To graduate from the CEMS Master’s Program in European and Mediterranean Studies, students must:
- Complete a total of 32 credits, with 12 required credits, and 20 elective credits.
- Complete a master's thesis project and oral defense.
CEMS also recommends, but does not require, proficiency in a European language other than English at the advanced level for the purposes of the thesis project.
Required Courses (12 credits/points total)
Students must pass all required courses with a C- or better.
What is Europe? (EURO-GA 2301)
Fall Semester, 4 points
This course is a comprehensive introduction to foundational ideas of European Studies, with an emphasis on providing a broad overview of current political, economic, social and cultural issues in Europe. The course is also envisioned as an aide to students in exploring potential ideas for their Master’s theses, with the goal of each student having an established thesis topic by the end of the course.
Graduate Research Seminar (EURO-GA 3000)
Spring Semester, 4 points
This course is designed to help students make significant progress towards their final M.A. thesis. It will explore a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches to topics in European and Mediterranean Studies for students to consider as they decide how to structure, research and write their thesis. Each session will be divided into two parts. The first part will consist of a discussion of assigned scholarly articles and book chapters. Students will be expected to make comments about the strengths and weaknesses of each assigned reading as they assess how effectively the authors use sources to make specific arguments. The presentations and activities will help students refine their topics, frame a set of relevant research questions, and determine the most suitable approach for answering these questions with compelling arguments. They will also allow each student to become more effective (and comfortable) at speaking about their projects’ contributions to the scholarly literature on the subject, while also preparing students to explain their works’ significance to people with no background in European and Mediterranean Studies and academia more broadly. Students should be prepared to provide and receive constructive criticism about their writing style, the methodology they have chosen, and their strategies for completing a thesis-length project. Students are to undertake a number of relatively small projects throughout the course. These projects will serve as building blocks that will contribute to a final research project. They are intended to help students think through the different steps of researching and writing their thesis, and to make progress towards completing it. Students will make their final presentations during a simulation of an academic conference, where they will present their work, receive comments from a discussant and answer questions from the audience.
Independent Study: MA Thesis (EURO-GA 3900)
Students must register for the EURO-GA 3900 course over the summer, as this is an indicator that they are completing their thesis research. Students may travel abroad to complete their research. Students generally submit the first draft of their theses in the last week of July, and a final draft of their theses in the last week of August. Defenses generally take place the first or second week of September.
Elective Requirements (20 Credits/Points)
Electives can be taken at various department across NYU—as long as the course has a significant focus on Europe (more than 50% of class time), it will be counted as fulfilling the program requirements. If you are unsure if the course is eligible to satisfy the elective requirement, please e-mail the syllabus to CEMS (european.studies@nyu.edu).
