M.A. Political Economy and International Relations: Application

Four steps and you are studying in the M.A. Political Economy and International Relations:

1. You have completed a bachelor's degree (or are at least in the final stages).

German degree

In order to be admitted to the M.A. Political Economy and International Relations, you must have completed a Bachelor's degree. However, at the time of application, if you are studying at a German university, it is sufficient to have 135 of the required 180 credit points in your Bachelor's program.

This means that you can be enrolled in both the bachelor's and master's degree programs at the same time for one semester. This is useful if you have already (largely) completed your bachelor's degree, but not all credit points have been credited and/or your bachelor's certificate has not yet been issued. Please note: You should NOT apply if you are still doing extensive work in your first semester in the MA, i.e. if you still have to write the B.A. thesis, for example.

You must prove that you have a Bachelor's degree to the JGU Registrar's Office by the end of your first semester in the M.A. Political Economy and International Relations (i.e. by 31.3. at the latest for winter admission and by 30.9. at the latest for summer admission).Please also keep in mind that it takes some time to receive your Bachelor's degree certificate, so you should take care of it early.

Foreign degree

If you are studying towards a Bachelor or an equivalent degree outside of Germany, please take notice that you must present your diploma upon application for our Master's Program.

2. You speak German.

Some of our courses are in English, but the majority of seminars and lectures are in German. Therefore, German skills are required at least at level B2, better at C1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). In order to prove your command of the German language, you have to pass the "Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang ausländischer Studienbewerber" (DSH) or an equivalent.

3. You have studied political science or social studies in the bachelor's degree at least as a minor and/or as a 2nd subject.

As part of your Bachelor's degree (or an equivalent degree program), you must have studied the subject of political science to the extent of at least 60 credit points or have completed coursework and module examinations with a focus on political science content to the extent of 60 LP (please note: the credit points you have earned as part of the final module or through an internship do not count towards this).

4. You have acquired knowledge in statistics and methods of empirical social research (somewhere) in your bachelor studies.

You must have earned at least six credit points in statistics and methods of empirical social sciences/empirical policy research as part of your bachelor's degree. It is irrelevant whether you have obtained these six credit points in political science or in a second Bachelor subject (such as sociology). If you have even acquired 14 LP or more in your B.A. studies, the Mainz Methods Certificate is of interest to you!

5. You apply on time and online.

As a rule, admission is only for the winter semester. The application deadline is May 15th of each year. However, if places are not allocated for the winter semester, admission is possible for the summer semester. (If places remain available, we will inform you about this on the general page about our Master's programs). Your application must be submitted by November 15th at the latest.

Click here for the online application!