The TAM program attracts a wide array of scholars from around the world. Each year, the program enrolls both international and US students from a variety of linguistic backgrounds and academic disciplines. Many students have held posts abroad or have worked in an international capacity, bringing this experience to bear on their work in the TAM program. This page profiles some of our current TAM students and graduates. It offers a glimpse of the people who pursue a TAM degree and how they parlay that achievement into an exciting and fulfilling career.

Class of 2007 • Current TAM Class • Camilo R.

Camilo R. grew up in Nebraska. He graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln receiving degrees in International Studies and Spanish. He spent two academic semesters abroad in both Costa Rica and Argentina. While in Nebraska, he interned for the E.N. Thompson Forum for World Political Issues - a lecture series that brings the world's most influential leaders to speak at Nebraska. Camilo has studied Spanish, French, German and Arabic. He is now engaged in his TAM coursework in Madrid. He interns for CNN Spain and for GEES (a strategic studies think tank).

Camilo explains: "TAM has been an incredible experience. As a semester highlight, our trip to Washington DC not only allowed us time to get our Visas J, but also included a briefing at the State Department, the World Bank, meetings with European dignitaries, as well as a reception with former TAM alumni. The opportunity to interact with, and get a first hand account from students just returning home from Madrid, Berlin, Siena, etc. was invaluable. It was also refreshing to see that TAM alumni are both seeking and receiving employment through various fields that tailor to each student's individual interest. The small size of each TAM class promotes this extended network of young professionals, and is something I plan to tap into upon graduation."

Class of 2006 • TAM Alumni • Nicole B.

Nicole B. is a Dutch-American citizen who was born in the US and raised in the Netherlands. She speaks Dutch, English, French and German. She earned a BA in Social Science from University College Utrecht in May 2003. In June 2005 she received her MA in Political Science from Leiden University. Nicole interned in the Human Rights Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her research interests focused on security and defense as well as on the relationship between the EU and its member states. Nicole completed her overseas modules at the University of Bath and graduated with her TAM MA from that institution. Nicole now works for VNG International - the International Co-operation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities. She is a Junior Project Manager for the Central and Eastern Europe Division in The Hague.

Nicole writes: "Why I love TAM. The overall reason is that it's an extremely flexible program that is able to tailor to every student's needs. You pretty much get to create your own MA program, with regards to the country in which you wish to study, the university from which you want to graduate, the type of courses you are interested in taking, and the list goes on. I have to say that I could not have imagined a better group of people to have spent my TAM-period with, which includes my TAM classmates, the staff at UNC, but also all the people you meet along the way in Europe. You are constantly surrounded by students, professors and advisors who understand and stimulate a student's desire to learn more about world politics in the classrooms at UNC, argue about the future of US-EU relations at the organic food market in Carrboro, meet and debate with a U.S. Senator during the TAM Fall break trip, have a croissant with your new European classmates in a little café in Paris, learn how to speak Czech, write your dissertation at a 'security and defense' research center in London; in other words: to do it all., and all in just one year! I guess that is why I love TAM."

Erin M. is from Annapolis, Maryland. She recently graduated from William and Mary with a degree in Government and Hispanic Studies. As an undergrad, Erin ran track and cross country and lived in the Spanish House. In addition, she studied abroad in Cadiz, Spain. During the summer of 2004, Erin interned with the Fulbright Office in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State. She speaks English, Spanish and French and spent her overseas TAM modules in Madrid. Erin 's research interests involved international peacekeeping organizations, the changing relationship between globalization and national identity, and the EU's role in the global arena. She graduated with the UNC MA in Political Science Concentration TransAtlantic Studies. She has recently taken a position as an Associate in the firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Mclean, VA. Erin works as a consultant in their government affairs division.

Erin writes: "I'd like to say how grateful I am to the Center for European Studies and to UNC for creating such a unique and rewarding program for students like me. I know that during my senior year at William and Mary I was not looking for a typical graduate program - in fact, I wasn't sure I wanted to go straight to graduate school at all, unless I could find a path of study that suited my desire for travel and adventure. I found all that (and more) in the TransAtlantic Masters Program. By choosing the TAM Program, I won the chance to earn a prestigious and valuable academic degree. At the same time however, I learned more about myself and my abilities than I ever would have had I stayed in the United States.

 I loved and appreciated both aspects of the TAM Program. During my semester at UNC I gained a new love for the Tar Heels and the new feeling of being a part of a huge academic and athletic institution (which meant a lot coming from a small school with many budgetary restraints). I also discovered that I love the EU! I find it truly fascinating, so it was easy to immerse myself in studying. My time in Spain was also a deeply influential period in my life. I took full advantage of my proximity to legendary European sites, my scattered friends in various parts of Europe, and various travel options. I was able to meet relatives in Ireland. I explored the Louvre, road in a boat on Loch Ness in Scotland, and heard the cheers of a World Cup match in Berlin. These are not things that can be learned and experienced in a typical graduate program, and the friends I've made, from all different parts of the world, are very dear to me."

Class of 2002 • TAM Alumni • Adrianne George

Adrianne George received her undergraduate degree from UNC in 2002. She had the opportunity to go abroad twice during her college career. She spent her sophomore year in Lancaster, England, attending the University of Lancaster, and she lived in Sevilla, Spain during the last semester of her senior year. As a TAM student, Adrianne studied in Madrid and Bath earning her MA from the University of Bath in 2003. While writing her thesis, Adrianne relocated to DC and worked as an intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She was later hired as a full-time CSIS employee and held the position of Program Coordinator for the Biotechnology and Public Policy project until she went to work at the Department of Defense in the summer of 2005. During her time at CSIS, she had the opportunity to participate in two academic conferences. She went to the SAIS Bologna Center in July 2004 to present her paper entitled, "Continuity or Change: The CFSP and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," and to the London School of Economics in July 2005 to present her paper, "Promoting Ethics and Security: The RRF as an EU Foreign Policy Tool."

Transatlantic Masters (TAM) photos taken

at sites across US and Europe