Programme Structure Master Politicial Science
This page provides details on the programme structure of the Master Politicial Science and the courses offered. The Master Political Science comprises 120 credit points over two years (four semesters, full time). It consists of the sections listed below and the Master's thesis (24 credit points).
The core and advandced section (36 credit points) is composed of “core modules”and “core module seminars”. Core modules are introductory lectures (or seminars) in the main subfields of political science. Core module seminars are advanced seminars allowing students to deepen their knowledge in selected subfields. Students choose:
- Core and advandced section 1: three (out of six) core modules à 6 credit points
- Core and advandced section 2: two (out of six) core module seminars à 9 credit points
The specialisation section (36 credit points) consists of research projects, usually held as seminars. Specialisation modules delve deeper into specific topics of political science. Students learn to apply approaches and methods on a research problem of their own choice. This section also includes the obligatory colloquium (9 credit points), where students present a draft of their master thesis. Students choose:
- Specialisation section: three (out of six) modules à 9 credit points
The supplementary section (24 CP) allows choosing from subjects and specialisations offered at the WiSoFaculty and (based on a bilateral agreement with the Institute of Political Science) the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
To get more information about the modules of each section, click on the name of the section below. Note that the selection of modules in one section does not affect other sections, i.e. students may choose modules freely in each section.
Core and Advanced Section Political Science I (Core Modules)
With the exception of core modules IV and VI, these are lectures with a written exam of 60 minutes at the end of the semester.
Students choose three (out of six) modules from this section. Each module is awarded 6 credit points. The seminars in Module IV may be held in English or German, all other courses are taught in English.
Core module Political Science I (Political Institutions) Lecture – Comparative Political Institutions Introductory course for the field of comparative political institutions that covers the evolution, behaviour and effects on politics of institutions. It introduces relevant analytical concepts such as: institutional equilibria; institutional design, institutional change, and endogenous institutions; path dependence; collective action. These concepts are applied towards the distinction between autocracy and democracy, democratization and development. |
Core module Political Science II (Political Economy) Lecture – Comparative Political Economy This lecture discusses analytical approaches and methods of comparative political economy, with a special focus on the relationship between political and economic power in the governance of labor and financial markets. It covers classical authors such as Smith and Marx, and newer concepts of labor and business power. Moreover, the lecture broadens students’ understanding of challenges political economies are facing such as financialization, debt, skills, migration, labor-market dualization and globalization. |
Core module Political Science III (Political Theory) Lecture – Political Theory in Practice The lecture provides students with a survey of different theories of democracy (both classic and more recent work). It discusses how “democracy” can be conceptualized and measured, and also what phenomena like inequality, concerns about voter competence / voter misinformation (“fake news”) and immigration (borders) mean for democratic states. |
| Core module Political Science IV (International Relations) Seminar – Selection of one out of various offered seminars The Seminars offered in this module cover a wide range of topics related to the field of international relations, including: international politics, foreign policy, transnational politics, conflict- and cooperation studies, security politics, geopolitics, international regulatory policies, information and communication Examples of seminars offered in past semesters: - Radicalism, Terrorism and Extremism
- Menschenrechte und Internationale Politik
- Internationale Beziehungen: Theorien der Außenpolitikanalyse
- Latin America and the United States since the Cuban Revolution
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Core module Political Science V (European Politics) Lecture – Comparing European Democracies This course introduces students to analytical frameworks to understand both domestic and supranational politics in Europe. The goal of the lecture is not to cover a few European countries in depth, nor to survey as many facts as possible about Europe. Instead, the objective is to equip students with analytical tools (including delegation models, the spatial model of politics, formal reasoning) to understand and examine contemporary developments and political puzzles that are of particular relevance to European democracies. |
Core module Methods of Political Science Seminar – Research Design and Research Logic The goal of the seminar is to establish a genuine understanding of the ingredients of theory building and the elements needed to develop a rigorous research design for social inquiry. Specifically the seminar adresses topics such as: Identification of a research question, concept formation and formulation of hypotheses, selection of a research design, case selection, data collection and analysis. |
Special Aspects of Social Sciences Module for crediting courses from universities abroad. Courses from abroad can also be credited easily in the supplementary section (12 or 24 credits). |
Core and Advanced Section Political Science II (Core Module Seminars)
The modules consist of seminars where students write a seminar paper. There may be several seminars available in a given module; however it is only possible to complete one seminar per module.
Students choose two (out of six) modules from this section. Each module is awarded 9 credit points. The seminars in Module IV may be held in English or German, all other courses are taught in English.
