If you’re already studying Political Science and would like to find out more about specific details of your master programme, you’ll find what you’re looking for on the Master in Political Science Programme Structure pages.
Thank you for your interest in the master's programmes of the WiSo-Faculty.
On this webpage you will find all required information on the Master Political Science - you will get a sneak peak into the programme structure as well as all facts about the admission criteria and the selection procedure.
In a nutshell
Standard period of study: 4 semesters, full-time
Scope: 120 ECTS
Start: Fall semester (early October)
Degree title: Master of Arts (M.A.)
Language: English
Fees: Only Social fee (approx. 280€ per semester including public transport, for more information see here)
Application Deadline: 15 June 2021 (please note the differing deadlines for the Double Master's Programme)
Programme summary
The Cologne Master in Political Science offers a research-oriented study programme with course offerings across a range of political science areas. The empirical and analytical focus of the programme enables students to analyze political phenomena using a range of state-of-the-art research methods and carry out an independent research project. The programme enables graduates to embark on a professional career in many areas of politics or to continue in a future PhD programme in political science.
Our thematic areas:
Comparative Political Institutions
Comparative Political Economy
Empirical Democratic Theory
International Relations
European and Multi-Level Politics
Political Science Methods
Your Benefits
Comprehensive range of subjects and freedom to choose: The department’s internationally renowned professors and academic staff cover the whole range of political science subfields, ranging from comparative politics, European politics, comparative political economy, international relations, democratic theory, to political science research methods. Our Master’s programme offers you a high flexibility in combining courses from these different subfields.
Teaching approach: We offer courses in different formats (lectures, seminars, research projects) using a variety of exam forms (written exams, research papers, mid-term assignments) and interactive features.
One of the most international political science Master’s programmes in Germany: Study in a dynamic and multicultural group with a share of about 25% of enrolled international students. You can complete the Master’s programme in English.
Innovative methods: Benefit from the new area “Political Science Research Methods”, which offers training in qualitative and quantitative methods (using the statistical software R) as well as research design. Additional offerings include advanced methods, including political text analysis, causal inference, and big data, which are all taught in an applied manner using R.
Research excellence: The strong research focus of our faculty entails numerous research projects hosted in the department, funded by international and national funding agencies. Faculty of the department is furthermore involved in the university’s Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute: Markets and Public Policy. Our research projects allow you to apply for a student assistant job and use the opportunity to work in an international research team!
Many interdisciplinary options: The department of Political Science at the University of Cologne is part of the Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences and Management. This allows you to benefit from a large choice of supplementary courses in the Master’s programme especially in economics. Students may also choose a number of courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Thematic areas and some examples of questions dealt with
Comparative Political Institutions: Why do institutions evolve at all? Why do they change and in which way? What are their effects on political actors, political processes and policy making?
Comparative Political Economy: How can we measure business and labor power? In which ways and through which channels do business and labor affect political processes and policy change at the national and international level? Which consequences arise from current political economic mega-trends like as globalization, digitalization, financialization, and migration?
Empirical Democratic Theory: Why do voters around the world face such different options at the ballot box? When does ethnicity, rather than class, become the primary dimension of political conflict within a society? Why and when might elites concede political power to the masses?
International Relations: Does Russia's Syria policy in the UN Security Council serve to protect international norms or its power-political interests? How can whistleblowing, as in the case of Edward Snowden, be justified in terms of regulatory ethics and legitimacy theory? What are patterns of Chinese investment in the European energy sector, and how can these patterns be explained?
European and Multi-Level Politics: To what extent are left-right placements of voters and parties in the European Election Surveys comparable within and across countries? How can scholars use automatic speech recognition systems to analyse acts of political speech, such as deliberations in the Council of the EU, with quantitative text analysis models?
Political Science Methods: What makes a strong research design in Political Science and how can we make valid causal inferences? What is a p-value in a t-Test and how can it be interpreted? How can one apply set-theoretic approaches to a study of government bailout programmes following the global financial crisis of 2008? What different types of process-tracing are used in the literature, and how do they differ from each other?
Only the best for your career
Besides offering the opportunity to future Ph.D. studies, the master's programme in political science at the University of Cologne’s WiSo-faculty prepares students for all kinds of political functions. Graduates typically find employment in public institutions (governments and public administration) and organisations (political parties, foundations), the media and other associations at national, European and international levels, as well as in the education system. On the parliamentary stage, political scientists work as consultants, office managers or assistants to members of national or local parliaments. Other possible professions include advisory, opinion research, organised labour, the social services, communication and public relations.
