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European Studies

European Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the politics, culture, economy, society and history of Europe, and on Europe’s place in the world. It puts you on the threshold of a world at the forefront of dynamic change -- social, cultural, political, and economic -- as well as a world of rich and resonant traditions in literature, philosophy, science, art and architecture. There are faculty in various departments at UC San Diego affiliated with the European Studies Minor, whose courses form our curriculum. Students may choose from among these, with any emphasis that they desire. The European Studies Minor is a very useful credential to have on your degree, especially if you are interested in a career that has a global dimension. It also indicates an approach to the world that is attractive to law, medical and business schools.

Here are some of the issues your studies for the Minor could open up:

  • Brexit: what were the consequences of the UK leaving the EU?
  • The Euro: how does an international currency function?
  • Immigration: how can the movement of peoples be conducted?   
  • Heritage: how can the past be preserved for the future?
  • Privacy: what are the rights of citizens and the obligations of the state to individual privacy in the digital age?
  • Social Justice: how can inequality be addressed?

Students choosing to minor in European Studies may design their coursework to focus on their own interests by drawing from multiple disciplines including communications, economics, history, political science, literature, sociology, philosophy, the arts and more.

The program also encourages students to complete some of their coursework through study abroad in Europe. All coursework from study abroad must be petitioned:  Instructions on How to Petition Courses.

UC San Diego undergraduate students: Please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for all advising questions. Use the "Meet with Advisor" page to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor. 

For all others, or undergraduate students who need to submit petitions: caesar@ucsd.edu

People

Program Director

Karola Obermüller
Professor, Music

Academic Advising

UC San Diego undergraduate students: Please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for all advising questions. Use the "Meet with Advisor" page to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor. 

Faculty

Eric Bakovic, Linguistics

Ryan Bessett, Literature

Frank Biess, History

John D. Blanco, Literature

David Brink, Philosophy

Thomas Csordas, Anthropology

Adriana de Marchi Gherini, Literature

Thomas Gallant, History

Cathy Gere, History

Clark Gibson, Political Science

Amelia Glaser, Literature

Harvey Goldman, Sociology

Mark G. Hanna, History

Michael Hardimon, Philosophy

Matthew Herbst, Director, Making of the Modern World

Deborah Hertz, History

Germaine Hoston, Political Science

Monte Johnson, Philosophy

Grant Kester, Visual Arts

Robert Kluender, Linguistics

Lisa Lampert-Weissig, Literature

Martha Lampland, Sociology

Ping-hu Liao, Literature

Luis Martin-Cabrera, Literature

Patrick Patterson, History

Catherine Ploye, Literature

Michael Provence, History

Pamela B. Radcliff, History

Babak Rahimi, Literature

Samuel Rickless, Philosophy

Philip Roeder, Political Science

Akos Rona-Tas, Sociology

Jordan Rose, Visual Arts

Christina Schneider, Political Science

Gershon Shafir, Sociology

Kaare Strom, Political Science

Ulrike Strasser, History

Charles Thorpe, Sociology

Clinton Tolley, Philosophy

William Tronzo, Visual Arts

Eric Watkins, Philosophy

John Welchman, Visual Arts

Oumelbanine Zhiri, Literature

Minor

European Studies Minor

To receive a minor in European Studies, a student must complete seven four-unit courses (twenty-eight units), at least five of which must be upper division and taken in at least two different departments. Language courses are not required for this minor, but please note that some upper-division courses may have prerequisites. 

Up to two four-unit courses in foreign language can be included in the seven courses required for the minor. These may be lower-division courses.

All courses applied to the minor must receive a letter grade of C– or better.

Upper-division courses may include up to two 198 and 199 courses and up to three courses from Study Abroad Programs with the approval of the program director.

The minor code is IAH-MN-005. On the UC San Diego campus, courses numbered 001-099 are lower-division (LD) and 100-199 are upper-division (UD). Transfer coursework may have different numbering, and students may check the level of courses in their Academic History in the Triton Student System (TSS).

