European Studies, Minor

With their highly advanced industrial base and skilled workforce, the industrialized countries of Europe have long been major trading and strategic partners for the United States, or to the east of the continent competitors and adversaries, at times. But since the end of the Cold War, the European Union has received a massive transfusion of new energy and human capital with the inclusion of historic countries of Central and Eastern Europe like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, while Russia and other countries further to the east continue to reshape their identities in the aftermath of the Soviet Union. Whatever the resolution of Europe’s financial, institutional, and political crises, the countries of Europe will continue to play a major role in the world economy, international politics and world culture.

Lecture series offered by diplomats, corporate and non-profit executives, activists, and internationally recognized scholars enrich the program. Students can participate in overseas experiences, choose the country or countries they want to study, and select a relevant foreign language(s) among French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, or Spanish. Graduates may be able to find work with international marketing firms, international organizations, international communications, multicultural institutions, European companies or U.S.-based companies with European operations.