The University of Kent's Brussels School of International Studies is a specialised postgraduate school offering international studies in Brussels, Belgium. Students benefit from the advantages of a degree from a British university offered by its location in the 'Capital of Europe'. There are approximately 220 postgraduate students pursuing degrees at the school, drawn from over 65 countries. The school has more than 1400 alumni. The school currently offers the following degrees: MA in EU External Relations MA in International Relations MA in International Conflict and Security MA in International Political Economy MA in International Development MA in International Migration MA in Political Strategy and Communication LLM in International Law LLM in Human Rights PhD in International Relations PhD in Law PhD in International Conflict Analysis PhD in Comparative Thought PhD in Political and Social Thought As the name suggests, it is in Brussels, Belgium. Genesis The Brussels School of International Studies began as an initiative of the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Kent based in Canterbury. The original concept was devised by Professor AJR Groom of Kent and Professor Gustaaf Geeraerts of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), whilst discussing the future of European education at a pan-European conference of International Relations. The then recently opened high-speed rail link from Ashford, near Canterbury, to Brussels, made such trans-border educational cooperation technically feasible. The partnership was extended to include Professor Eric Remacle, then director of the Institute for European Studies (IES) of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and the idea for a trilateral inter-institutional program in International Relations was born. The original concept was for a master's program to be offered in Brussels, in English, taught by members of staff from all three institutions, with the degree conferred under the seals of all three universities. To reflect the cooperative venture, the program was initially to be the "Tri-University Program in International Relations in Brussels". Notably, the initiative predated the Bologna Declaration by several years, and the concept anticipated many of the later policy developments at the European level to create a cooperative and integrated educational space within the European Union. The school continues to operate in partnership with the two Brussels universities. Dr Jarrod Wiener was seconded from Kent in 1998 to found the program, now called the "Brussels School of International Studies", and there was participation in teaching from all three universities. Faculty From 1998