Historical Studies: comparative history; history of Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe; recent history; history and nature of communist regimes; theory of historical studies; social history; cultural history; history of ideas; history and social memory; history didactics and history textbooks; history of religion; literature; language; science; empires; symbolic geographies.
Late Antique Studies: the interplay of politics and religion in the fourth- through seventh-century Mediterranean, the formative periods of Christianity and Islam with ramifications far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire and the caliphate. A particular strength of faculty teaching at CEU are the so-called "peripheries" of the late antique empire, especially Syrian Christianity and the Caucasus.
Byzantine Studies: political, cultural, intellectual and religious history of the Byzantine empire from the seventh through the fifteenth centuries especially in relation to the Balkans, the Romanian Principalities and in the Caucasus.
Medieval Studies: Western, Central and Eastern European history of the Middle Ages; the Eastern Mediterranean from Constantine the Great to Süleyman the Magnificent (Late Antique, Byzantine and Early Ottoman Studies); history of Medieval religion, philosophy, and science; material culture of the Middle Ages (archaeology, art history, archaeozoology, historical anthropology, etc.)
Ottoman Studies at CEU are explored in the larger context of South-East and Central European as well as Mediterranean history. A variety of courses examine aspects of the Ottoman presence and legacy in Europe (Rumeli) from the 14th to the 20th centuries, while being mindful of the regional peculiarities and role of the vast Ottoman territories in Asia and Africa in the overall imperial system. By setting up a dialogue between the regional and central imperial perspectives, Ottoman Studies at CEU offers an innovative framework to study social and cultural history of an empire which left a lasting imprint on the region.