EU Study Tour Overview
The 2024 study tour will take place from May 12 - May 31, 2024. Students must arrive in Brussels on Sunday May 12 (welcome session in the late afternoon/early evening of that day) and check out of the hotel on Friday, May 31.
What is the EU Study Tour?
The EU Study Tour and Internship Program is a field school that offers an experiential learning opportunity for university students across Canada through a program of guided visits to the major institutions of the European Union and several other places.
The Study Tour takes place annually in May and builds on over 15 years of successful tours. It is an intensive program that takes approximately three weeks to complete. The recurrent topics of the Tour are the institutional architecture of the EU (e.g. enlargement and reform), compliance of member states, and Canada-EU relations. There are also always some annual themes/special topics.
The annual themes for the 2024 Tour are:
- Europe and its neighbours
- EP elections: is Europe moving to the right?
Students will travel to Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg, and Frankfurt (Germany) and will visit key EU institutions, such as:
- European Commission
- European Parliament
- Court of Justice of the EU
- European Central Bank
And other international organizations (e.g. NATO), offices (e.g. the Canadian Mission to the EU), think tanks and civil society organizations.
The Study Tour is not simply an accredited course, it is designed to be a full immersion into European history, culture and political formation.
In addition to participation in the Study Tour, a number of qualified participants are offered internship opportunities with EU institutions and other organizations following completion of the Tour. The 2024 internships are typically two months in duration, and begin in the week following the completion of the study tour and are typically completed by the beginning of August (occasionally the timing differs). Some participants have remained in Europe to work or live, as a result of the networks and experiences they gained through this program.
The EU Study Tour and Internship Program is offered by the Canadian universities of the Network for European studies (Canada) and the University of Victoria, which has taken on the managing role since 2018.
The 2024 Study Tour dates will be: May 12 to May 30, 2024.
Recent iterations of the study tour:
2022 Program Itinerary - the study tour took place virtually and was followed by the usual in-person internships
Find out how the EU study tour can enhance your academic and professional pursuits!
International Stories:
Read past Study Tour participants' testimonials here.
To catch up on what our 2019 EU Study Tour students were learning about, read their blog, hosted by EUCANET.
Video montage of the 12th EU study tour, held in May 2015.