Area studies typically examine the development of a particular population or region. While other, similar interdisciplinary studies, such as gender, disability, and ethnic, may have some part in course discussions, these are not considered area studies.

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the western most point of Eurasia, Europe is usually divided from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas.

A Master of Science or MSc is a postgraduate degree typically in the fields of sciences and social sciences. MSc may be course-based, research-based, or a mixture of the two.