Political Science – Inequality, Power, Conflict

Empirical and regional expertise in politics

During the master's degree program Political Science – Inequality, Power, Conflict, students will independently investigate empirical questions concerning political phenomena, applying appropriate data collection and analysis methods. Teaching focuses in particular on current challenges such as inequality, power, and conflicts. Students can choose to focus on a variety of topics, such as peace and conflicts, parliamentary processes, the representation of women, digital democracy, coalitions, the career paths of politicians, political polarization and inequality, or the political consequences of global environmental changes resulting from climate change.

In addition to conducting independent quantitative or qualitative research on their chosen issue, students will also expand their knowledge of political science and other humanities subjects thanks to a broad range of courses which can be freely chosen. They also have the option of completing an internship. This degree program prepares students for employment in diverse and challenging occupations in politics, administration, business and the media.

Focal areas of teaching and research

The Master’s degree program Political Science – Inequality, Power, Conflict at the University of Basel places a strong emphasis on political sociology, comparative politics, and international relations. It enables students to focus especially on the analysis of inequality, power, and conflicts. During the master's program, students acquire skills in scientific research as well as specialized knowledge of their chosen topics and methods. 

This specialized approach enables diverse teaching and research collaborations with other departments. 

The master's program builds consistently upon the knowledge of political science theory and methods acquired during the bachelor’s program, and consists of three modules. The module «Inequality, Power, Conflict» offers students the opportunity to set their own thematic focus according to their personal interests after completing a general introductory course. In the module «Research Methods in Political Science», students learn the necessary skills for answering an empirical research question. In the module «Extension Social Sciences», students can supplement their studies with courses from related subject.

In addition to acquiring subject-specific and interdisciplinary knowledge, students will also learn to independently design and carry out research projects, critically reflect on their research approaches, and successfully convey scientific knowledge and interdependencies both orally and in writing. The program is further complemented by a master's colloquium, a master's exam, and, if studied as a major, a master's thesis.

Study structure

The Master's degree is the second degree after the Bachelor's degree and comprises a total of 120 credit points (CP). In addition to Political Science – Inequality, Power, Conflict, students choose a second, independent subject, whereby both subjects are studied for 35 CP each. The subject in which the master's thesis (30 CP) is written becomes a major, the other a minor. In addition, there are free electives (20 CP).

The diverse understanding of theories and methods in political science provides an ideal basis for interdisciplinary study and allows for many beneficial combinations with other subjects. Students may choose a subject from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences or an extra-faculty subject as their second Master's degree subject. Students can choose their second subject according to their interests and career perspectives.

The 20 CP for the free electives can be gained in courses of your choice (please check entry requirements of the respective courses). They can be used to deepen knowledge in the degree subjects, gain insights into other degree subjects offered by the University of Basel or acquire language skills.

Master’s admission requirements

Admission to master’s programs is regulated by the university student regulations and the stipulations of the individual degree program descriptions. More details of the general master’s admission requirements are provided here. For students to be admitted with no additional requirements, they must hold a bachelor’s degree worth 180 CP from a higher education institution recognized by the University of Basel.

Please see the Study Regulations and the Student Regulations of the University of Basel for detailed information on admission requirements. Binding information under: https://unibas.ch/admission

Language skills

Courses are taught in English and students who are admitted without additional requirements can study the program fully in English. Should your admission require you to fulfill additional requirements, these requirements might comprise courses in German. For further information on admission, please see Start of program below.

Tuition fees per semester (also for examination semesters): CHF 850.-
Individual costs

Guidelines: https://philhist.unibas.ch/de/studium/dokumente-merkblaetter/