Should I do European Studies?

Seaic

Hi I'm doing the Leaving Cert this year and I am thinking of putting European Studies on my CAO during the 'change your mind' window. Can past or present students tell me about the course under the heading of:
-Course content (is it more language-based or otherwise)
-Career opportunities
-Further master's or Phd degrees you can go on to do

playedalive

Hi there,
Most of the reliable information you'll get will probably come from this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74940249

Personally, I did European Studies for a total of six weeks in 1st year. Then, I transferred to TSM French and Spanish. In reality, I was looking to mix my languages with other disciplines (Economics, Sociology). However, I realised that the course wasn't for me; I just wanted to study languages.

In first year, you study two languages, one of which can be a beginner language (Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish). Then, you do a mix of History (full year) and then roughly 6 weeks of Sociology, Politics, Economics. Then, there is ideas into politics (I think).

If, like me, you are just interested in languages, I would not recommend the course. It's a very academically challenging course. If you have varied interests and are well read, you'll love this course. Be honest with yourself when making a decision.

From what I know, people do various things after the course. Some people have done masters in the likes of Conflict studies/History/International Relations. Other people work in NGOs, European Union...It does give you good knowledge and skills.

Seaic

playedalive wrote: »

Hi there,
Most of the reliable information you'll get will probably come from this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74940249

Personally, I did European Studies for a total of six weeks in 1st year. Then, I transferred to TSM French and Spanish. In reality, I was looking to mix my languages with other disciplines (Economics, Sociology). However, I realised that the course wasn't for me; I just wanted to study languages.

In first year, you study two languages, one of which can be a beginner language (Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish). Then, you do a mix of History (full year) and then roughly 6 weeks of Sociology, Politics, Economics. Then, there is ideas into politics (I think).

If, like me, you are just interested in languages, I would not recommend the course. It's a very academically challenging course. If you have varied interests and are well read, you'll love this course. Be honest with yourself when making a decision.

From what I know, people do various things after the course. Some people have done masters in the likes of Conflict studies/History/International Relations. Other people work in NGOs, European Union...It does give you good knowledge and skills.

Hey thanks for that. But regarding French and Spanish, what career opportunities are there for you after? I mean can you go straight into translating or interpreting or do you have to do a master's to do so? Also, what history do you do, about the Renaissance and Revolutions etc. or just history of how EU was set up and all?

Ravelleman

I graduated from European Studies (Spanish and French) a couple of years ago and am doing the M. Phil. in the same in Trinity now.

This is the thread that you seek: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=83136577. I think it gives the best run down of the course, if I do say so myself.

As for postgraduate studies, you'll be able to more or less anything you want if it's vaguely related to the field. Postgraduate courses tend to be less demanding in terms of entry requirements if you plan to stay in more or less the same broad area (like the Humanities) and if candidates don't require special training or knowledge (like advanced economics or something like that). Some people even manage to change disciplines totally when moving to postgraduate level - one guy doing a master's in 'Early Modern Europe' has an undergraduate degree in astrophysics, if I remember correctly.

You need a master's degree to become an interpreter. Translators also require formal training be it technical or literary translation. The latter in particular is an act of co-creation - you don't just translate word for word nor can you.

Regarding PhDs, I suggest that you don't worry too much about that. If you do European Studies it will take you at least 5 years to get to that point and a lot can and will change between now and then.

A final point: European Studies is not about the EU nor has it ever been. It's an independent academic discipline in its own right. If you find the EU interesting then you can work on that; if not then you can study your Revolutions or whatever. The Renaissance is just on the edge of the TCD course's range in terms of times covered so that's one thing you might not get to study.

Ravelleman

If you have any specific questions then ask away. But read the thread I linked you to if you want a good overview.

Seaic

Ravelleman wrote: »

If you have any specific questions then ask away. But read the thread I linked you to if you want a good overview.

Is there any language course that you can go straight into interpreting or translating without doing a Master's?

playedalive

Seaic wrote: »

Hey thanks for that. But regarding French and Spanish, what career opportunities are there for you after? I mean can you go straight into translating or interpreting or do you have to do a master's to do so? Also, what history do you do, about the Renaissance and Revolutions etc. or just history of how EU was set up and all?

In terms of career opportunities after a degree in languages, they are quite broad. It would help to combine it with business, translation/interpretation or education. As a final year student, I am trying to explore all areas. I've applied for a TEFL course to explore education/teaching English as a foreign language to foreign students, as I have always wanted to be a teacher. But, since I'm not entirely sure, TEFL was cheaper and a safer option.

If you want to go into Translation/Interpretation after an arts degree, you need to do a masters in Conference Interpreting (NUI Galway has a course) or Translation (DCU for scientific/economic/general translation; TCD for literary translation).

Seaic wrote: »

Is there any language course that you can go straight into interpreting or translating without doing a Master's?

If you wanted to explore Translation Studies in your undergrad, DCU have a course called ALIS, which has modules in Translation. It's probably worth mentioning that TCD's language degree course have a huge emphasis on Literature. So, if your interests lie more in language learning, this needs to be taken into account.

Ravelleman

Seaic wrote: »

Is there any language course that you can go straight into interpreting or translating without doing a Master's?

Not that I know of. And to be honest I'm not sure if I would expect the average language graduate to have the precise skills required to do so.

Are you planning on taking Spanish ab initio?