further. When Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, Saarland University adopted the German university system. The Europa-Institut, which up to that point was geared primarily towards cultural and literary studies, was transformed into a European research institute with law and economics as the focal point. The Europa-Institut began operating with this concept in the winter term of 1957/58. In the mid 1960s, the study program was combined so as to constitute a single integrated course. The emphasis lay on the specific problems pertaining to the European integrational process and the related instruments and methods. Law-based courses formed the core of program and these were complemented by courses in history, politics and economics. Since 1980: focus on European Law The postgraduate program LL.M. "European Integration" was established in 1980 by the law department of the Institute, with Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Georg Ress and Prof. Dr. Michael R. Will as the first to head it. In 1991, Prof. Dr. Torsten Stein from Heidelberg became co-director of the Europa-Institut, which he led together with Prof. Dr. Werner Meng from Halle since 1999. In 2012, Prof. Dr. Thomas Giegerich has been appointed the new co-director in succession to Prof. Dr. Torsten Stein and in 2015 Marc Bungenberg took over for Werner Meng, who has since passed away. In 1990 the postgraduate MBA program "European Management" was established by the economics department of the Institute. The Europa-Institut is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the European Commission and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It stands for high educational standards, close contact and regular exchange with institutions in the European Union, the Council of Europeas well as with the German Federal Foreign Office. The Europa-Institut was thoroughly examined and certified by the ACQUIN agency within the context of the system accreditation of Saarland University. The program accreditation states that the Europa-Institut offers both excellent research opportunities and excellent quality in teaching. The Europa-Institut also received the "Certificate for Quality of Internationalisation (CeQuInt)" for the successful implementation of an internationalization strategy in its Master's program. Academic programs Master of European Law, LL.M. The Master's program European Integration is a 12-month, full-time LL.M course centering on substantive, institutional and procedural European law and international law. To successfully complete the program, students need to gain 60 credits. The study comprises 2 semesters (9