M.A. Political Economy and International Relations – Institut für Politikwissenschaft

Recently, the scope for action and shaping democratic politics has been increasingly called into question:

Citizens’ expectations of the state go far beyond the creation and preservation of internal, external and social security. Rather, the distribution of prosperity, the regulation of markets and the “production” of a variety of other public goods such as consumer, environmental or data protection are at the forefront. Political decisions are therefore made under conditions of high complexity and in the face of a multitude of interests competing for consideration.

In addition, due to globalization processes and increasing interdependence between states, nation states can de facto be seen less and less as sovereign actors that regulate their internal affairs and external relations in a self-determined manner. Instead, we must understand them as networked and in many respects dependent actors whose scope for decision-making is reduced in a complex web of inter- and supranational relationships.

These obvious limits to the state’s scope for action point to a central question: In a politically and economically globalized and interconnected world, what possibilities do political actors on both sides of national borders have for shaping and controlling the world?

In the M.A. Political Economy and International Relations program, you will deal with this question in a theory-based and methodologically sound manner on the basis of the latest research findings.

Here you will learn about the variety of methods used to analyze, explain and evaluate the relationships between politics and economics on both sides of national borders. You will also learn about the scientific theoretical foundations of these methods and the requirements for an appropriate research design. If you enjoy research methods, you may also want to attend the research methods module from the M.A. Empirical Democracy Research in order to obtain the Mainz Methods Certificate!

This module focuses on theories and empirical findings on the emergence and development, functioning and performance of (liberal) democracies and autocracies in European and non-European countries as well as in international comparison. Particular attention is paid to the emergence and development of institutions, especially in the tense relationship between politics and economics.

This module is about deepening and critically reflecting on the theoretical foundations of the subject in general and political economy and international relations in particular. You will deal with the social-theoretical foundations of political science, such as decision-making and action theories, public choice and the logic of collective action, but also with political-philosophical theories, for example on problems of (international) distributive justice.

What opportunities does politics have to steer economic and social developments? Where are the limits to the scope for shaping policy? How do laws come about in key policy areas such as economic, social, health and financial policy? In particular: How does the welfare state develop and change in an international comparison? These are some of the questions you will deal with in this module.

International relations in general and the relationship between the members of the European Union in particular seem to be undergoing an epochal change. The analysis and explanation of this development requires an in-depth examination of the central research approaches, theories and findings of international politics and European integration. This is what this module is about.

In order to analyze the tense relationship between politics and economics in a national and international context, it is worth taking a broader view. For this reason, you can deepen the content of a seminar you attend at our institute by attending a related lecture from one of our neighboring subjects, i.e. economics or law, sociology or journalism, history, American studies or philosophy.

You have the choice: You can either complete a nine-week internship in a policy-related field OR
for a total of 12 credit points:

take part in courses from the BA Political Science on subject-specific method applications (advanced module I) and/or on professional field qualifications (practical module),
attend courses offered at JGU outside of Political Science (such as the Master’s courses offered by Studium Generale or language or IT courses) or
combine these courses with a shorter internship.

You will attend at least one colloquium to discuss ideas for your Master’s thesis and to discuss methodological and content-related problems that arise during the writing process with fellow students and supervisors. You have four months to write the thesis. Finally, you will briefly present your key findings in a 45-minute oral examination and then answer questions on two further topics from two content modules of the M.A. Political Economy and International Relations after consultation with your examiners.

The department recommends a sequence of modules in the form of study plans. This recommendation should enable you to complete your studies within four semesters. However, you can also design your course of study individually and deviate from the recommendation.

You will find the recommended study plan together with the examination regulations, the subject-specific appendix and the module handbook in the Download Center.

You attend a seminar designated for Module 6 from the courses offered by the Department of Political Science and choose a “suitable” lecture from the courses offered by our cooperation partners. A lecture is “suitable” if it enables you to study an aspect of the seminar in greater depth. You decide which lecture(s) this is (are). Let’s assume, for example, that you are taking part in a seminar on climate policy. Then it might be a good idea to listen to a lecture from the field of economics, for example on “Collective Decision-Making”. Against this background, you will then work independently on a study report in consultation with the seminar leader. The study report is nothing other than a term paper with an “interdisciplinary orientation”. It must therefore meet the requirements for a term paper. You then present and discuss the central results of your research in the following semester in the colloquium of the research unit to which your seminar leader belongs. As a rule, the presentation should not last longer than 15 minutes.

The assessment is based on the overall impression of the written and oral performance. The oral performance confirms or corrects the impression of the written performance; this is possible both upwards and downwards, but to a maximum of +/- 1.0. Both performances must be completed with at least a satisfactory result.

Please note: two options are possible if you keep to the standard period of study: you can attend the lecture and seminar in the same semester, for example in the 3rd semester. With this option, you have a solid basis for your decision: you can use the annotated course catalog in Jogustine to search for a seminar with us and a suitable lecture from the cooperation partners. This basis is even more solid if you first attend the seminar and then choose a suitable lecture in the following semester.

You can choose from the following lectures offered by our cooperation partners (subject to change):

Journalism Studies: “Political Communication” (WS)
Sociology: “Social Structure and Comparative Society” (summer semester), “Economic Sociology” (from winter semester 25/26)
Economics: “Social Choice” (summer semester)
Law: “International Humanitarian Law”, “Collective Peacekeeping” (summer semester)
History: “Introduction to Modern History” and “Longitudinal Section/International Relations” (summer semester)
Philosophy: “Introduction to Practical Philosophy” (summer semester), “Introduction to Applied Ethics” (winter semester)

A frequent question is whether you have to pass the examinations in the lecture. As far as the requirements of the Department of Political Science are concerned: No. However, you must ensure that you are not “set inactive” in the lecture, and you do this by completing the coursework expected of you by the person leading the lecture, if applicable.

