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Why Study Europe?

Which countries or world regions are most important to the US and to Americans’ daily lives? China? The Middle East? Those places are very important—but consider the case for Europe.

Europe's historical importance is hard to miss: It is the source of many—arguably most—of the ideas that have shaped the United States and our world; the nation-state, capitalism, industrialization, democracy, not to mention the printing press, the railroad, and the fundamental laws of physics. 

In our contemporary era, when China or anti-Western terrorism dominate the headlines, though, it may surprise you to realize how central Europe remains to many processes that touch your life.

Europe Is Our Most Important Economic Partner

The U.S.-Europe economic relationship is larger and deeper than any other in the world. 

Though China is the biggest US partner for trade in goods, if you add trade in services, overall trade with the European Union is substantially bigger than with China. Its importance stands out further when you add finance and investment, where our ties with Europe dwarf those with Asia. In 2022, US foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Netherlands alone—a country of 16 million people—was just shy of 8 times as large as US FDI in mainland China. (For these and other figures, see US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University.)

As the Johns Hopkins report shows, in 2007, Oregon received $2.5 billion in European investment and sent roughly the same amount of exports to European markets (with the largest exports in information technology). European investments directly supported 23,600 jobs in Oregon, with many more indirect effects.

Learning about Europe—and learning a European language in particular—can help position you to tap into this relationship: the largest stream of wealth generation in the world.

Europe Is Our Closest Partner and Ally

Whether through NATO, in global negotiations over economic relations or the environment, or in almost any other world forum, the US and Europeans work side by side, often in very influential ways. We share similar systems of government, similar values, a long cooperative past, and a dense network of international institutions. Europe is far and away the largest donor of foreign aid to poorer countries as well, so it is central to our interaction with the developing world too.

For you, this web of relationships means incredibly rich opportunities for study and career choices. Whether in government, nongovernmental organizations, business, journalism, law, or other fields, you’ll find a larger set of possibilities in the US-European relationship than any other.

Europe offers the widest opportunities for international connections here at the UO. As you might expect, given US-European political, economic, and cultural connections, roughly 70% of UO students who study abroad do so in Europe. It is among the top destinations for international internships as well. We teach a multitude of European languages at the UO (Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish) and have three others available for self-study (Catalan, Greek, Turkish). .

Benefits of the Minor

What are the benefits of pursuing a minor in European studies?

• Explore a rigorous interdisciplinary study of Europe without investment in another major.
• Certify international content expertise for students in professional majors (business, journalism, architecture, etc.).
• Certify regional European content expertise for students planning graduate work in international studies or related fields, and for students seeking internships in Europe.
• For liberal arts majors, including those majors with significant Europe content, gain an approach to the study and idea of Europe that is cross-disciplinary, combing social sciences and the humanities.
• Benefit from faculty advising from an area outside that of the student’s major.