The Institute of European Studies was founded in 2003 with funding from the European Commission. The Institute’s mission is to promote the study of the European Union in Canada. IES draws upon established strengths at the University of Toronto including the European Studies Major Program, the CERES MA in European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (MA ERES) , and more than a dozen departments in the Faculty of Arts and Science. The Institute is housed in the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto.

In 2006 the Institute was designated a European Union Centre of Excellence and received a new round of financial support. The Institute is also supported by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts and Science.

The Institute’s activities are oriented toward research, workshops, graduate and undergraduate education, and community outreach. In the current period the Institute’s research programs address five broad themes:

• European Integration and Global Governance
• The Europeanization of Migration and Integration
• Ethics in the European Union
• Transatlantic Security
• Thinking Beyond Enlargement

The Institute organizes annual workshops on the European Union for secondary school students and their teachers.  Click here for more information on these workshops.

The Institute’s Director is Professor Jeffrey Kopstein.