Over 40 UK institutions hold membership of SCHES, the Standing Conference of Heads of European Studies. It aims to lobby for and promote the interests of European Studies as a subject area.

SCHES was established in the early 1990s, as a sister organisation to UACES (the University Association for Contemporary European Studies). The context for its establishment was a concern with the defence and promotion of the European Studies field in higher education, with a primary focus on the United Kingdom. Since the late 1980s, there has been a constant need in the UK context to respond to new initiatives and opportunities, and also to meet challenges arising from the growth, contraction and evolution of the field.

The aims of the organisation are both professional and in certain respects public, encompassing a concern for the health and the promotion of the academic area. SCHES has had a continuing involvement with key areas of academic development in the UK, the process of teaching quality assessment and the national benchmarking exercise for Area Studies, and has links with other organisations operating in the same areas.

The current action plan for SCHES encompasses three key areas:

First, to review the 'state of the art' in European Studies and to assist with replenishing the knowledge base of the profession.

Second, to maintain links with key national initiatives in the areas of curriculum and quality assurance, and to form appropriate links with other bodies in so doing.

Third, to enable the members and others interested in the area to establish dialogue and exchange ideas about the present state and future development of the area.

The SCHES Constitution sets out the following as the key aims of the Standing Conference:

The promotion of research and teaching about the nature and development of Modern Europe, with special reference to the European Community (sic) and European integration and to East-West relations in Europe, and the representation of the academic area within and outside higher education.

Click here to see the Constitution.

Membership of the organisation is on an institutional basis, rather than an individual one, given the key aims of the Standing Conference. At present, the organisation has more than 40 members, encompassing a high proportion of the departments and other bodies offering European Studies programmes in the UK.

The current SCHES Annual Subscription is £55 per UK department or other unit in the UK.

Click here to download membership form [102kB PDF file] for New members.

SCHES has its own email distribution list for SCHES members. Details on how to join this list are made available to all new members.

Click here for a brief introduction and guide to the origins, structure and content of European Studies programmes in the UK. This document was originally produced for the QAA Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies group and is also to be found on the Learning and Teaching Support Network website.

2009

 

SCHES has recently surveyed SCHES members and other UK universities assess the state of European Studies in the UK. For further details, please contact Dr Alison Harcourt.

 

2003

 

"The State of European Studies in the UK"
SCHES, 2003, ISBN 085-389-8367

The Report, “The State of European Studies" was published by SCHES in 2003. It was undertaken by Prof Michael Smith (Glasgow Caledonian University, formerly Queen’s University Belfast) who is the Chair of SCHES.

To SCHES’ knowledge, this is the first analysis by any subject area of the trends in its recruitment, content and delivery over the past ten years. As such it provides solid evidence of the pressures faced by universities in sustaining areas, exemplified by European Studies, in which the UK is acknowledged as a pioneer and international leader. In particular the Report raises considerable concerns about a decline in the capacity to continue to provide academically challenging programmes which will meet the national need for culturally adaptive and intellectually open graduates.

SCHES is administered by an Executive Committee consisting of a Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and five other members.

Chair
Prof Alex Warleigh-Lack
University of Surrey

Secretary
Dr Isabelle Hertner

University of Birmingham

Treasurer
Dr Alison Harcourt
University of Exeter

Committee
Prof Kevin Featherstone
London School of Economics & Political Science

 

Prof Jim Rollo
University of Sussex

 

Dr Karen Heard-Laureote

University of Portsmouth

Prof Paul Furlong
Cardiff University