Student Opportunities

MAGES Final Colloquium

Each spring the Center sponsors the MAGES Final Colloquium to prepare MAGES students for participation in academic and professional conferences. Second year students present their Master’s Projects to faculty and fellow students, while first year students serve as commentators. The Final Colloquium provides a valuable opportunity for creative interaction between students and faculty. It showcases the diversity of student academic interests, and highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the MAGES program.

The interdisciplinary nature of the MAGES program is made evident at the MAGES Colloquium by the vast array of project topics pursued by students. Past paper topics have included the following:

  • Selling Out: The EU’s Marketing of Europe
  • Integration and Identity Construction: The European Union and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe
  • Alpinismus and Mental Geography: Mountain Landscape and Regional Resistance, 1870-1880
  • The German Citizenship Reform: Explaining the Debate and Its Outcome with Three Explanatory Factors
  • The European Union and Competitiveness in the Telecommunications Sector
  • The Impact of Corruption in Europe Innovation Policy in the European Union
  • The Center-Right in Germany and Austria: An Uncertain Future of the Post-National Consensus

The Hopper Award

The winner of the Jill A. Hopper Award is presented at the Colloquium. Created by MAGES alumni in memory of their classmate Jill Hopper (MAGES ’96), the Award recognizes dedication to academic service and scholarship. Throughout her time at Georgetown, Jill maintained the highest standards for herself both inside and outside the classroom. Her commitment to academic excellence earned her the admiration of classmates as well as recognition within the broader academic community of scholars. Her talent for inspiring others to excel indelibly marked her class; her enthusiasm and optimism enlivened the Center. The Hopper Award celebrates her example and encourages others to aspire to the same high standards.

Photo of Rijaab Mansoor, Tessa Coggio, Monte Hopper, Katrin Sieg, Derek Hopper, Tom Banchoff, and Devin Horne
The 2019 winner of the Hopper Award is Tessa Coggio (second from left).

Past Hopper Award Recipients:

  • 2022     Iris Thatcher
  • 2021     Daniela Rojas Medina
  • 2020     Alistair Somerville
  • 2019     Tessa Coggio
  • 2018     Ricky Bordelon
  • 2017     Triet Pham
  • 2016     Brent McDonnell
  • 2015     Timothy Schmalz
  • 2014     Emily Sieg
  • 2013     Robert Mevissen
  • 2012     Susan Fratzke
  • 2011     Michael McKeon
  • 2010     Halley Aelion
  • 2009     Lindsay Pettingill
  • 2008     Morgan Schupbach
  • 2007     Jordan White
  • 2006     Thrine Kane
  • 2005     Sharyn Claffey
  • 2004     A. Wess Mitchell
  • 2003     Aspen Brinton
  • 2002     Nathan Galer
  • 2001     Allyson Kozal
  • 2000     Alexander Merrow

Graduate Student Conference

Each February, MAGES students organize a Graduate Student Conference on a theme related to current events in Europe.

The Graduate Student Conference is generously supported by the BMW Center for German and European Studies, the CGES Alumni Association, the American Consortium on European Union Studies, and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).