Minors in European Studies are encouraged to study abroad in Europe. Students should consult with the program director before going abroad to determine which courses will be approved for minor credit.

Resources:

Course Offerings

Course Offerings

Refer to the official UC San Diego General Catalog for a complete list of approved courses that will count toward a minor in European Studies.

Course offerings are constantly changing. Please refer to the Schedule of Classes in the Triton Student System (TSS) for the most up-to-date listing.

(*) Indicates course may be petitioned for credit. Instructions on How to Petition Courses.

Summer Session I 2026

Summer Session II 2026

  • HIEU 137. History of Colonialism: From New Imperialism to Decolonization
  • HIEU 139. Sex and Gender from the Renaissance to the French Revolution
  • HIEU 148. Europe and the World II, 1918–Present
  • HUM 3GS. Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern Europe
  • HUM 3R. Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern Europe (Revelle only)
  • LISP 1C/1CX. Spanish Conversation/Analysis of Spanish
  • LTSP 2A. Intermediate Spanish I: Foundations
  • MUS 4. Introduction to Western Music
  • POLI 110C. Revolution and Reaction: Political Thought from Kant to Nietzsche
  • *TDGE 125. Topics in Theatre and Film: Shakespeare and Film 
  • TDHT 104. Italian Comedy

Fall 2026

  • HIEU-116C. Greece and the Balkans during the Twentieth Century
  • HIEU-124. The Age of Alexander: Hellenistic History from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra
  • HIEU-152. Everyday Life/Dictatorial Soc
  • HIEU-184. Yugoslavia Before During After
  • HUM-003. Renaissance, Reformation & Early Modern Europe
  • LIFR-001A/1AX. French Conversation
  • LIFR-001B/1BX. French Conversation
  • LIFR-001D/1DX. French Conversation
  • LIGM-001A/1AX. German Conversation
  • LIIT-001A/1AX. Italian Conversation
  • LIPO-001A/1AX. Portuguese Conversation
  • LIPO-001D/1DX. Portuguese Conversation
  • LISP-001A/1AX. Spanish Conversation
  • LISP-001B/1BX. Spanish Conversation
  • LISP-001D/1DX. Spanish Conversation
  • LTEN-022. Intro/Lit/Brtish Is:1660-1832
  • LTEN-110. Topics: The Renaissance
  • LTEN-117. Topics: The Seventeenth Century
  • LTEN-125. Romantic Poetry
  • LTEU-110. European Romanticism
  • LTEU-141. French Literature in English Translation
  • LTEU-150A/LTRU-110A. Survey of Russian and Soviet Literature in Translation, 1800 to 1860
  • LTFR-002A. Intermediate French I
  • LTFR-104. Advanced French Reading and Writing
  • LTGK-001. Beginning Greek
  • LTGK-103. Greek Drama
  • LTGM-002A. Intermediate German I
  • LTIT-002A. Intermediate Italian I
  • LTLA-001. Beginning Latin
  • LTLA-100. Introduction to Latin Literature
  • LTRU-001A. First-Year Russian
  • LTRU-002A. Second-Year Russian
  • LTRU-104B. Advanced Practicum in Russian: Analysis of Text and Film
  • LTRU-110A/LTEU-150A. Survey of Russian and Soviet Literature in Translation, 1800 to 1860
  • LTSP-002A. Intermediate Spanish I
  • LTSP-002B. Intermediate Spanish II
  • LTSP-002C. Intermediate Spanish III
  • LTSP-100A. Advanced Spanish Language and Culture
  • LTSP-116. Representations of Spanish Colonialism
  • LTTH-115. Introduction to Critical Theory
  • MUS-012. Opera
  • MUS-113. Topics in Classic, Romantic, and Modern Music
  • MUS-120A. History of Music in Western Culture I
  • PHIL-013. Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics
  • PHIL-110. History of Philosophy: Ancient (philosophy majors only)
  • PHIL-167. Contemporary Political Phil
  • SOCI-100. Classical Sociological Theory
  • TDAC-104. Classical Text
  • TDAC-106. Chekhov Acting
  • VIS-020. Introduction to Art in Europe and America
  • VIS-124E. The Production of Nature
Winter 2027

