Master of Arts

Attain In-depth Knowledge of Western Europe

The Master of Arts in West European Studies is a highly individualized degree. Students entering the program have the flexibility to tailor their course of study to their individual interests. WEST MA graduates are well prepared to pursue a variety of career paths in governmental, non-profit, and private sector work. For many other students, the MA degree represents a step toward doctoral studies.

Our degree requirements are highly flexible while providing students with a multidisciplinary understanding of Europe and its role in the world.

Course Requirements (New for Fall 2012)

Category I: Core Courses (12 credit hours, minimum)

• Research Seminar in West European Studies (3cr)
• One approved graduate course in European Studies from the following disciplines:
  • History (3-4 cr)
  • Political Science or European Union Studies (3cr)
  • Europe in the World (3cr)

Category II: Elective Courses (15 credit hours, minimum)

• Literature/Culture course tied to the student’s language of study
• Graduate elective course in the humanities
• Graduate elective course  in the social sciences
• 5-6 credit hours in approved graduate elective coursework

Category III: MA Thesis (3 credit hours, required)

• Students will work with a faculty committee to prepare a 50-75 page research paper

Category IV: Language Requirement

• Proficiency of at least intermediate-mid to intermediate-high in one approved West European language appropriate to the student’s program of study

The Master's Thesis

After the second semester of coursework, students should establish a thesis committee of 3 faculty members appropriate to the student's interests, who will oversee the Master's thesis.  West European Studies adheres to thesis format and printing requirements set by the University Graduate School.  Master's theses should be no more than 100 pages long, typically ranging from 50 to 75 pages in length.  The WEST Graduate Student Guide includes a helpful reference on specific questions regarding the thesis. A list of WEST MA Thesis topics are available at the bottom of this page.

Thesis Forms & Resources
Nomination of Committee for the MA Thesis Form
Graduate School thesis formatting guidelines
WEST Graduate Student Guide - includes several pages on thesis requirements

Time Requirements

In principle, a full-time student can complete the Master's degree requirements in 1.5 years. It is possible to complete the degree in 12 months, if the student does not need to take additional coursework to establish intermediate mid/intermediate high proficiency in one West European language. Part-time students may take longer. University policy requires that all Master's degree requirements be completed within five consecutive years of matriculation.

Resources/Guides

WEST Graduate Student Guide
Graduate Bulletin
Orientation Powerpoint

Forms

MA Advising Form
Nomination of Committee for the MA Thesis Form
Language Proficiency Requirement Form
Independent Readings Approval Form

To stay up to date with the latest news, events, funding, career and internship opportunities, subscribe to our grad student listserv. Just send an email to listserv@indiana.edu, leave the subject line blank, and type "subscribe west-grad-l" in the body.

Past Thesis Topics

Click on a field in the first row to sort by title, first name, last name, degree, or date.

