European Union Program

Classes and Courses with Decision Makers

The European Union Program’s classes offer an integrated and comprehensive overview of the European Union and NATO. Through these accredited courses, students earn up to 17 credit hours from American University, Washington, DC.  Non-AU students receive an AU transcript for transferring course credit to their home schools.  The courses are:

European Union Seminars I and II are the core of the European Union Program.  Both seminars combine lectures by Professor Sheridan with seminars by experts engaged in the EU policy process.  Our guest speakers include EU officials, political leaders, ambassadors, journalists, economists, academics, business professionals, interest group representatives, and others who are actively involved in EU affairs.   In European Union Seminar I, students learn about the government, politics, and foreign policy of the EU.  In European Union Seminar II, students learn about the EU’s process of economic integration, economic policy-making, and trade policy.  European Union Seminar I and European Union Seminar II are each worth four credit hours.  Honors students at American University may take European Union Seminar I and European Union Seminar II for honors credit.
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European Security and Defense Economics provides an overview of the rapidly changing European security environment.  It is divided into two separate mini-courses. Dr. Jamie Shea, a high-ranking official of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, provides an insider’s understanding of the politics surrounding European Security.  Dr. Sheridan teaches the economic constraints and political challenges facing the European Union’s Security and Defense Policy.   Students earn four credit hours by taking European Security and Defense Economics.
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The Internship provides students with a unique opportunity to explore issues learned about in the classroom in the context of a practical professional experience. In the European Union Program, students intern two days per week (minimum 16 hours) in a variety of offices, and write a comprehensive academic paper that ties their professional experience with the coursework.  Students earn four credit hours through the Internship.
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In place of an internship, students may choose to take the Brussels Research Project under the direction of Professor Sheridan.  The research project allows students to conduct original, independent research project into a particular issue that interests them.  Students earn four credit hours by completing the Research Project.
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Living in French gives students the chance to improve their French communication skills.  The course is designed to improve aural and oral conversational skills, and it is offered at three levels.  One section is for students who have had no French.  One is for “faux debutants” who have studied some French.  The third is for students with a good understanding of French grammar who wish to work towards fluency. Living in French is taught by CLL, the language school on the Université Catholique de Louvain’s Woluwe campus.
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