  • ETHN-168/LTEN-178. Comparative Ethnic Literature: Race and Ethnicity in Cold War Film
  • HIEU-114. History of the Soviet Union
  • LTEU-140. Italian Literature in Translation: The Name of the Rose: A Mystery of Medieval Murderous Monks
  • LTEN-178/ETHN-168. Comparative Ethnic Literature: Race and Ethnicity in Cold War Film
  • LTIT-002B. Intermediate Italian II
  • PHIL-014. Philosophy 
  • PHIL-033. Philosophy between Reason and Despair 
  • PHIL-101. Aristotle
  • PHIL-111. History of Philosophy: Early Modern (philosophy majors only)
  • PHIL-161. Topics in the History of Ethics 
  • PHIL-166. History of Political Philosophy 
  • PHIL-175. Philosophy 
  • VIS-122B. Baroque: painters, sculptors, architects
  • VIS-129A. Moving image, in the age before film
Spring 2027
  • LTIT-050. Advanced Italian
  • PHIL-031. Ancient Philosophy
  • PHIL-100. Plato 
  • PHIL-108. Nineteenth-Century Philosophy
  • PHIL-112. History of Philosophy: Late Modern (philosophy majors only)
  • VIS-124F. Art in the Age of Revolutions
Summer Session I 2027
  • LTSP-123GS. Language and Ideologies in Multilingual Spain
  • LTSP-174GS. Identity and Culture in Multicultural Spain

Other Course Resources

Events

Please find information about upcoming events and how to subscribe to the Institute of Arts and Humanities newsletter on the Events webpage.

Study Abroad

For study abroad inquiries, visit the Study Abroad office.

European Studies minors may be especially interested in the Collegio Ghislieri Global Exchange Program. UC San Diego students have the opportunity to spend one semester or a full academic year at Collegio Ghislieri, a historical, elite academic institution in Italy, among the best Italian and international undergraduate students, with fully covered food and lodging expenses.  A selected number of students will have their additional costs and airfare covered as well, thanks to a generous gift funding the “Dr. Renato Dulbecco Italy Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship.” 

The Dr. Renato Dulbecco Italy Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship provides recipients with money for airfare, living expenses and travel while abroad. Though all students who participate in this exchange are eligible for this scholarship, Preuss students and Arts and Humanities majors and minors (which includes the European Studies minor) will be given priority.

Once you return, if you would like to apply your study abroad courses to your European Studies minor, submit a petition: Instructions on How to Petition Courses

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see below for responses to commonly asked questions. If you have further questions, please contact the European Studies program through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC).

Who should minor in European Studies?

The European Studies Minor is ideal for students who:

  • plan to study in Europe on an EAP or OAP program (or are returning from study abroad in Europe)
  • have strong European interests and/or are already proficient in an European language
  • are thinking about working in Europe
  • seek to complement their major with the study of Europe as a political, cultural, and economic entity
  • are entertaining a career in foreign service, international non-governmental organizations, law, biomedical research, medicine, or business

Can I take courses P/NP for the European Studies minor?

No, P/NP courses cannot be used toward the minor. Courses must be taken for a letter grade and be completed with a grade of C– or better.

I took a course not listed on the course catalog. Can I count it toward my minor?

You will need to petition the course to see if it will apply towards your European Studies minor.

Instructions on How to Petition Courses

Where can I learn more about taking a European language? 

The European Studies program does not offer any language classes, but you can see language courses at UC San Diego. 

Language classes can apply to the European Studies minor, so review the minor requirements and reach out to "European Studies" on VAC if you have any questions.