Political Science and World Politics

«Political Science and World Politics» is a four-year undergraduate programme, which is taught entirely in English. It provides students with a comprehensive overview of world politics to pursue careers in politics, policymaking, governance, International Relations, analytics, journalism and other adjacent spheres. Quality education in Political Science and International Relations is accompanied by advanced research methods training and practical skills in project management and decision-making. Furthermore, students have an opportunity to learn a second foreign language and focus on a specific region: Europe, BRICS countries or Post-Soviet Space.

This programme may be especially interesting for those who:

- are interested in Russian politics, as well as political developments in other countries and global affairs;

- want to learn how to design and implement public policies and political projects;

- want to master social science research methods and techniques, including qualitative research and data analysis;

- want to learn more about the regions of the world, as well as to study foreign languages.

1. Synthesis of Political Science and International Relations: the curriculum combines disciplines on Political Science and International Relations to provide students with a holistic view on the world politics. It allows alumni to pursue a wider range of careers on both national and global levels. 

2. International Accreditation: in 2020 the programme was granted international accreditation by the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA), and the quality of education in a programme complies with the international standards (learn more).

3. Regional Tracks: students may choose a regional track – a set of disciplines devoted to political and social development of a particular region. Currently there are three tracks: European Union, BRICS (for students applying in 2022 – Contemporary Politics of China) and Post-Soviet Space. All consist of three disciplines, taught at the 3^rd and 4^th year of study.

4. Second Foreign Language: all students of the programme choose the second foreign language they learn at their second and third year of study: Chinese, French, German, Portuguese or Russian, as well as Spanish (for students applying in 2022). 

5. Applied Research Skills: apart from the core courses on Political Science and International Relations, students will get advanced research skills and training in qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, including statistics and data analysis. Upon graduation, they can work as analysts and researchers in public-policy, marketing, business management and other areas of applied research. They may continue their academic education at the best master’s programmes of Europe and Russia.

Mandatory Disciplines:

• Foreign Policy Analysis

• Introduction to Policy Analysis

• The History of Political Thought

• Categories of Political Science

• Qualitative Methods in Political Research

• International Law

• World Politics and International Relations

• Research Seminar

• Basics of Programming in Python

• Political Geography

• Political History of Russia and Foreign Countries

• Political Regional Studies

• The Political Theory

• Economic Theory

• Law

• Introduction to Profession

• Rhetoric: the Practice of Oral and Written Communication

• Contemporary Russian Politics

• Philosophy

• Quantitative Methods of Political Research

• Mathematics and Statistics

• Game Theory

From their second year of study students learn a foreign language and choose several of the following elective courses:

• Global Diplomacy - Diplomacy in the Modern World

• Interest Groups in Decision Making Process

• The European Integration

• Health and Healthcare in Transition: Dilemmas of Governance

• International Security

• International Organizations

• Drugs, drug use, drug policy and health

• The Paradoxes of War

• Politics and Societies in the European Countries

• Politics and Societies in the BRICS States

• Politics&Media

• Political Sociology

• Human Rights

• The Law and Politics of International Courts and Tribunals

• Comparative Electoral Systems and Voting Behavior

• Comparative authoritarianism

• Central Asian Countries in Regional and International Organizations

• The Strategy of Anti-Corruption Policy in a Comparative Perspective

• Natural Resources Governance: Policymaking, Economic Growth and Transnational Cooperation

• Ethnic Conflicts: Causes and Resolution

• Ethnicity, Religion and Politics

We consider the labor market to be flexible nowadays, so we design the curriculum the way that students may have a wide range of skills and career trajectories upon graduation. Our alumni typically continue their studies and enroll in various prestigious MA programmes in political science, international relations, as well as a number of adjacent academic areas. Some of our students start working right after graduation. They get employed in a variety of organizations: public authorities, NGOs, private companies or media outlets. To learn more about the success stories of our graduates, please check the Alumni page.

Students may pursue careers in the following major areas:

• public policy, decision-making and government affairs;
• International Relations, diplomacy and international organizations;
• Public Relations (PR) and Government Relations (GR);
• campaign management, project management and consultancy;
• analytics and applied research for policymaking, marketing and business management;
• journalism and communication;
• academic research in Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations.

To learn about the international admissions and apply for the programme, please visit this page