Title	First Name	Last Name	Degree	Date
Ireland and the Defense of Western Europe: Issues and Implications	Dennis	Anderson	MA	1988
Arms Procurement Cooperation and a European Defense	Robert	Antis	MA	1980
British Defense Policy: A New Approach? Changing Journalistic Roles in France and Britain	William	Applegate	MA	1988
La Peste: The Far Right in Twentieth Century France	Kirstin	Ault	MA	1993
From Occupation to Postwar Government in Austria: Foundation for Political Unity	Joe	Austin	MA	1982
Nato Expansion and Romanian Security Interests	Christopher	Banya	MA	1986
Redeploying NATO: The Search for a European Defense Pillar	Ray	Barrclay	MA	1991
End to Nuclear Power, or a Renewed [Half-]Life? Comparing German and Swedish Nuclear Energy Policy Reform, An	Alison	Behling	MA	2009
Foreign Worker Policies: Interest Group and Bureaucratic Interaction in Germany and the United States	John	Bendix	PhD	1987
Divided They Stand: Managing Diversity	Mark	Bertolini	MA	1998
Teacher Unions in the Federal Republic of Germany and in England and Wales	Kathleen	Betterman	MA	1988
France and the Persian Gulf Crisis	Gregory	Bilhartz	MA	1994
Denmark and NATO: A Consistency of Contradictions	Gregory	Blanks	MA	1989
Application of the Czech Republic to the European Union, The	Mark	Borgeson	MA	1999
NATO Policy and Military Doctrine: A German View	George	Borgh	MA	1989
Bicycle in French Art and Society, The	Konrad	Bouffard	MA	1996
The Silent Struggle: The Persecution of Homosexuals in Nazi Germany	Jennifer	Bowen	MA	2001
The Franco Hatian Wine War	Janet	Brady	MA	1975
Dutch New Left: Provos and Kabouters, The	Maria	Brayn	MA	1973
Nordic Defense in the Post Cold War Era	Michael	Brettmann	MA	1955
The Twenty First Century Struggle for National Identity in the United Kingdom	Julia	Broadway	MA	2011
Determining the Success of the Greens: A comparison of Success in the Case Studies of Three Western European Greens Movements	Daniel	Bryant	MA	1991
Contraception and Population Policy in France since 1945	Jane	Butler	MA	1971
Cold War Conflict: American Intervention in Greece	Paul	Calbos	MA	1993
The Bologna Process: Trends from 1998-2009	Matthew	Carlton	MA	2009
Dynamic of Institutional Reform in Contemporary Italian Politics, The	Gene	Caten	MA	1992
Standing at a Crossroads: The Western European Defense Industry	Robert	Cheatham, Sr.	MA	1994
Dutch National Security Policy and Defense Restructuring since the Cold War	Richard	Ciebh	MA	1997
The Impact of Mass Tourism on the Economic and Political Structures of Spain	Amanda	Coffield	MA	1996
German Women in the Five ne Lander: Employment and Entrepreneurship	Maella	Cohman	MA	1992
Economic and Monetary Integration in the European Union: At What Cost?	Stephen	Coonen	MA	1995
Cassa per Il Mezzogiorno and the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union: A Comparative Analysis, The	Amber	Coulter	MA	2002
Corporatist and Social Policy: The Development of the Modern Dutch Welfare State	Robert	Cox	PhD	1989
Corporatist Patterns in the Welfare State: The Development of Public Retirement Pensions in the Netherlands	Robert	Cox	MA	1988
Consumer Behavior and International Advertising as Related to Cultural Values: The Cases of the United Kingdom and Hungary	Vassilios	Dalakas	MA	1994
The Strategic Defense Initiative: Issues and Implications for the western Alliance	Charles	Davidson	MA	1988
The Lega Nord: An Analysis of the Group's Political and Social Success	Suzanne	DeMass	MA	1993
General Maurice Gamelin: Scapegoat or Guilty for the Fall of France? The Politics of Counterterrorism in Western Europe	William	Derrick	MA	1994
West German Westpolitik and Political Integration in Western Europe in the 1970's	Victor	Di Geronimo	MA	1982
Challenges of Environmental Sustainability in Transport Policies: The European Model	Suzanna	Dicerson	MA	1995
The Stability and Growth Pact and Germany's Domestic Politics vis a vis Rational Choice and Constructivism	Kerstin	Dicht	MA	2006
European Integration and the Corporatist Influence of French and German Christian Democratic Parties in the Postwar Period	Peter	Dillon	MA	1991
