The proposed Graduate Certificate in Europe and Transatlantic Relations is designed to teach students the fundamental principles of transatlantic relations with countries in Europe. The Global Europe Program scholars state, “The United States and Europe are bound by dense societal, cultural, economic, political, and security ties. The transatlantic relationship has been the anchor of global order.”1 Further, “the interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information,”2 has created both positive and negative implications for the United States.
Students will examine how the domestic policies and national interests of the United States (U.S.) affect its interactions with its allies in Europe. Students will develop an understanding of the European Union (EU) and its 27 countries, legal system, institutions (i.e., European Council, European Parliament), economy, and major internal and external policies. Students will develop knowledge of the political and economic causes of tensions and conflict between the U.S. and its European allies. Graduates will be able to analyze how domestic political and security changes affect relations between the U.S. and Europe. Graduates will also be able to evaluate Europe’s economic policies, the impacts on transatlantic relations, and inform decisions made by businesses such as banks in the United States.

Applications for the Graduate Certificate in Security Studies will be considered from students enrolled in a graduate degree program at Virginia Tech and from non-degree and Commonwealth Campus students who have been permitted to take courses by the Graduate School. Certificates will be awarded upon application for the certificate and application for certificate conferral once course requirements have been completed.

Number of Credit Hours: 12 credit hours. New courses are designated with an asterisk (*).Core Courses: 6 credits

• PSCI/GIA 5704: Transatlantic Relations (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 5714: European Union (3 credits)*

Restricted Elective Courses: 6 credits. Students must select courses from the following list of courses.

• PSCI/GIA 5414: Industrial Democracies (3 credits)
• PSCI/GIA 5424: Communist and Post-communist Systems (3 credits)
• PSCI/GIA 5724: European Political Economy (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 5734: European Politics & Society (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 5744: European Security (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 6154: Topics in European Politics (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 6164: Topics in Transatlantic Relations (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 6174: Topics in EU Policies (3 credits)*
• PSCI/GIA 6184: Topics in European Security (3 credits)*