Designated Emphasis in European Studies

Details

Students applying to the D.E. must be prepared to integrate high-level research in European Studies into their coursework, qualifying exam and dissertation.

• Students must be admitted to the D.E. prior to taking their Qualifying Exam. Admission will be determined by members of the Executive Committee on the basis of how coherently the student can articulate the value of the D.E. for their broader course of study and career goals, as well as on the quality of the student’s written work and foreign language proficiencies.
• IES limits the number of accepted students to 8 per year in order to ensure that each student receives strong individual support. The Executive Committee strives to build a diverse student group representing a wide range of departments and language skills. 
• Sponsoring departments include History, Law, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Sociology, Economics, Scandinavian, Anthropology, History of Art, German and Dutch, Political Science, Italian, Architecture, Comparative Literature, Rhetoric, Spanish and Portuguese, Interdisciplinary Studies, Slavic, and French. However, the D.E. is open to interested students regardless of whether their home department is officially affiliated.

Admissions

Designation Requirements

Students admitted to the Designated Emphasis Program must complete the following requirements:

1. Students will be required to complete two required “core” courses offered by the D.E. The first of the required courses is European Studies 200: Ideas of Europe and European Identities. This course engages with a critical reflection on the notion of Europe and European identities, either from a historical and/or a contemporary perspective. It will provide a critical explanatory analysis of issues relating to European history, European borders, integration and disintegration, migration, transnational Europe, postcolonial Europe, and/or the position of Europe in a globalized world. With approval of the Advising Committee, European Studies 200 can be cross-listed/room-shared with an existing course taught by any faculty member of the Graduate Group at one of the Departments that have officially committed to sponsor the new D.E. The second required course (although it may be taken first) is European Studies 201: European Institutions and Social Conflicts. This course engages with a reflection on European institutions and social conflicts, either from a historical and/or contemporary perspective. It will provide a critical explanatory analysis of issues relating to European institutions such as the EU Commission, Council, Parliament and Court of Justice, the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as well as general issues relating to the European economy and/or social and political conflicts within Europe. With approval of the Advising Committee, European Studies 201 can be cross-listed/room-shared with an existing course taught by any faculty member of the Graduate Group at one of the Departments that have officially committed to sponsor the new D.E. These two courses serve as the integrative courses for the program. Every semester, either European Studies 200 and/or European Studies 201 will be offered. The Graduate Group in European Studies is committed to ensure a coherent intellectual community within European Studies. For this reason, the entire student cohort of every academic year is expected to enroll in the same European Studies 200 and European Studies 201 course. So, students enrolling in the DE in Spring 2016, will need to enroll in ES 200 and ES 201 offered during the 2016-17 academic year, students enrolling in the DE in Fall 2016, will need to enroll in ES 200 and ES 201 offered during the 2017-18 academic year, etc.
   
   Once enrolled in the DE, students will be informed about the "core" courses that are offered in the following semester. With approval of the Advising Committee, students are allowed to postpone enrollment in these two "core" courses.
   
   
2. Besides the two required “core” courses, students will be required to complete two approved electives. The two electives will be chosen in consultation with the Head Graduate Adviser. These courses will support the interdisciplinary nature of the program with attention to the individual students’ research interests. At least one of these electives must be taken outside the student’s home department.
   
   List of potential electives offered by the different departments sponsoring the D.E. and approved by the Advising Committee:

ITALIAN 201, 203, 215, 230, 235, 260
SLAVIC 248, 258, 285
FRENCH 202, 203, 245, 265
SOCIOL 201 E, 280 Q, 280 X
COM LIT 210, 212, 215, 266
RHETOR 200
SPANISH 202, 203
HISTORY 280 A, B, C, 275 A, B, C
LAW 261U, 264.5, 264.7, 261, 261.17, 261.1, 262.3
ECON 210B, 220B
POL SCI 201A, 209 A, 210, 212 A, 212 B, 212 C, 215 A, 215 B, 247 A, 247 G
SCANDIN 240, 250
A,RESEC 241
DEVP 222
HISTART 258, 260, 262, 263, 270, 281, 290
GERMAN 201, 205, 206, 210, 212, 214, 268, 270

Students may petition for a course not on this list if approved by the Head Graduate Adviser. Students can count towards the Elective courses already taken before enrolling in the DE.

3. Examination: A member of the Graduate Group in European Studies must be a formal member of the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination committee. Under most circumstances, the Graduate Group member in the student’s home department will serve in this function. A member of the Graduate Group may also serve as the outside member of the Qualifying Exam committee if not a faculty member of the student’s major. A European Studies topic must be included as a subject on the Qualifying Examination. Satisfactory performance on the Qualifying Examination for the Ph.D. will be judged according to the established rules in the student’s major program.

4. Dissertation: A member of the Graduate Group in European Studies must be a formal member of the dissertation committee. The dissertation must relate to European Studies (European culture, history, politics, art, literature, linguistics, sociology, law, etc.).

Upon completion of these requirements and the dissertation, students will receive a designation on their transcript and diploma stating that they have completed a “Ph.D. in (…) with a Designated Emphasis in European Studies.”

With questions about D.E. admission and designation requirements, please contact Akasemi Newsome at akasemi@berkeley.edu

Faculty Executive Committee

Chair

Jeroen Dewulf (Institute of European Studies, Department of German and Dutch Studies), jdewulf@berkeley.edu