Effects of the Structural Funds on Nationalist Movements in the European Union, The	Gerald	Dorrah, Jr.	MA	1997
The Role of the British Civil Service in a Constitutional Context: Two Case Studies	Alan	Eckersley	MA	1994
Challenges of European Security: Redrawing the Line?	Jeffery	Fearing	MA	1994
The Status of French Women from the 18th Century to the Present: A comparison with Women in Selected Countries	Susan	Feinberg	MA	1975
Cobra: A Post-World War II Art Movement	Maryy	Finch-Vandivier	MA	1987
Special Codetermination in West Germany 1947-1969	Edward	Fisher	MA	1970
Growth and Change under Centralized Plans: The German Democratic Republic 1951-1980	M.	Fochtman	MA	1987
The Grande Coquette in French Theatre, 1885-1925	Rebecca	Free	PhD	1998
Whistling in the Dark: Memory, culture and Politics in Wartime London	Jean	Freeman	MA	1995
National Adaptation Transformation In Greece and Turkey: From Acquiescence to Preservation 1947-1981	Allen	Fueling	MA	1989
Pioneers of Modern Design in Europe: Gropius and Le Corbusier in the 1920's	Kim	Fulston	MA	1983
East Prussian and Sudeten German Expellees in West Germany, 1945-1960: A Comparison of Their Social and Cultural Integration	Karen	Gatz	MA	1989
Image and Constraint: Factors Affecting Foreign News Selection in Regional Newspapers in France, Britain and the United States	Philip	Gaunt	PhD	1989
French Innovation: a Cultural Perspective	Lori	Gessling	MA	1986
The Realization of Requests in Dutch by Native Speakers and Learners	Megan	Goff	MA	2010
Nato's Burden Sharing Disparity in the Contemporary Environment: An Institutional Approach	Jason	Gonzales	MA	2010
Changing Journalistic Roles in France and Britain	Philip	Grant	MA	1988
Dictatorship to Democracy: Lessons from Portugal's Foreign Policy Transition	Michael	Green	MA	2000
The Western European Union: Another Opportunity	Thomas	Hansinger	MA	1988
NATO Expansion and Norway	Johan	Haraldsen	MA
The Relationship Between German MNC's and the German Home Country Business	Eric	Hartmann	MA	1997
Great Britain's Uncodified Constitution: Threatening or Threatened?	S.	Hayse	MA	1990
Grenoble: A Developing Regional Center	Susan	Hersberger	MA	1974
Common Tourism Policy for the European Union, A	Thomas	Hoffman	MA	1995
Creative Extensions: Americans in Paris and Berlin	Caroline	Hogge	MA	1990
French Industrial Policy The Cultural Context and its Effects	Carl	Horrell	MA	1993
Post-Cold War Europe: The Loss of Stability and the Emergence of the Extreme Right	Eddie	Howard	MA	1995
Comparison Between Vichy French Chantiers de La Jeunesse and the Nazi Reichsarbeitsdienst, A	Samuel	Huston	MA	1984
Select Committee Reforms in the British House of Commons: Rethinking the Role of Backbench MPS	Michael	Jogest	PhD	1989
History of West European Rocketry and Space Research, A	Lee	Jorde	MA	1988
The German Basic Law and the Federal Constitutional Court: An Impact Analysis	Thomas	Kallman	MA	1995
Social Movement Marginalization in the Democratic Transition: The Case of the East German Women's Movement	Lynn	Kamenitsa	MA	1993
Economic Change and Regional Voting in Spain	Sean	Keefer	MA	2003
Information Policy in the EU: Towards a More Open Union	Elizabeth	Knoerle	MA	2000
Analysis of New Debt Issues and the cost of New Debt Capital in Three European Capital Markets, An	Paul	Korsvold	PhD	1969
The Modern Dimensions of Hellenism: Transcending National Sovereignty	Angelos	Kostopaulos	MA	1989
Legitimizing British Facism	Nicole	LaLonde	MA	2010
Bonn or Berlin: The 1991 German Capital Debate	Timothy	Lang	PhD	1993
Drawing Near to God: The Bible and Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit	Robert	Larson	MA	2011
The Jews in France Under Vichy and the Nazi Occupation	Arnold	Lewis	MA	1970
Belgian Communal Policy in Coalition Government	Timothy	Libby	MA	1991
War of Words: The Deterioration of French-American Bilateral Relations Preceding the Invasion of Iraq	Todd	Linton	MA	2006
The Endurance of Integration in the German Europapolitik	John	Lipold	MA	1992
Crisis of European Community Institutions: France and the Common Agricultural Policy 1965-1966, The	Judy	Lippman	MA	1975
