About the Program
The Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (EURUS) offers a 5.0-credit MA program. A leading teaching and research program in its field and the first established in Canada, EURUS incorporates expertise on European integration, Central and Southeast Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The approach is interdisciplinary, including political science, history, economics, and international relations. The program offers intensive seminars and personal contact with faculty, opportunities to study or research abroad, and an internship component. EURUS prepares students for employment in government or non-government sectors, as well as further study at the Ph. D. level or Law School. Students choose one of two concentrations: Europe and European Integration, or Russian, Eurasian, and Transition Studies, but may take courses in either stream. Each student completes a major research essay or thesis as well as a language component for the degree.
Academic Regulations
- See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
- Master's candidates must obtain a grade of B- or higher on each credit counted towards the degree.
Admission Requirements
- The normal requirement for admission to the master's program is an honours degree (or equivalent), with at least a B+ average.
- For admission to the program, applicants should normally meet the following requirements:
- A B.A. Honours degree (or equivalent) in a humanities or social science discipline, with at least 3.0 credits in the European/Russian/Eurasian area covering three different disciplines (excluding language courses); and
- A reading knowledge of an appropriate major European language (normally equivalent to two academic years of instruction, or one year with an intensive summer program) or, at the discretion of the Institute, equivalent knowledge of another of the region's languages. Applicants admitted with no proficiency or inadequate proficiency in an appropriate language will require additional language training beyond normal M.A. requirements.
- Practical experience in the area of study will also be taken into consideration.
- Applicants who do not have the required interdisciplinary background in the European/Russian/Eurasian area are encouraged to apply to the program, but additional coursework beyond the 5.0 credits may be required.
- Qualifying Year - Applicants who have a general (three-year) bachelor's degree in one of the disciplines represented in the program, or who lack sufficient area studies or language training, may be admitted to a qualifying-year program designed to raise their status to that of honours graduates in European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Students are expected to achieve a B+ average or better in the qualifying-year program in order to qualify for admission to the Master's year.
Program Requirements
1) Students in the program must complete 5.0 credits, consisting of the following:
- EURR 5001, which is a 0.5-credit core seminar offered specially by the Institute. The course incorporates the approaches of several relevant disciplines and introduces students to a variety of methodological approaches and tools needed to design and implement research projects;
- Selection of a concentration (either Russian, Eurasian and Transitions Studies or European and European Union Studies), with 1.0 credit of course work from the concentration course list provided below under the description of each concentration;
- Either EURR 5200 (recommended for students selecting the Russian, Eurasian and Transition Studies concentration), or EURR 5300 (recommended for students selecting the 'European and European Union Studies' concentration);
- An additional 1.0 credit in coursework chosen with the approval of the graduate supervisor from the electives course list below;
- Either EURR 5908 (1.0 credit), a research essay related to the concentration, incorporating the approaches of at least two disciplines represented in the program; the research essay must be defended orally and combined with an additional 1.0 credit coursework chosen with the approval of the graduate supervisor from the electives course list below,
- EURR 5909 (2.0 credits), an M.A. thesis on a topic related to the concentration, which must combine interdisciplinary approaches with a greater degree of originality and a greater use of primary sources than that required of the research essay. The thesis must be defended orally. The thesis option cannot be taken without the specific permission of the graduate supervisor.
- No more than 1.0 credit may be taken at the 4000-level. No more than 0.5 credit in a language discipline may be counted towards program requirements.
2) Completion of the language requirement:
- Each student must demonstrate language proficiency. Students entering the M.A. program with no language proficiency or inadequate language proficiency will require extra coursework and/or summer language training to meet the language proficiency requirement.
- For the Russian, Eurasian and Transition Studies concentration the student may select German, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, or Serbian/Croatian. For the European and European Union Studies concentration the student may select French, German, Italian, Polish, or Spanish. A student may request permission to use another major language to fulfill this requirement. However, the requested language (a) must be utilized in undertaking research for the research essay or M.A. thesis; and (b) its selection must be approved by the graduate supervisor.
- Proficiency in the approved language may be demonstrated by successful completion of a written translation examination to be administered by the Institute or by completion of the appropriate language from the following list with a minimum grade of B+: RUSS 4010 and RUSS 4020; GERM 4110; either SPAN 3110, or SPAN 3010 and SPAN 3020; ITAL 3110; or 1.0 credit in FREN at the 4000-level.