The labour market for political scientists requires generalists rather than specialists. The wide range of content offered by the master programme reflects one of the strengths of political science at Cologne University – the fact that we have six departments with expertise in the subject.
Testimonials
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Term abroad
There is the possibility to apply for a semester abroad at one of our numerous partner universities. These include, for example, Sciences Po Paris, Charles University Prague, the National Research University - Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, or the University of Southern Denmark, Odense. Further information can be found on the homepage of our International Relations Center (ZiB WiSo).
Double degree option
In addition to our regular master’s programme, students have the option to study the Double Master’s Programme in European Studies in cooperation with Maastricht University. Students of the international study programme spend one year at the WiSo Faculty and one year at Maastricht University. After successful completion of the programme, they are awarded two degrees.
Want to know more? Detailed information concerning the curricular design and the substance of the programme is available on the Programme Structure pages. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.
Information on the application
Admission Requirements
The admission requirements must be fulfilled until the application deadline:
Bachelor's degree
Application in the case of unfinished Bachelor studies: In cases where present Bachelor studies have not been fully completed, application is permitted if the candidate has earned at least 80% of the required credits and will have achieved the remaining results by 30 September at the latest. The specific admission criteria governing the designated course of study (including the overall grade) must already have been fulfilled on the basis of the exam results available at the time of application.
Overall grade of at least 2.7 (German grade) in the Bachelor’s degree
Fulfilment of the following subject-related requirements
At least 36 ECTS credits in Political Science
At least 9 further ECTS credits in in Methodology and Empirical Social Research
If the number of applicants meeting the admission criteria exceeds the number of places available for this course of study, a selection procedure is initiated for the purpose of ranking these applicants.
The procedure is based on the grade earned in the Bachelor's degree or a course of study deemed equivalent.
Application documents
We are currently revising the following contents. All current information will be available at the end of January 2021 at the latest.
Authenticated documents required for the Master's online application portal by the WiSo Faculty:
Bachelor degree certificate | If you have not finished your bachelor studies but have passed at least 80% of the examinations (at least 144 credits in a bachelor degree carrying 180 ECTS credits), you can apply by submitting a confirmation of all credits earned so far, along with a provisional average grade computed and certified by your examination office. Please note that the remaining credits must be earned by 30 September.
Transcript of records (stamped and signed) | list of all taken modules and courses including grades and credits
Transcript of semester abroad | only if examinations passed abroad should be considered for the admission criteria as well | the courses have to be recognised by the home university as part of the bachelor programme and recorded in the transcript of records.
School leaving certificate | A-levels/ High school diploma
Official description of the content of all taken bachelor courses | e.g. course catalogue or PDF-file with link to course description at the website of the University)
If you are interested in the Double Master's Programme in European Studies, please check the additional application documents.
Students who did not obtain their bachelor’s degree in Germany have to apply additionally via uni-assist. Please note, you have to document your education in detail. You start with the certificate from the last school you graduated from (which entitles you to begin university studies in your home country) and continue up to the current state of progress in your university studies. Furthermore, you have to hand in all documents in original language and additionally in sworn translation either in German or in English language. It is recommended to send the application documents to uni-assist 6 weeks before the application deadline. The following documents are needed:
authenticated (and translated) copy of bachelor degree certification or attestation of 80% studies and Transcript of Records | Please submit all certificates in their entirety: include the diploma certificate as well as the overview of subjects and grades. You must not omit any parts of the certificate (such as a diploma supplement) or single pages. In order to calculate your grade, uni-assist needs the grading system used by your university for your degree. More information can be read here.
authenticated (and translated) copy of university entrance qualification | e.g. A-level, High School diploma | Submit the certificate which allows you to start university studies in your home country | Please also check the country specific information.
authenticated copy of proof of English language proficiency
authenticated copy of all documents listed above in the original language | Only if the original document is not available in English or German language. Information about translation and authentication of documents can be read here.
only for applicants with Chinese (except Hongkong) or Vietnamese bachelor’s certificates | original APS certificate| certified copies cannot be accepted!
Application and admission procedure
Information on the application process and deadlines can be found on the application website.
Current changes with regard to the Corona Pandemic are summarised here.