Abstract:

Cracow University of Economics (CUE) is the biggest university of economics in Central and Eastern Europe and is heavily involved in international exchange collaborating with about 200 partner universities all over the world. Both the network of partner universities and the scope of exchange programs were significantly enlarged since 1990 and (again) since 2004.
CUE offers double degree programs with six partner universities, only within the EU (2 from Germany and 4 from France). In 2008 CUE in consortium with Grand Valley State University (US) and University of Debrecen, Center of Arts, Humanities and Sciences (Hungary) received an Atlantis grant for a transatlantic (double) degree project.
The aim of the article is a comparison of the two frameworks of cooperation: bilateral (co-financed through the Erasmus exchange program) and Atlantis transatlantic degree co-financed by the European Commission and the American Government. The first and the most obvious difference is that the European partners are subjected to the Bologna Process whereas the American partner is not, which is not innocuous for the functioning of the two types of double degree program.
The article first reviews the literature on double degrees goals and modalities to build a framework of key comparable dimensions: academic, organizational, juridical, social, economic and financial ones. Thus, it allows for a structured comparison of strengths and weaknesses of both frameworks. The article concludes with possible extensions of the analysis (which is concentrated on Polish educational and juridical system within the field of social sciences) to the other countries and domains.

Keywords:

Double degree, Atlantis Program, Bologna Process, Administrative issues, Academic requirements.