| Core module Seminar Political Science I (Political Institutions) The seminars focus on certain aspects of Political Institutions, including: Institutionalism; preference aggregation, co-ordination, collective action, and principal-agent relations; veto player theory and types of democracy as well as comparative policy analysis. Examples of seminars offered in past semesters: - Stability, Quality, and Performance of Democracy
- Distributive Politics
- The Life and Death of New Political Parties
- Federalism and Multi-level Governance
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| Core module Seminar Political Science II (Political Economy) The seminars cover, inter alia, approaches of comparative political economy, analysis of capitalism or the political economy of particular countries. Examples of seminars offered in past semesters: - Models of Capitalism
- The Political Economy of Labor and Business
- The Political Economy of the USA
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| Core module Seminar Political Science III (Political Theory) The seminars cover varying topics from the field of empirical political theory as well as research approaches and methods. Example of seminars offered: - Parties and Elections in Comparative Perspective
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| Core module Seminar Political Science IV (International Relations) The seminars offered in this module cover a wide range of topics related to the field of international relations, including: international politics, foreign policy, transnational politics, conflict- and cooperation studies, security politics, geopolitics, international regulatory policies, information and communication. Examples of seminars offered in past semesters: - Global Security Threats and Trends
- Internationale Klima- und Umweltpolitik als Herausforderung für die politische Praxis und die politikwissenschaftliche Analyse
- Gender and Terrorism
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| Core module Seminar Political Science V (European Politics) Seminars in this module deal with comparative European politics, political representation, party competition, national parliaments, legislation, coalition governments, political behaviour and the European Union. Examples of seminars offered in past semesters: - Comparative Legislative Politics
- Political Representation in Europe
- German EU Politics
- The Politics of Economic and Monetary Union
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Core Module Seminar Methods of Political Science Seminar - Introduction into Quantitative Methods This course provides an introduction to quantitative analysis in political science using R. Topics include the essential elements of sampling, statistical inference, the estimation and interpretation of the linear regression model and data visualization. Students will have brief introductions to more advanced topics, including time-series and panel data analysis, multilevel models, and predictive modeling (aka machine learning). |
Specialisation Section Political Science (Research Projects)
The modules consist of research projects, usually held as seminars. There may be several research projects available in a given module; however it is only possible to complete one seminar per module.
Students choose three (out of six) modules from this section. Each module is awarded 9 credit points. The reserach projects in Module IV and the colloquium may be held in English or German, all other courses are taught in English.
| Specialisation module Political Science I (Political Institutions) The research projects cover current issues in the comparative analysis of political institutions with a special focus on research design, political science methods and theoretical approaches. Examples of research projects offered in past semesters: - Federalism
- Types of Democracy
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| Specialisation module Political Science II (Political Economy) The research projects cover various topics and problem areas as well as research methods and research design specific to comparative political economy. Examples of research projects offered in past semesters: - Research Design and Case Studies in Comparative Political Economy
- Strategies of Causal Analysis and Comparative Research Designs
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| Specialisation module Political Science III (Political Theory) The research projects cover varying topics from the field of empirical political theory as well as research approaches and methods. Examples of research projects offered: - Political Choice and Strategy
- Modern Political Theory
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| Specialisation module Political Science IV (International Relations) The research projects offered in this module cover a wide range of topics related to the field of international relations. Research projects offered in past semesters: - Security Risks and Vulnerabilities for Germany and Europe
- Emotionen, Konflikt, Identität
- Die NATO im Wandel – Rückblick und Ausblick
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| Specialisation module Political Science V (European Politics) The research projects cover conceptual and theoretical approaches for the analysis of European politics and the European political system, such as the EU’s multi-level system, with a special focus on applied quantitative methods of comparative politics. Research projects offered in past semesters: - Analyzing EU Politics with Big Data
- Causal Inference and Public Policy in Europe
- Researching Parliaments in the European Union
- Quantitative Text Analysis
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Specialisation module Methods of Political Science Seminar – Introduction into Qualitative Methods The course introduces participants to the principles and practice of qualitative research with a focus on the field of Comparative Politics. Qualitative research is understood as subsuming case studies and process tracing. Topics include case selection, varieties of comparative case studies and challenges in implementing them as well as process tracing and the analysis of mechanisms. |
Colloquium The Colloquium provides support to students in the writing process of their thesis. Participants present outlines of their thesis and discuss it with professors and fellow students, with a focus on theoretical and methodical problems. |
Supplementary Section
The Supplementary Section consists of modules from neigbouring subjects that are arranged in groups of 12 or 24 credit points. Students may choose one group with 24 credits or combine any two groups with 12 credits from a broad offer of areas. Each area usually consists of a number of 6-credit modules. While at the WiSo-Faculty, the majority of courses is taught in English, courses at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities may require some knowledge of German.
Groups of 24 credit points (choose one):
Group | Offered by (Faculty) | Required language skills | Credits |
Design & Behavior | WiSo | EN | 24 |
Markets & Institutions | WiSo | EN | 24 |
Macroeconomics, Money and Financial Markets | WiSo | EN | 24 |
Growth, Labor and Inequality in the Global Economy | WiSo | EN | 24 |
Energy Economics | WiSo | EN | 24 |
Statistics & Econometrics | WiSo | EN | 24 |
Wirtschaftsgeographie | WiSo | DE (some electives EN) | 24 |
Ethnologie I | Arts&Hum | DE (some electives EN) | 24 |
Languages and Cultures of the Islamic World I | Arts&Hum | DE (some electives EN) | 24 |
Groups of 12 credit points (choose two):
Group | Offered by (Faculty) | Required language skills | Credits |
Ethnology II | Arts&Hum | DE (some electives EN) | 12 |
Languages and Cultures of the Islamic World II | Arts&Hum | DE (some electives EN) | 12 |
History | Arts&Hum | DE (some electives EN) | 12 |
Media Cultural Sciences | Arts&Hum | DE (some electives EN) | 12 |
Economic Geography | WiSo | EN | 12 |
Cooperative Economics | WiSo | DE (some electives EN) | 12 |
Social Policy | WiSo | EN | 12 |
Energy Economics II | WiSo | EN | 12 |
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences | WiSo | DE | 12 |
Studies Abroad I (for crediting courses taken abroad) | | n/a | 12 |
Studies Abroad II (for crediting courses taken abroad) | | n/a | 12 |