West German Rearmament: From Enemy to Ally in Ten Short Years	Terry	Lockerman	MA	1988
The South Tirol Problem Since 1945: The Intersection of International and Domestic Politics	Jackie	Lovell	MA	1985
West German Cultural Diplomacy	Gregory	Lynch	MA	1978
The Significance of Reconciliation and European Union Enlargement Policy on Croatia's Accession Report	Ryan	Mainhardt	MA	2006
1993 Citizenship and immigration Policy Reforms in France: Implications and Repercussions, The	Rachel	Martin	MA	1997
Basque and Catalan Nationalism: A Comparison	Frank	Mastrovito	MA	1993
The Mafia in Italy	Eric	Metzger	MA	1996
Historical Perspective of the Consolidation of Economic Power in Flanders, An	Laura	Meyer	MA	1987
Economic Aspects of European Community Environmental Policy	Alexander	Milosavljevic	MA	1991
German FDI: An EU Bias?	Roger	Monson	MA	2011
Council of Europe and Human Rights, The	Kevin	Moore	MA	1992
Soccer's Role in a Changing Europe	Misha	Mukherjee	MA	2006
Pedro Almodovar and Post-Franco Spain	Ann	Noeyenbos	MA	1991
Politization in the French Army: 13 May 1958	Dennis	Olson	MA	1992
French Economic Planning: A Force for Economic Development	William	O'Pea	MA	1975
West Germany: A Leadership Role in the European Economic Community	Gregory	Owen	MA	1973
The Post Golden Age of European Economic Growth in Western Europe	Paul	Pass	MA	2009
Germany's Chosen Path: Domestic Security Institutions in the Berlin Republic 1990-1997	Courtney	Paul	MA	1997
Skyteam A Strategic Alliance	Leon	Pennington	MA	2000
L'Affaire Du Foulard: Religion, Republicanism, and Identity in France	Damian	Peoples	MA	2005
Liminal Moment: The Withdrawal of the Four Military Powers from Berlin, A	Howard	Perez	MA	1997
The European Economic Community and Africa: An Analysis of the Lomé Convention of 1975: Economic Benefits or a Diplomatic coup?	Judith	Pete	MA	1978
Army of the European Union	Daniel	Peterson	MA	2001
Domestic Internal Security and Democracy: The British Army in Northern Ireland from 1969-1974	Eric	Peterson	MA	1997
European Union Policy Evaluation: A Comparative Analysis	Kallan	Picha	MA	2012
The Nonconformist Influence in Welsh Nationalism	Ruth	Pitts	MA	1981
France and Portugal in the Spanish civil War- domestic and International Policies	Jamie	Plummer	MA	1988
Economics of International Educational Exchange: A Comparison of Government Funding in Germany, France and the United States, The	Laura	Polts	MA	1998
Soldiers of Destiny: The Fianna Fail Party, the Irish Republican Army and a United Ireland	John	Prusiecki, Jr.	MA	1990
The Multi-national state: Scottish and Welsh Representation in the British Civil Service	John	Pulliam, Jr.	MA	1990
Managing the Revolution: Revolutionary Promise and Political Reality in Rural Portugal	Robert	Reed	PhD	1989
The Libyan Crisis of 1986 in US-West German Relations	Henry	Reeter	MA	1989
From the Pontos to Rochester: A Pontian Odyssey	Jennifer	Reilly	MA	2003
The European Transportation System: Adoption of a Market Oriented Approach	Graig	Reistad	MA	1994
Education and Social Patterns in Modern Europe: Germany, France and England Since 1800: Historical and Statistical Approaches	Fritz	Ringer	MA	1970
The European Union After the Cold War: Towards Common Foreign and Security Policy	Robert	Rizzo	MA	1997
British Politics and the European Parliament: 1973-1989	Gregory	Robinson	MA	1989
European Union: What Has Membership Done for Portugal's Economy?	Angie	Rodriguez-Torres	MA	2004
I Think I Should Like to Die Here" Proust, Mann and James in Venice	Sonja	Rother	MA	2012
The Population of the Rhine River: A transnational Problem	Katherine	Russel	MA	1990
European Union Competition Policy at a Crossroad	Andrew	Satchwell	MA	2008
Alain Robbe-Grillet and Daniel Cohn-Bendit view Contemporary Western Society	Sandra	Sauvain	MA	1992
Germany's Response to Political Violence after Reunification	Thomas	Schaidhammer	MA	1993
Effects of the Preliminary Rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Communities on European Law and Integration, The	Pamela	Scheffler	MA	1986
The Politics of Economic Stabilization: A comparative Investigation into Fiscal Policy Formation	David	Schmidt	MA	1978
