Founded in 1991 as the European Documentation and Research Centre (EDRC), the Institute for European Studies was granted the status of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in 2004. Since then, it has established itself as a reputable multi- disciplinary teaching and research institute within the University of Malta, as regards the study of the European Union (EU), European integration and Malta in the EU. At undergraduate level, the Institute offers the Bachelor of European Studies (general and honours) degree. At post-graduate level, it offers the well-established taught M.A. in European Politics, Economics and Law as well as a research degree – the M.A. in European Integration Studies. It also offers research degrees at doctoral level. The Masters and doctoral degrees are offered both on a full-time and part-time basis. Through the ERASMUS+ Programme the Institute offers a number of student and staff exchanges with various universities across Europe. The Institute’s academic staff are active in research activity, and reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the team, their research interests cover different areas in economics and politics, including comparative politics and history of the EU; EU institutions and EU policy making; Europeanisation; Political parties in Europe; EU external relations and enlargement; small states in the EU; Malta in the EU; Migration; Euro-Mediterranean Relations; European security; European economy and competitiveness; European economic integration; EU Cohesion Policy; EU external trade policy; Stability and Growth Pact and EU economic governance; EU development policies; Climate change and Sustainable development; and Culture and Identity in Europe. The Institute is a member of the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), EADI (the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes), and two Euro-Mediterranean networks, EuroMeSCo (the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission) and FEMISE. The Institute has its own library, which offers an extensive collection of books on the EU and European integration, which can be used for reference as well as borrowed by students. The Institute’s library also hosts the European Documentation Centre (EDC), which forms part of Europe Direct, a free information service which provides access to the legislation and documentation produced by the EU.