European Studies Council

The MacMillan Center
242 Luce Hall, 203.432.3107
http://europeanstudies.macmillan.yale.edu
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies

Chair
Edyta Bojanowska (Slavic Languages & Literatures)

Director of Graduate Studies
Marci Shore (History; marci.shore@yale.edu, 203.432.6792)

Faculty and participating staff
For faculty listings, see European and Russian Studies under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.

The European Studies Council at the MacMillan Center promotes innovative research on Europe’s past and present in the context of regional and global interactions. The council collaborates with schools and departments throughout Yale to support faculty, students, and visiting scholars by sharing their interdisciplinary expertise on European affairs with the broader public. The council aims to foster a wider understanding of Europe as both a place and an idea, reflecting the evolving nature of the region and its network of connections throughout the world.

The European Studies Council formulates and implements new curricular and research programs reflective of current developments in Europe. The geographical scope of the council’s activities extends from Ireland to the lands of the former Soviet Union. Its definition represents a concept of Europe that transcends the conventional divisions into Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and is understood to include the Balkans and Russia. The U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly designated the council a National Resource Center and a FLAS Center under its HEA Title VI program.

The European Studies Council builds on existing programmatic strengths at Yale, while serving as a catalyst for the development of new initiatives. Yale’s current resources in European Studies are vast and include the activities of many members of the faculty who have teaching and research specialties in the area. Such departments as Comparative Literature, Economics, History, History of Art, Political Science, and Sociology regularly offer courses with a European focus. These are complemented by the rich offerings and faculty strength of the French, German, Italian Studies, Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Spanish and Portuguese departments, as well as the European resources available in the professional schools and other programs, such as Film and Media Studies. By coordinating Yale’s existing resources, including those in the professional schools, encouraging individual and group research, and promoting an integrated comparative curriculum and degree programs, the council strongly supports the disciplinary and interdisciplinary study of European regions and their interactions. The council is also home to special programs in European Union Studies; Baltic Studies; Hellenic Studies, offering instruction in Modern Greek language, literature, history, and culture; and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

In addition to the M.A. degree program, the council offers students in the University’s doctoral and other professional degree programs the chance to obtain a Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies by fulfilling a supplementary curriculum. The undergraduate major in Russian and East European Studies is administered by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

The benefits provided to the Yale community by the European Studies Council include its affiliation with interuniversity and international organizations that can offer specialized training programs and research grants for graduate students (see https://yale.communityforce.com/Funds/Search.aspx), support conferences among European and North American scholars, and subsidize European visitors to Yale. The Fox International Fellowship Program, for example, offers generous fellowship support to qualified students who undertake research at specified institutions in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Russia; and the Geneva Exchange supports Yale doctoral students who wish to study at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Furthermore, the council supplements the regular Yale curriculum with film series, lectures, and seminars by eminent scholars, artists, diplomats, and political officials. The European Studies Council constantly expands its formal connections with a variety of European institutions and regularly hosts a European Union Fellow sponsored by the European Commission.

Fields of Study

European languages and literatures; economics; history; journalism; policy; political science; law; music; sociology and other social sciences.

Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies

Yale graduate students may pursue the Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies in conjunction with graduate-degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. Candidates will choose to focus on one of two areas of concentration, either (1) Russia, East Europe, Eurasia or (2) West and Central Europe. Admission is contingent on the candidate’s acceptance and matriculation into a Yale graduate-degree program. To complete the certificate, candidates must demonstrate expertise in the area through their major graduate or professional field, as well as show command of the diverse interdisciplinary, geographic, and cultural-linguistic approaches associated with expertise in the area of concentration. In order to be awarded the certificate, candidates need to fulfill all requirements detailed below, as well as complete their Yale University graduate degree program.

Certificate candidates must comply with the general requirements for all MacMillan Center graduate certificates, as described at http://macmillan.yale.edu/academic-programs/graduate-certificate-concentration.

Additional Requirements Specific to European Studies

  1. Minimum L4 language proficiency in one modern European language, in addition to English. Students wishing to focus on Russia and East Europe must demonstrate knowledge of Russian or an East European language; those focusing on West and Central Europe must demonstrate knowledge of one of the appropriate languages. Students must demonstrate proficiency in oral (speaking/listening), reading, and writing skills.
  2. Six graduate-level courses in the area of concentration, of which:
    1. Three courses must offer transnational approaches to Europe-related issues
    2. For students focusing on Russia and East Europe, at least one of the remaining three courses must concern the nations of West and Central Europe. For those focusing on West and Central Europe, at least one of the remaining three courses must concern Russia and East Europe.
  3. A qualifying thesis paper is required to demonstrate field-specific research ability focused on the area of concentration. After completing substantial course work in the area of concentration, students must seek approval from the council faculty adviser. The thesis should be interdisciplinary as well as focused on the area of concentration. The acceptability of an M.A. thesis needs to be approved by the council adviser. More guidelines are provided by the council.

  4. Progress Reports: Students should submit a progress report along with a copy of their unofficial transcript to the council faculty adviser at the end of each term. Ideally, this will include a brief narrative on engagement in the relevant council’s activities and planned or newly completed experience overseas in the relevant region.

  5. Filing for the Award of the Graduate Certificate of Concentration: Students who intend to file for the final award of the certificate should contact the council no later than the end of the term prior to award. No later than the fourth week of the term of the expected award, students should demonstrate how they have or will have completed all the requirements in a timely fashion. At the end of the term as grades are finalized, the council will confirm that the student is cleared to receive the home degree and has fulfilled all the requirements of the certificate. Students may elect to retrieve the certificate award in person from the council after commencement. Otherwise, the council will mail the certificate award to the student after commencement.

Courses

For course listings, see European and Russian Studies under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.

For more information, contact the European Studies Council, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; european.studies@yale.edu; 203.432.3107.