About
The Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University provides institutional support for European studies across Boston University. We bring together faculty, students, international visitors, and others with interests in Europe across a variety of disciplines and coordinates the European Studies BA and minor. We also sponsor talks by leading scholars in the humanities and social sciences on political, economic, and social challenges facing Europe, as well as on European art, literature, and music.
The Center for the Study of Europe was established in 2011 and became part of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies in 2014. It was preceded by the Institute for Human Sciences (2002-2010), which promoted research and discussion of public policy issues among European and American intellectuals and policymakers.
The Center is a member of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) and the Council for European Studies. All Boston University faculty involved in the study of Europe through research or teaching, regardless of the school or college in which their appointments are based, are welcome to affiliate.
Vivien Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, served as director of the Center through December 2016. She was succeeded by Cathie Jo Martin, Professor of Political Science, who directed the Center between January 2017 and December 2019. Daniela Caruso, Jean Monnet Chair and Professor of Law, became the Center’s third director in January 2020.

The mission of the Center for the Study of Europe is to promote a deeper understanding of Europe through its cultural heritage; its political, economic, legal, and religious histories; its art, literature, music, and philosophy; as well as through its emergence as a new kind of supranational entity, the European Union. Operationally, the Center provides a focal point and institutional support for the study of Europe across Boston University through coordination of teaching missions, support of research, community-building among faculty and students, and outreach beyond the University.
Each year the Center offers a rich program of activities ranging from public lectures and panel discussions, international symposia and conferences, film screenings and concerts, to seminars, round-tables, and lunch talks. Participants have included well-known academic researchers, politicians, policy experts, and journalists as well as artists, poets, activists, and public intellectuals. We work closely with other centers, departments, and schools here at BU; with local universities and cultural organizations; with European Consulates and Embassies; and with publishers of literature in translation, among others.
The European Studies program offers a 10-course major and a 6-course minor, both of which draw on the resources of the Pardee School of Global Studies, the College of Arts & Sciences, BU Study Abroad programs in Europe, as well as on BU’s other schools and colleges. The program combines a unifying regional focus with a multidisciplinary approach, enabling students to bring together courses that develop language skills; social, historical, and cultural knowledge; and political, economic, and international relations expertise. Both the major and the minor require written and spoken knowledge of a European language other than English.
News, Events & Opportunities
-
Project Eagle: The Top-Secret OSS Operation that Sent Polish Spies Behind Enemy Lines in World War II (03/20/25)
Join us for a book talk with John S. Micgiel, author of Project Eagle: The Top-Secret OSS Operation that Sent Polish Spies Behind Enemy Lines in World War II. Micgiel has served as director of the Institute on East Central Europe, associate director of the Harriman Institute, executive director of... [ More ]
-
Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce? (04/08/25)
Join us for a book launch & discussion of Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce? with co-authors Vesko Garčević, Director of the Center for the Study of Europe and Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies, and Kenneth Morrison, Professor of History (Chair... [ More ]
-
Decentering Europe • Europe & Africa (Spring 2025)
The aim of the Decentering Europe initiative at BU's Center for the Study of Europe is to promote a critical understanding of Europe through its complex heritage, which owes its richness to countless contributions from other regions of the world, including Africa. In an increasingly multipolar world, we believe Europe... [ More ]
-
Truth, Memory, Reconciliation in the Balkans: An EU Agenda? (02/25/25)
Join us for a panel discussion with Andrea Cayley, Executive Director of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law's Washington D.C. Programs, and Jelena Subotic, Professor in the Department of Political Science at Georgia State University, on “Truth, Memory, and Reconciliation in the Balkans: An EU Agenda?” Tuesday, February 25 •... [ More ]
-
Religion and the Republic: Book Launch & Discussion (02/13/25)
Join us for a book launch and discussion with Carol Ferrara, sociocultural anthropologist and assistant professor at Emerson College and author of Muslim and Catholic Experiences of National Belonging in France (September 2024), and Kirsten Wesselhoeft, Associate Professor of Religion at Vassar College and author of Fraternal Critique: The Politics... [ More ]
-
11th Annual European Conference at Harvard Kennedy School
We're thrilled to announce the 11th Annual European Conference at Harvard Kennedy School on January 31 and February 1 at the Harvard Kennedy School. The European Conference is one of the most important events focused on Europe in the United States and brings together political leaders, CEOs, world-class experts, and... [ More ]
-
2025 Lecture Series in Literary Translation
Please join us on Friday afternoons in the spring semester for the 45th BU Translation Seminar Lecture Series. This year's series is curated by Margaret Litvin and includes eleven literary translators working in Turkish, Bulgarian, Kurdish, Spanish, German, Norwegian, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, French, Korean, and Japanese. All lectures take place... [ More ]