Master's Program
The Master’s in political science is a four-semester program. Over the course of the program students will take various compulsory elective modules and complete a research internship. The master’s offers graduate students the opportunity to gain first-hand insights into current research and develop their own scientific specializations.
Further information can be found in the tabs below.
Compulsory elective modules
Master’s students will complete four modules of their choosing from the five compulsory modules (see also program structure). It is possible to complete two different modules from the area “Perspectives and Positions.”
The module Governance/Policy Research involves an in-depth look into the theory and empirical approaches to governance research. The focus in this module is the analysis of policy fields such as budgetary, social, environmental, and economic policy in western countries from a comparative and case study perspective.
Module coordinators: Prof. Dr. Manfred G. Schmidt, Prof. Dr. Reimut Zohlnhöfer
In the module Conflict Analysis and Comparative Foreign Policy in international organizations students will learn about inter and intra-state conflicts as well as the role of international organizations in managing and settle conflicts. Students will investigate the tensions between member states and international organizations, specific types of conflicts, modes of managing conflicts as well as the policies of international organizations and their member states.
Module coordinator: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Harnisch
The Comparative Analysis of Political Systems module builds on the curriculum of a Bachelor’s program dealing with the theoretical and methodological foundations of comparative politics. Students will engage with the central research areas as well as the analytical instruments of this sub-field, such as regional comparisons of various political systems or addressing the specific challenges involved with comparative analysis.
Module coordinators: Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant, Prof. Dr. Reimut Zohlnhöfer.
Modern Political Theory/Institutional Theory
The module Modern Political Theory/Institutional Theory deals with the question of how to decipher and institutionalize principles and values in politics. Students will discuss the meaning of basic normative notions like democracy, justice and freedom for different fields of practice (e.g. gender relations, migration, human rights). They will ask for the ways political demands are articulated in political discourse, how they are shaped by self-understandings of society and how they are incorporated in institutional designs and policies.
Module coordinator: Prof. Dr. Michael Haus
The module Perspectives and Positions in Political Science offers in-depth insights and answers to relatively narrowly defined research questions. Courses in this module are frequently offered by international guest lecturers with proven research expertise and real-world experience. The spectrum of topics ranges from current national and international crises to advanced theory and methods courses. The module is comprised of two related seminars from the area “Perspectives and Positions.”
Module coordinator: Prof. Dr. Jale Tosun
Compulsory Modules/Research Internship
All students in the Master’s program are required to complete a research internship module. Students have the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of research projects. (For more information, see Research Internship).
In addition to the research internship, Master’s students take courses on scientific research (scientific writing and the presentation of research findings).
