With a celebratory ceremony in St. Petersburg on October 6, the Double Degree Master’s program “Global Communication and International Journalism” has officially started. This international cooperation between Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) and St. Petersburg State University (SPbU) is the first of its kind in both countries.

To celebrate this start, Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, president of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Dr. Igor Gorlinski, prorector of SPbU, Katrin Werdermann, vice-consul in St. Petersburg, as well as the program directors from FU and SPbU, Prof. Dr. Margreth Lünenborg and Dr. Svetlana Bodrunova, welcomed the 17 students from Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Canada, Iran, Malawi, South Africa and Mexico.

In their welcome addresses, the speakers underlined the long tradition of German-Russian scientific relations as well as current challenges the students have to face – from current political issues, like the Ukraine crisis, to the changes in the context of the digitalization of media.

Students will spend the first and third semester at SPbU and the second semester at FU Berlin. After that, they will be given an opportunity to choose where to write and present their Master thesis; the fourth semester is spent either in St. Petersburg or in Berlin. This depends on the students' selection of their particular research interest and the respective Master thesis supervisor.

Please find more information here.

The program is supported by DAAD.