 |
NaUKMA offers selected English-taught learning opportunities for international students in law and the social sciences. At present, these include the online graduate-level certificate program "From Warfare to Lawfare: Legal Responses to Atrocity Crimes and Other Violations of International Law" offered by the Faculty of Law, as well as a new English-taught offer in Russian Studies: Ukrainian Perspective, which is currently being prepared within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Social Technologies.
1. From Warfare to Lawfare: Legal Responses to Atrocity Crimes and Other Violations of International Law
This online, English-taught program is designed for students and professionals interested in international criminal law, international humanitarian law, transitional justice, genocide studies, and related fields. Participants may take individual courses or complete at least three courses with assessment in order to receive a certificate. The program is especially relevant for applicants with a background in law, international relations, political science, or other related social science and humanities disciplines. All courses are taught in English, and the minimum recommended English-language level is B2.
Available courses
- Advanced International Criminal Law - a comprehensive study of the development of international criminal law, core international crimes, and accountability mechanisms in both international and domestic contexts.
- Current Issues of International Humanitarian Law - a course examining contemporary challenges in the law of armed conflict, including implementation, accountability, occupation, and new dimensions of warfare.
- Lawfare and Misuse of International Law - a course on the political use and misuse of international law, with particular attention to contemporary conflict and strategic legal narratives.
- Genocide Studies - a comparative study of genocide as a legal and historical phenomenon, including its prevention, recognition, and prosecution.
- Transitional Justice - a course on legal and non-legal responses to mass violence, including prosecutions, reparations, truth-seeking, and institutional reform.
- The Life and the Death of States - a course exploring statehood, recognition, sovereignty, responsibility, crisis, and the possible transformation or disappearance of states
The program is delivered online.
| Course |
ECTS |
Fee (USD) |
Fee (EUR) |
| Advanced International Criminal Law |
4 |
340 |
320 |
| Current Issues of International Humanitarian Law |
3 |
255 |
240 |
| Lawfare and Misuse of International Law |
3 |
255 |
240 |
| Genocide Studies |
3 |
255 |
240 |
| Transitional Justice |
3 |
255 |
240 |
| The Life and the Death of States |
3 |
255 |
240 |
Students from partner universities may be eligible to take these courses free of charge, depending on the relevant exchange or cooperation arrangements. If you are not sure whether your home institution is a NaUKMA partner university, please contact us by email (int_students@ukma.edu.ua) and we will be happy to clarify this for you. If you would like to register for the courses, please complete the application form: NaUKMA application form, non-degree students – Заповнити форму
For full course descriptions, entry requirements, and application details, please visit the Faculty of Law website. Applications for the current cycle are listed there as due by 15 June 2026. (Факультет правничих наук НаУКМА)
2. Russian Studies: Power, Coercion and Society in Russia
This online, English-taught program is designed for students and professionals interested in contemporary Russia, authoritarian political regimes, postcolonial studies, and the social and political dynamics of power, identity, and coercion. Participants may take individual courses or complete at least three courses with assessment in order to receive a certificate. The program is especially relevant for applicants with a background in international relations, political science, sociology, history, law, or other related social science and humanities disciplines. All courses are taught in English, and the minimum recommended English-language level is B2.
The program is convened by Dr. Maksym Yakovlyev, Head of the Department of International Relations and Director of the School for Policy Analysis at NaUKMA, and Anton Suslov, Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Senior Analyst at the School for Policy Analysis. Both conveners specialize in political analysis, Russian studies, and contemporary socio-political transformations, and bring together academic and policy-oriented expertise. The courses also include guest lecturers — both Ukrainian and international — who contribute their research and perspectives.
Available courses
- Russian Society and Identity: Values, Practices, and Everyday Life (4 ECTS, Spring 2027) — examines the social structure of contemporary Russia through the lens of identity, values, and everyday practices. It explores how social norms, cultural patterns, and historical legacies shape individual and collective identities, as well as how they interact with political power and state narratives. The course also covers the role of imperial legacies, nationalism, and chauvinism in shaping social attitudes and identities, including the normalization of hierarchical and exclusionary worldviews. It also addresses the dynamics of everyday life under political constraints and explores the vectors of social change in Russia.
- Authoritarian Political Regimes and Everyday Authoritarianism in Russia (3 ECTS, Fall 2027) — examines the nature of authoritarian rule in Russia, focusing on both institutional structures and everyday practices of governance and control. It analyzes how formal institutions, informal networks, and social adaptation reproduce authoritarianism. The course also analyzes the processes of socio-political autocratization under Vladimir Putin, including the re-centralization of state power and the capture of civil society as key mechanisms sustaining the regime. Special emphasis is placed on the concept of everyday authoritarianism, including compliance, negotiation, and resistance in citizens' daily interactions with the state. The course also considers how authoritarian governance shapes public support for, or acquiescence to, Russia's war against Ukraine, including mechanisms of mobilization, propaganda, and social control.
- Russian Colonialism and the Peoples of Russia (3 ECTS, Fall 2027) — analyzes Russia as a historical and contemporary imperial formation, focusing on its colonial practices in time and space and the relations with non-Russian peoples. It explores the expansion of the Russian state, the colonization and governance of diverse ethnic and regional groups, and the persistence of colonial hierarchies. The course also examines the history and prospects of the movements for autonomy and independence, as well as centrifugal tendencies within the Russian Federation, highlighting tensions between the center and the periphery, covering (but not limiting to) the economic problems of the colonized peoples of Russia. Postcolonial approaches are used to analyze identity, inequality, and resistance, representatives of the national movements are invited as guest speakers.
The program is delivered online.
| Course |
ECTS |
Fee (USD) |
Fee (EUR) |
| Russian Society and Identity: Values, Practices, and Everyday Life |
4 |
340 |
320 |
| Authoritarian Political Regimes and Everyday Authoritarianism in Russia |
3 |
255 |
240 |
| Russian Colonialism and the Peoples of Russia |
3 |
255 |
240 |
Students from partner universities may be eligible to take these courses free of charge, depending on the relevant exchange or cooperation arrangements. If you are not sure whether your home institution is a NaUKMA partner university, please contact us by email (int_students@ukma.edu.ua) and we will be happy to clarify this for you. If you would like to register for the courses, please complete the application form: NaUKMA application form, non-degree students – Заповнити форму
Download program presentation (PPTX)
|
|
|
|
