Contents of the Master's Degree Program
Contents of the Master’s Degree Program
The structure of the MA program will enable you to individually set your own areas of special interest. Out of the six elective curriculum modules on offer, you will complete four of your choosing. Modules 1-5 reflect the core competencies of the Institute of Political Science in research and teaching (see overview on the following page). The sixth module provides insights into the current research of visiting in structors from Germany and abroad in academic and practical fields. Parts of these modules can be completed during a stay abroad.
A research seminar with a subsequent one-semester-long research internship (concurrent with your studies) will expand your theoretical and methodological knowledge and get you involved in ongoing research projects on public policy and election research, for example, or projects being carried out at affiliated conflict analysis research centers. The research internship is supplemented by courses on academic methodology.
The third semester concludes with a final oral examination; the fourth semester is reserved for the Master’s colloquium and preparation of the Master’s thesis.
The curriculum includes also a minor subject (20 credit points) as a transdisciplinary component. Close cooperation within the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences makes it possible to augment your political science studies with perspectives from Sociology or Political Economics; but about 50 other fields of study represented at Heidelberg University are open to you as well.
Overview of the Elective Modules:
- Democracy research
- Public policy research
- Comparative politics
- Conflict analysis, comparative foreign policy, and international organizations
- Modern political theory/institutional theory
- Perspectives and positions in political science
The Structure of the Master’s Degree Program
Our Graduates’ Career Prospects
The MA in Political Science fosters structured, specialized declarative knowledge, as well as analytical and organizational skills, opening the door not only to political science careers in the narrow sense, but also fields where generalists are sought. The MA will thus qualify you for research and teaching professions at institutions of higher learning and research institutes, careers in political education as well as in scientific consulting of political parties and parliaments, in public administration and international and supranational organizations.
Aside from this, our graduates work for associations and NGOs, media outlets and publishers, as well as private companies, for example in publicity/ PR departments.