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Guidelines for Completion of Master's Degree - Students in the 5.0-credit program with sufficient proficiency in Russian, German, or another approved language are expected to complete the degree within three to four terms of study. Students participating in international exchanges will normally require longer to complete degree requirements.
Concentrations
- While one of the program's goals is to provide students with an integrative approach to the entire region, the concentration assures that each student's individual program will retain a particular focus. Europe and Eurasia have become increasingly integrated in terms of theoretical and methodological approaches. However, the two sub-regions covered by the program have distinct histories and legacies along with differing intellectual traditions. Selection of a concentration assures that each student's program will have an adequate level of intellectual coherence. Students studying the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe that are EU member states or candidates for membership may select either concentration, depending on the thematic focus of the student's work.
- The Institute offers two concentrations that draw systematically from the program's range of courses and expertise. Students are required to pursue one of these concentrations:
- Russian, Eurasian, and Transition Studies
- European and European Union (EU) Studies
- Russian, Eurasian, and Transition Studies
This concentration involves an interdisciplinary focus on the communist legacy and challenges facing countries in transition, with a geographic scope covering eastern and southeastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus, and post-Soviet Central Asia.
- It is recommended that students pursuing this concentration complete EURR 5200 rather than EURR 5300.
Concentration course elective list: EURR 4002 or EURR 5002, EURR 4101, EURR 4205, EURR 4207, EURR 5005, EURR 5007, EURR 5008 EURR 5102, EURR 5107, EURR 5202, EURR 5203, EURR 5204, HIST 5600, PSCI 4501, PSCI 4503, PSCI 4601, PSCI 5104, PSCI 5105, PSCI 5106, SOCI 5804
European and European Union Studies
This concentration focuses on countries involved in the European Union and on European integration processes, consequences, and dynamics from an interdisciplinary perspective, including EU enlargement and relations of the EU with other states.
It is recommended that students pursuing this concentration complete EURR 5300 rather than EURR 5200.
Concentration course elective list: EURR 4006, EURR 5003, EURR 5005, EURR 5008, EURR 5102, EURR 5104, EURR 5105, EURR 5106, EURR 5108, EURR 5201, EURR 5204, EURR 5205, EURR 5302, INAF 5804, INAF 5805, PSCI 4501, PSCI 5503, HIST 5100, HIST 5200
Electives Course List
Art History
ARTH 4202 Topics in Eastern Medieval Art
Economics
ECON 5603, ECON 5806, ECON 5807
Geography
GEOG 4600 Post-Communist Eastern Europe
History
HIST 4600 Seminar in Russian History
HIST 5100, HIST 5200, HIST 5600 HIST 5800, HIST 5810, HIST 5811
International Affairs
INAF 5202, INAF 5206, INAF 5602 INAF 5804, INAF 5805
Law
LAWS 4806 The Civilist Tradition
Political Science
PSCI 4501 Gender and Politics in Post Communist Societies
PSCI 4503 Politics of Central Eurasia
PSCI 4601 Foreign Policies of Soviet Successor States
PSCI 5104, PSCI 5105, PSCI 5106, PSCI 5201 PSCI 5404, PSCI 5503, PSCI 5506, PSCI 5509 PSCI 5803, PSCI 5806
Russian
RUSS 4010 Fourth-Year Russian I
RUSS 4020 Fourth-Year Russian II
Sociology
SOCI 5804
European, Russian and Eurasian Studies
EURR 4006 European Integration and the Business Environment in East/Central Europe
EURR 4101 The Balkans
EURR 4205 Gender and Politics in Post-Communist Societies
EURR 4207 Politics of Central Eurasia
EURR 5000, EURR 5001, EURR 5002
EURR 5003, EURR 5005, EURR 5007
EURR 5008, EURR 5100, EURR 5102
EURR 5103, EURR 5104, EURR 5105
EURR 5106, EURR 5107, EURR 5108
EURR 5201, EURR 5202, EURR 5203
EURR 5204, EURR 5205, EURR 5301
EURR 5900, EURR 5901,
EURR 5902
EURR 5903, EURR 5904,
EURR 5905
EURR 5906
Other 4000- and 5000-level courses may be approved by the graduate supervisor as EURUS credits if they are deemed appropriate to a particular student's objectives.