As part of the practical module, you can do an internship of at least 9 weeks or combine a shorter internship with courses or only attend courses. There is a wide range of options available to you.

from the BA Political Science, core subject, advanced module/practical module: you will receive 3 CP in each of the seminars on professional qualification or application of methods;
of the Studium Generale: Both the lecture and the corresponding exercise must be attended in one semester: 6 CP;
of the ISSK: language courses. The number of CPs specified by the ISSK applies;
of the Data Center (ZDV): EDP courses. Provided they were offered weekly throughout the semester: 3 CP;
other “providers” at JGU (except university sports). The number of ECTS credits specified by the “provider” applies. Please read the relevant information in the module handbook on what to do if this is a lecture.

As soon as you register for the internship module in Jogustine, you will have access to the Moodle course “Internship”. There you will find all relevant information about the internship as well as a checklist of aspects that need to be considered (from the form for certifying that the internship is compulsory to the instructions for the internship report).

The credits you earn as part of the internship module are not automatically recorded in Jogustine, but must be recognized. This means: as soon as you have acquired the required 12 credit points, please contact the internship officer (currently Dr. Annette Schmitt) by email so that the recognition certificate can be issued for the examination office.

General information on the organization of internships can be found under the following link:

We have cooperation agreements with a number of internship providers. This list is constantly updated.

You

gain an insight into the goals and working methods of the DGBits structure and its subordinate trade unions;

are integrated into the political education work of the DGB;

organize organize events with political decision-makers (and actively participate in them);

are in the press work and the social media presence of the DGB and

involved in political lobbying by contributing to contributing to draft legislation contribute,

and you will receive a monthly remuneration of 963€.

Interested?

Please apply by May 30, 2025 for an internship starting August 1, 2025 (of at least two months).

Please send your application to the DGB-Landesbüro Mainz, Kaiserstraße 26-30, 55116 Mainz: Bewerbungen.rps@dgb.de.

The application should include:

a convincing letter of application;

Curriculum vitae;

Your BA certificate and, if applicable, work and internship references.

If you have any questions, please contact the internship officer for the Master’s degree programs: Dr. Annette Schmitt (schmitt@politik.uni-mainz.de)

General information on the module examinations, such as submission deadlines etc., can be found on the module examinations page under the following link:

Under conditions of social complexity and increasing globalization and internationalization, graduates are in demand,

– who can think independently and are also team players,

– are able to analyze and critically reflect on political and economic interrelationships in a national and international context and translate their findings into concrete proposals for solutions, and

–We train you to do this as part of the M.A. in Political Economy and International Relations.

This enables you to work in these professional fields

in politics: as research assistants in political parties, parliamentary groups, with members of parliament, in ministries, government agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations
in policy-related areas: in political foundations, political journalism and political consulting

in market and opinion research, public relations, management consultancies and other private-sector companies

in science: as research assistants at universities, universities of applied sciences and private research institutions.

From Bachelor to Master

If you have a Bachelor’s degree from Johannes Gutenberg University or another German university, it is possible to be enrolled in both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs for one semester. This regulation is intended to enable you to start your Master’s degree program even though you have not yet been credited with all the work you have completed as part of the Bachelor’s degree program and therefore do not yet have your Bachelor’s certificate. It is not intended that you will complete substantial work in the Bachelor’s program during the first semester of the Master’s program. The Master’s degree is a full course of study, so you have enough to do to fulfill all the Master’s requirements and no time to write a Bachelor’s thesis on the fly.

Please note that you must submit your Bachelor’s certificate to the Registrar’s Office by the end of the first semester of the Master’s degree program without being asked to do so; otherwise your admission to the Master’s degree program will be revoked.

For applicants from abroad: A Bachelor’s degree certificate (or proof of an equivalent first university degree) must be submitted at the time of application.

In the Master

You can see which additional courses you can attend under which conditions in Jogustine under “Additional courses”.

This is probably because you did not pay attention to the module context when registering: Let’s assume a module consists of a lecture and two seminars: they form the three building blocks of this module (lecture, seminar 1 and seminar 2). Although you can register for more than one course per module, you will only ever be admitted to ONE course PER module! This means that if you specify several seminars when registering for seminar module 1 in module x, you will only be admitted to one of these seminars, regardless of the fact that there are still places available in the other seminars.

It is possible to participate in further seminars within a module in addition to the compulsory courses, provided that the module has not yet been successfully completed. A module is successfully completed when all coursework (course attendance, coursework in the courses) has been completed and the module examination has been successfully passed.

The “exercise” is now called “small group” and can also be found there in the annotated course catalog.

You must then submit a medical certificate to the Student Office (your contact person is Ms. Dagmar McCaslin) in order to obtain an extension of the deadline. You can download the form here.

The colloquium plays a role at two points in your studies:

You present your study report in Module 6 in the colloquium of the department to which the person supervising your study report belongs – for more information, see the information on Module 6.
Participation in the colloquium in the field in which you are writing your M.A. thesis is a compulsory part of the thesis module. Here you have the opportunity to present your M.A. thesis, e.g. your research question and structure, method and theoretical foundation. However, you can also attend more than one colloquium, for example to discuss questions and problems that have arisen while writing. The only requirement is that you register for all further colloquia as “additional work”.