European Studies
European Studies is a multi-disciplinary, integrated program of study with three interrelated aims:
- Study of two European languages (students may choose from French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish);
- Study of European history and history of ideas;
- Study of European politics, sociology and economics.
Languages are studied in the Fresher years alongside modules in the social sciences, modern European history, and the history of ideas.
Required study in many of the areas in the Columbia core curriculum is met by the elements of the Fresher program in European Studies at Trinity. Upon arrival at Columbia University, students will also choose one of seven majors in which to focus their studies in years three and four:
- History
- Political Science
- Hispanic Studies
- French
- German Literature and Cultural History
- Italian
- Slavic Studies
Students who choose a Columbia major in a language/culture department (Hispanic Studies, French, German Literature and Cultural History, Italian, and Slavic Studies) will study language, culture, and literature at advanced levels and have opportunities to take graduate courses as well. Students who choose a Columbia major in Political Science will be joining the first department of Political Science established in the United States and select two of four subfields in which to specialize: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, or political theory. Students who choose a Columbia major in History will be taught by some of the leading European historians working today and benefit from a curriculum that emphasizes working with both primary and secondary sources and developing acuity in critical writing.
This program of study allows students to choose a pathway to enhance the skills and disciplines developed during their Fresher program in European Studies at Trinity.
Students complete an additional 30 ECTS credits in their third and fourth years at Columbia. Students will undertake a 20 ECTS credit Capstone dissertation project conducted as a research project in year four, as well as a multidisciplinary 10 ECTS TCD module to be taken in the third year.