Study Humanities in Europe? Different Academic Experience & Intellectual Atmosphere?

College Majors
1

<p>Hello everyone at CC!</p>

<p>I’m now considering studying Humanities in Continental Europe (Bachelor Degree). Since I plan to apply PhD Programs in the US in the future, I want to have different academic experience which is different from the US in my undergraduate study.</p>

<p>However, do academic studies of Humanities in Continental Europe differ much from the US? For example, I’ve heard that historical study in the US uses lots of social sciences’ methods (e.g. Sociology, Economics, etc.), while in Germany, historical study doesn’t tightly linked to social sciences like in the US.</p>

<p>On the other hand, is intellectual atmosphere in Continental Europe quite different from the US? I think intellectual atmosphere has some influence on the academic study of Humanities, but I don’t know the concrete differences since I know little about the academia...</p>

<p>PS: I’m now considering universities like Heidelberg, Munich and Tübingen, and my academic interests are European History (Before 1800, include Classical Antiquity) and Ancient Near East.</p>

<p>I will be very appreciated for each reply. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>I attended a German university for a year. I can’t tell you how exactly history is taught in Germany (or in the US for that matter), but - as a rule of thumb - you should not be going to Germany with the expectation to talk to your professors as an undergraduate student. They will give lectures, suggest readings and test you; they are NOT going to have office hours for follow-up discussions of the lecture material, advise you on courses or get you started on a research project.</p>

<p>You would probably get a superior education in the US.</p>

<p>P.S. Housing in Munich is notoriously hard to find around the beginning of the semester because the Oktoberfest draws several million people into the city at the same time. Some students never set foot on campus because they can’t find a place to stay.</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much for your helpful reply!</p>

<p>And any insights on this topic would be appreciated!</p>

4

<p>The intellectual atmosphere for undergraduates in European universities (by European, I mean French) consists a deadening dose of 200 people lectures and indie rock/cover-band parties at night time in major cities like Paris and Berlin with your local jeune communiste, young communist, friends. Students here are wayyy more intellectual than their Girls-Gone-Wild American counterparts. However, faculties here are not helpful at all unless you are a graduate students. Universities generally look like community colleges in U.S. They are small, tiny, and run-down. </p>

<p>Unless, of course, you get into the grandes ecoles where you would probably encounter the future president of the French republic. Otherwise, Universite de Paris, III or IV, is your top choice. It is easy to get into, but harder to get out. </p>

<p>So, for instance, if you come to Paris, you will spend more time in Latin Quarter, 5th district, Saint-Denis, river banks of Seine, and other hip places filled with communist comrades than you would want to spend in boring lecture halls.</p>