Effects of Culture on the Soldiers of the Western Front, The	T.	Schulze	MA	1994
Georg Buchner, Samuel Beckett and the Theatre of the Absurd	Henry	Schvey	MA	1972
Doctrines of Defeat, La Guerre Revolutionnaire and counterinsurgency Warfare	Frederick	Schwarz	MA	1992
European Union and Pharmaceutical Competitiveness: A Public-Private Partnership of Self-Interest	Peter	Shelby	MA	2003
Selling the Modern: The New Consumerism in Weimar Germany	Gerald	Sheryayko	PhD	1996
The European Communities Evolving Foreign Policy: A Case Study of Middle East Relations	Charlotte	Simons	MA	1983
Collection Development in Public and University Libraries of the German Democratic Republic before and after the Wende	Kathleen	Smith	MA	1999
Je Maintiendrai: The Royal Netherlands Army within the Alliance	Vernon	Sorrell	MA	1989
Spanish Defense Policy Under the Socialist Government 1982-1990	Ulises	Soto	MA	1990
West Berlin's Identity in Post-War West Germany	Eric	Staab	MA	1991
Willy Brandt and the SPD, 1974-1985: From Chancellor to Party Chairman	Andrew	Staab	MA	1985
The Treaty of Dunkirk, Treaty of Brussels and NATO: A View From the Special Relationship	Kyle	Steek	MA	1993
Georges Bataille in the Paris Avant-Garde, 1920-1940	A.	Stein	PhD	1993
Berlin/Berlin: The Wall in the Expressive Culture of a Divided City	Mary	Stein	PhD	1993
Burden Sharing in the NATO alliance	Ralph	Steinke	MA	1989
Window on the First New Left: Dwight Macdonald's Politics Magazine, 1944-1949	Gregory	Sumner	PhD	1992
British Civil Recruitment Practices and the Conduct and Performance of Higher Civil Servants	Dennis	Terrell	MA	1974
Examination of West European Science Politics, An	Eudora	Tharp	MA	1975
Atlantic Alliance: Forging a New Security Architecture in Response to the Apparent End of a Bipolar Europe, The	Philip	Thieler	MA	1995
Press and Politics in France: French Legislation of 1944, 1983, and 1986 Affecting Ownership of Newspapers	Linda	Thomas	MA	1987
The Structural Problems of the Atlantic Alliance: The Future of NATO West Berlin's Identity in Post-War West Germany	David	Thomson	MA	1991
British Army of the Rhine: Why it was Committed to West European Defense, The	Timothy	Timmons	MA	1990
The Netherlands: The Reemergence of The Entrepreneur	Vincent	Torres	MA	2002
The Impact of the Franco-German Relationship on the Security of Western Europe: Post WWII to Present	Michael	Travis	MA	1990
Keeping Small Business in Business	Rex	Trewin	MA	1993
Higher Education Reform in France: Breaking the Circle of Obstinancy	Tia	Trueblood	MA	2009
Germany and the Treaty on European Union: Convergence to Economic and Monetary Union in the Decade of 1988-1998	Ralph	Vargas	MA	1998
Pure Reflection: Self-knowledge and Moral Understanding in the Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre	Christopher	Vaughan	PhD	1987
Changes in the Party System of Unified Germany	Brian	Vertuba	MA	1995
French Nuclear Testing: Folly or Foresight?	Mima	Watts	MA	2000
The Troika and Sudan: Improving Western Performance in Multi-Player Peace Negotiations	Mark	Weinberg	MA	2006
Bonds of Communion as sources of Power: Women Writers and Resistance in France and Germany, 1939-45	L.	Westerfield	PhD	1989
Austria: A policy of Neutrality and the 21st Century	Thomas	Wilson	MA	1997
The New Economy in Europe and its Implications for the Social Welfare State	Charles	Wilson	MA	1995
The Netherlands and European Integration: Does the Lion Grow Weary? Nordic Defense in the Post Cold War Era	Charles	Wilson	MA	1995
The Integration of the Nationale Volksarmee into the Bundeswehr	Steven	Winkie	MA	1991
Development of French Nuclear Forces, The	Martin	Wisda	MA	1987
Challenges of Incorporating the Visegard Countries into the European Union, The	Judith	Wiser	MA	1994
Family Policy in Sweden	Susanna	Wolf	MA	1994
Germany and the Expansion of the European Union	Michael	Wright	MA	1999
The French Presidency and "La Cohabitation"	Kristie	Wright	MA	1987
European Security After the Cold War: New Roles for Europe's Small States	Mark	Yakich	MA	1995
Italian Migration in the European Economic Community	Theresa	Yin	MA	1971