Program Overview

Una Europa Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS)

Programme Description

The Una Europa Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS) is an innovative, interdisciplinary programme co-designed and co-taught by eight leading European universities, all members of the Una Europa alliance. The programme provides an extensive education on sustainability, its various complexities, and the interdependence of divergent disciplines, aiming to equip graduates with the necessary tools to forge a better future and fill the growing niche on the market for professionals with a cross-cutting understanding of sustainable development.

Available Programmes

• First-cycle programme:
  • Study mode: full-time programme
  • Language of instruction: English
  • Profile: general academic
  • Duration: 3 years (6 semesters)
  • Title: Licencjat (equivalent of Bachelor’s degree)
  • Main discipline: Law
• Second-cycle programme: not available

Programme Structure

All students of the programme will begin at the same starting university, studying there during the entire first year of the programme. During these semesters, students will take introductory courses, which will familiarize them with the core concepts and frameworks of sustainability, as well as transversal courses, which will equip them with core academic skills and competencies. Then, starting with the second year, students will follow one of the six three-semester-long specialisation tracks, each coordinated by one of the degree-awarding partners of the programme. The tracks are:

• Sustainable Chemistry & Physics (coordinated by Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet)
• Economy & Geography (coordinated by Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
• Law & Politics of Sustainability (coordinated by Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie)
• Environmental & Life Sciences (coordinated by Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
• Economics, Management & Engineering (coordinated by KU Leuven)
• Social Sciences & Humanities (coordinated by the Universität Zürich)

Curriculum Overview

The programme curriculum illustrates the programme’s structure as well as detailed information about the course curricula, including in which semester students will take a given course, whether it is mandatory or optional, and what are a given course’s formal requirements.

Student Life

University experience is more than just the education received – it is also the time when students develop their interests and passions and form important and enduring relationships with their peers. Many research societies and student organisations operate at the universities of the programme, both at a level of a given faculty and university-wide ones.

Admission to Studies

Admission to the programme is based on an online entrance exam. More detailed information about the exam, its scope, and form can be found on the programme’s dedicated website.

Graduates

Throughout the programme, BASUS students will gain knowledge pertaining to various aspects of sustainability, from the physical basis of climate change, through sustainable development goals and circular economy, to its ethical paradigm, all of which are becoming increasingly pertinent across sectors. As the programme centres an interdisciplinary and cross-cutting approach, BASUS graduates will be uniquely predisposed to foster and facilitate dialogue between disciplinary specialists.

Further Education Possibilities

• Second-cycle programmes
• Post-diploma programmes

Partner Universities

The programme is co-created and co-led by eight leading European universities that are members of the Una Europa university alliance:

• Jagiellonian University in Kraków
• KU Leuven
• Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet
• Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
• Universidad Complutense de Madrid
• Universität Zürich
• University of Edinburgh
• Freie Universität Berlin

Rankings, Distinctions, Accreditations

• The Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS) programme has been accredited in accordance with the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes procedure by an international panel chaired by the Polish Accreditation Committee.
• Scientific category A in the discipline of Law awarded to the Jagiellonian University in Kraków by the decision of the Minister of Education and Science.