Interdisciplinary Concentration in European Union Studies

The concentration in European Union Studies is an interdisciplinary program available to students matriculated in the Ph.D. programs at the Graduate School. The program is designed to familiarize students pursuing doctorates in (European) History, European Languages, Political Science, Economics, Business and Sociology to gain a deeper understanding of the current important developments unfolding in Continental Europe and the impact it has on the rest of the world. The program widens the students’ horizon as they will benefit from the added dimension of bringing theory into a living experiment, unique in its conception and execution.

The interdisciplinary approach enhances the understanding of the interaction of politics and economics as well as cultual differences in the decisionmaking processes that have produced the European Union and which have led to the European Economic and Monetary Union now being realized for the start of the new century. It is a remarkable experiment in voluntary reduction (abolition) of national sovereignty among democracies whereby the center of decisionmaking moves from blocs that have been forming, such as NAFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR countries, can learn from the European experience. Students who wish to pursue graduate work in this program must enroll in one of the above-mentioned graduate programs and are expected to fulfil its requirements.

Requirements: Students who intend to take a concentration in European Union Studies must enroll in the two courses. In the Ph.D. Program of Political Science this concentration can be taken as part of the major or minor in International Relations, Comparative Politics or Comparative Public Policy. Incoming students should contact the instructor.

The two core courses for the concentration are:

• PSC 83505 Interests, Institutions and Public Policy in the European Union
• PSC 83506 Issues in European Political Economy

Or Students might take the 2 semester-long course that combines the 2 core courses above

• The Politics and Economics of the European Union: 1951 - Present

Other courses to fulfill the requirements for this interdisciplinary concentration are above.

Proficiency in one or more European Languages is strongly encouraged. Elective courses for the Concentration should afford students an opportunity to explore the European Union from different disciplinary perspectives, but students are not limited to the ones listed on the attachment.

This concentration in the Ph.D. Program in Political Science is a joint program of studies with the European Union Studies Center (EUSC). The EUSC holds a regular series of non-credit guest lectures by prominent experts on the European Union and members of EU institutions. Brochures of the Center are available at the Ph.D. Program in Political Science and the European Union Studies Center.

You are encouraged to contact Prof. Christa Altenstetter and Prof. Hugo M. Kaufmann who will gladly advise you on your program of studies:

Suggested courses for interdisciplinary concentration in European Union Studies:

Business and Economics

• Bus. U850 Comparative International Management and Organizations
• Fin. U770 International Financial Markets and Institutions
• Econ. U811-U812 Monetary Theory and Policy I & II
• * Econ. U844 European Economic History
• Econ. U846 Theories of Political Economy

History

• * Hist. U709-U809 Studies in Modern European History
• * Hist. U714-U814 Colloquium, Seminar: Europe in the 20th Century
• Hist. U719-U819 Colloquium, Seminar: Modern European

Diplomatic History and International Relations

• * Hist. U720-820 Modern European Economic and Social History

Political Science

• * Pol.Sci. U762 International Organizations, Interdependence and Transnationalism
• Pol.Sci. U862.2 Comparative Analysis of International Organizations
• Pol.Sci. U862.5 Interdependence and Transnationalism
• * Pol.Sci. U863 Processes of International Integration and Regional Development

Sociology

• Soc. U840.01 Comparative Social Systems
• Soc. U845.11 Industrial Sociology

* Denotes a particularly pertinent course.