
5 ECTS
Semester IV
Ecology and Ecosystems
5 ECTS
Biodivertsity and Conservation
5 ECTS
Environmental Sustainability in the Field
5 ECTS
Semester V
Water Resources
5 ECTS
Environmental Technology
5 ECTS
Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
5 ECTS
Sustainability in Food Production
5 ECTS
Land Management
5 ECTS
Environmental Assessment and Environmental Footprint
5 ECTS
Track: Physics & Climate Chemistry
This track is coordinated by Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet. Go to the university website.
Semester III
Inorganic Chemistry
5 ECTS
Introduction to Earth System Interactions in the Context of Sustainability and Climate
5 ECTS
Mathematical Tools for Sustainable Chemistry & Physics
5 ECTS
Semester IV
Interactions and Bodies
5 ECTS
Laboratory Works in Chemistry
5 ECTS
Organic Chemistry 1
5 ECTS
Basics of Thermophysics
5 ECTS
Semester V
Basics of Atmospheric Chemistry
5 ECTS
Physical Basis of Climate Change
5 ECTS
Renewable Energy
5 ECTS
Sustainable Chemistry
5 ECTS
Future Materials for Sustainability
5 ECTS
Track: Economics, Management & Engineering
This track is coordinated by KU Leuven. Go to the university website.
Semester III
Microeconomics
3 ECTS
Behaviour Change
5 ECTS
Environmental Economics
3 ECTS
Physics – Mechanical Energy and Thermodynamics
4 ECTS
Semester IV
Energy Economics and EU ETS
5 ECTS
Materials: Properties, Selection and Sustainability
5 ECTS
Sustainable Energy Systems
5 ECTS
Semester V
Strategic Management & Sustainability
5 ECTS
Sustainable Finance
5 ECTS
Circular and Ecological Economics
2 ECTS
Supply Chain Management
6 ECTS
Applied Sustainability Assessment
4 ECTS
Corporate Social Responsibility
5 ECTS
Track: Geography & Economics
This track is coordinated by Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Go to the university website.
Semester III
European Geosystems
5 ECTS
Core Economics and Sustainable Development 1
5 ECTS
Techniques and Methods 1
5 ECTS
Semester IV
Systemic Analysis of Environmental Issues 1
5 ECTS
Core Economics and Sustainable Development 2
5 ECTS
Techniques and Methods 2
5 ECTS
Semester V
Systemic Analysis of Environmental Issues 2
5 ECTS
Core Economics and Sustainable Development 3
5 ECTS
Econometrics and Impact Evaluation
5 ECTS
Environmental Economics and Sustainable Finance
5 ECTS
Sustainable Development
5 ECTS
Spatializing and Modelling SDGs Indicators & Regional Narratives
5 ECTS
Track: Social Sciences & Humanities
This track is coordinated by Universität Zürich. Go to the university website.
Semester III
Anthropological Perspectives on Sustainable Development
3 ECTS
Introduction to Sustainability Ethics
3 ECTS
Sustainability Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Approaches and Methods
3 ECTS
Water and Humans
3 ECTS
Semester IV
European Integration
3 ECTS
Introduction to Development Policy and Economics
3 ECTS
Introduction to Sustainable Finance
3 ECTS
The Politics of Inequality
3 ECTS
Sustainable Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Applications and Explorations
3 ECTS
Semester V
Sustainable Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Current Topics and Research Designs
6 ECTS
Thematic Focus I: Justice, Responsibility, and Rights *
6 ECTS PER FOCUS
Justice and Sustainability
3 ECTS
Ethics of Sustainable Development as a Challenge for Democracy
3 ECTS
Legal aspects of Environmental Governance and Justice
2 ECTS
Political Theory of the Anthropocene
3 ECTS
Political Ecology
3 ECTS
Thematic Focus II: Cultures, Spaces, and Transformations *
6 ECTS PER FOCUS
Sustainability and Church History: Preserving the Memory of Religion
3 ECTS
Transformations in European Death Culture
3 ECTS
Sustainable Landscapes between Religion, Politics and Economy
3 ECTS
Anthropological Perspectives on Islam and Sustainability
3 ECTS
Eco-Cosmologies
3 ECTS
Political Ecology
3 ECTS
Advanced Spatial Analysis
5 ECTS
Thematic Focus III: Social Structures, Actors, and Strategies *
6 ECTS PER FOCUS
Poor Countries, Rich Countries: Social and Economic Development in Comparative Perspective
6 ECTS
Markets, Power and Morality
6 ECTS
Political Economy of Sustainable Energy Transitions
3 ECTS
Markets and Norms
3 ECTS
Thematic Focus IV: Governance, Policies, and Politics *
6 ECTS PER FOCUS
The Environment in Global Sustainability Governance
3 ECTS
Sustainable Welfare
3 ECTS
Sustainable Development and Participation
3 ECTS
* Students choose subjects from each of four foci – they should earn 6 ECTS per focus, 24 ECTS in total.
Track: Law & Politics of Sustainability
This track is coordinated by Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie. Go to the university website.
Semester III
Module: Environmental and Energy Law & Politics
9 ECTS
International Trade Law in the Context of Sustainability
4 ECTS
Introduction to International Trade and Investment Law – workshops for interdisciplinary students
1 ECTS
Semester IV
International Investment Law in the Context of Sustainability
4 ECTS
Module: Private Law, Business, and Innovation
7 ECTS
Legal Clinic 1
5 ECTS
Semester V
Transnationalisation and Globalisation
4 ECTS
Cultural Aspects of Sustainability
4 ECTS
Ethical Dilemmas of Sustainability
4 ECTS
Current Frontiers of Sustainability Law
4 ECTS
Law of the Sea and the Marine Environment
4 ECTS
Legal Clinic 2
10 ECTS
Final semester
The final semester is chiefly dedicated to the writing of the bachelor’s thesis.
The general rules for the writing and assessment of the thesis, such as writing in groups or final exam, are up to the individual regulation governing the university of the thesis supervisor, who should be a professor of one of the degree-awarding partners. If a project necessitates co-supervision, a co-supervisor can be appointed from any of the eight universities associated with the programme. To facilitate student mobility, the thesis supervision can be conducted either on-site or online.
With the thesis seminar being the only obligatory element of the programme during the final semester, the students can use this semester for additional mobility. The students can spend this semester at any of the eight universities associated with the programme and take elective courses from their offer. However, mobility is optional, and a student can stay at their track university instead.
Electives
During the second and third year of the programme in addition to the obligatory courses of a student’s track and the bachelor thesis seminar, students are also to take electives. Students choose electives from the general pool of courses made available by the university of the student’s stay, i.e. their track university and the university they choose to spend the final semester at.
During the second year (semester three and four) students are to earn at minimum 20 ECTS from electives; during the third year – at minimum 15 ECTS. Although BASUS is an English-language programme, the students can participate in electives taught in the national language(s) of their university, providing that they can prove their proficiency in said language(s). Other activities organised throughout the programme, e.g. summer schools, can count towards electives.
The list of available electives in each partner university that BASUS students would be eligible to apply for will be published before each semester.
Student Assessment & Examination
Although all partners adhere to the ECTS credit system, individual grading systems and standards vary from partner to partner. As such, students will be assessed and examined in accordance with the grading system in place at the university of their stay, i.e. the host university, the track university or the final semester mobility university.
The Academic Steering Committee of the programme, however, ensures the convertability of all grading systems and will be responsible for coordinating the continuous assessment of student progress throughout the programme.
