European Studies

Course description

Whether a manager, a financial analyst, a political scientist, an economist, or a lawyer, whether you live in Europe or outside it, you will function in an environment where the norms, rules, and laws of the European Union (EU) impact policies, regulate transactions, and consolidate individuals’ rights.

While many talk about the EU, few have control over a field that is in perpetual movement, changing and adjusting to internal and external challenges. The major in European Studies aims to make you more competitive on the job market by providing pragmatically grounded knowledge, transferable skills and solid conceptual foundations. Through the variety of its course offerings, the European Studies Major also aims to introduce you to the atmosphere and spirit of Europe.

The European Studies curriculum is designed to enable all graduates to acquire the following conceptual and skills-based student outcomes:

*understand the complexity of current European affairs and acquire analytical skills to examine them from an interdisciplinary perspective;
*master the conceptual framework necessary for analyzing government affairs, electoral systems, party politics, public policies and political culture across Europe;
*understand both the EU’s role in the international arena and how EU policies, laws, and institutions affect national policy-making, the economic environment, and European citizens;
*examine EU policies through specific case studies within the framework of EU law, including primary and secondary legislation;
*acquire skills to critically evaluate sources of data or information and achieve mastery of the management of bibliographic material and official databases;
*pursue independent research through a range of methodologies and methods of social science research;
*articulate, in both oral and written forms, coherent arguments drawing upon academic literature, media, non-governmental and governmental/EU sources;
*demonstrate proficiency in an EU official language other than English (Spanish, German, French).

Over the years, alumni have gone on to graduate and postgraduate studies, joined the ranks of young trainees in the EU institutions in Brussels, become full-time EU technocrats, entered governmental structures and NGOs, or become journalists covering EU affairs either in Brussels or in their respective countries. These alumni have appreciated the quality of education this major provides, preparing them for further academic studies and/or job demands.

Graduates of the European Studies program have completed graduate and postgraduate programs in European Politics and related fields at prestigious universities such as Cambridge University, the College of Europe, the London School of Economics and Political Science, King’s College, Oxford University, Sciences Politiques (Paris) and Stanford University. The major also offers the opportunity of a one semester Erasmus exchange to European universities such as Bordeaux, Grenoble, Jaggelonian (Poland), Leiden (Netherlands), Limerick (Ireland) and Pecs (Hungary).