The European Semester is a complete, semester-long course of study in English that will provide 15 hours of course credit – 9 hours of political science credit and 6 hours of elective credits.
Political science majors will spend the spring semester learning together as a group at the CIFE campus in Berlin, Germany. The Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE) is one of the most renowned institutions of high level academic teaching in Europe. Students will have plenty of opportunities to meet and network with other European and international students. As a part of the European Semester, students will travel to Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Poznan (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) for visits and briefings at official European Union institutions. The CIFE faculty will teach courses on Europe and European Union politics, as well as on European economics, history and culture.
The advantages these students will have in the job market and educational opportunities of the future are tremendous. Many employers, law schools, and graduate schools increasingly desire students who have real, practical experience in the global community and economy. The European Semester not only offers invaluable global knowledge and skills, but ensures depth and breadth through the insight and experience that comes only through enriched international educational opportunities. Students participating in the European Semester may also be considered for job- and education-related internships in Europe.
CIFE offers an extensive service: The students will be assisted and accompanied by CIFE staff throughout all activities of the program, including the field trips and excursions. CIFE provides fully furnished, fully equipped & centrally located apartments in Berlin. A daily allowance for groceries is included in the program fee and public transport passes for the entire duration of your stay will be provided.
The past 14 weeks have been intensive lectures about different subjects from various perspectives about the European Union. In addition, you get to go and see for yourself the different important European countries. In Brussels you get some first-hand experience on how the European Union works. You learn transferable skills, you can apply to international business or international law that will certainly help you in graduate school as well as in your professional career. It was an invaluable experience.” – Jacob Keller, 2015
Careful planning by CIFE and TAMU has kept costs down while creating a very high-quality, affordable educational experience. Further, the College of Liberal Arts currently offers one hundred $2,000 scholarships to TAMU Liberal Arts students on a competitive basis who plan to study abroad for at least one semester.
Applications for the Spring 2017 CIFE-TAMU European Semester are currently available and the deadline to apply is October 10, 2016.
For more information please refer to the CIFE documents linked below or visit european-semester.com, or contact the Political Science Department’s academic advisors, Vince Hernandez (vhernandez@tamu.edu), or Emily Baumann (baumann.emilya@tamu.edu). You can also call the undergraduate advising office (979-845-3127).