Shaping Global Leaders: Inside Political Science and World Politics with Alexey Sorbale
In this interview, he shares what students need to join the programme, why it includes technical skills like Python, and how it prepares them for exciting careers. He also gives advice for students worried about grades and explains the programme’s unique regional tracks.
We seek applicants with a strong background in social sciences and history, particularly a deep understanding of major historical events that have shaped different countries’ current state of affairs. This knowledge, which includes not just memorizing dates but grasping the course of historical developments, is critical. Applicants can acquire this at school, but those who engage in additional reading or collect extra materials stand out. This historical foundation is essential because it provides context for the political processes we study.
Our programme is fully English-taught, so a decent level of English is a significant advantage. For Russian applicants, some may enter with English below our expectations, perhaps at A2 or B1 levels. However, this is not a barrier, as immersion in an English-speaking environment—where classes, extracurricular activities, and interactions with peers who don’t speak Russian occur in English - leads to rapid improvement. Within the first years, students significantly enhance their English skills, making it a practical tool for understanding the programme and engaging with others.
The ideal applicant combines this historical knowledge, decent English proficiency, and a broad understanding of social sciences. This includes familiarity with law, as we explore decision-making processes and how institutions are formed, which are central to political science. Additionally, some basic knowledge of political theory is valuable, ensuring students don’t enter as a blank sheet but have a foundation to build upon. This portrait - history, English, social sciences, and political theory—defines a successful applicant, especially for foreign students navigating our rigorous programme.
Political science is a social science, not a humanitarian one, meaning political scientists must possess skills applicable to real-world decisions, beyond just knowing history or theories. Businesses, industries, stakeholders, and academia pose complex problems that require not only descriptive understanding but also analytical skills to address practical challenges. These problems demand more than qualitative methods, which offer valuable insights into the internal mechanisms of social processes. Quantitative methods are equally critical, allowing students to aggregate data, compare phenomena, and establish cause-and-effect relationships, which are essential for robust analysis.
To meet these demands, we adapt to market expectations, ensuring our graduates are equipped for what employers seek. Quantitative methods form a core component of our programme, as they are a must for any political scientist aiming to tackle real-world issues. programmeming languages like Python, which is used widely across industries, serve as a vital hard skill. Python enables students to automate tasks, answer specific questions, and navigate challenges that arise in data-heavy environments, making it an instrument for both academic and applied work.
HSE’s broader policy emphasizes digital literacy, requiring all students, across different programmes and faculties, to pass independent exams in programmeming, data analysis, and related skills. This reflects the agency’s commitment to producing digitally literate graduates. In our programme, we embed these disciplines to ensure students are prepared for modern demands. Looking ahead, we plan to introduce elective courses in advanced methods, particularly for students eager to dive deeper into data analytics. However, quantitative methods will remain mandatory, as they are central to our major. These skills enable students to design research, whether applied or academic, and address the analytical questions posed by stakeholders, ensuring our graduates are competitive in a market that values such expertise.
HSE’s competitive structure makes students highly dependent on grades, particularly for those relying on educational discounts or funded places. A low GPA can result in losing financial support, creating intense pressure to prioritize high marks, sometimes leading to cheating or other practices not respected in academia. This tension between chasing grades and genuinely understanding the subject is a longstanding challenge, not just at HSE but across universities, as students navigate the balance between academic integrity and performance.
From my observations, this dynamic shifts over time. In the first or second year, students are intensely focused on achieving the highest grades possible. By the third or fourth year, many realise they are here to study, not just to earn marks, and begin working for interest rather than ratings. This shift is significant, as it reflects a deeper engagement with learning. To support this, we collaborate with instructors to design disciplines that are less grade-dependent. Instead of assigning repetitive, competitive tasks, we encourage creative formats incorporating gamification or entertainment to make classes engaging. This approach ensures students want to attend and learn, not just show up for a grade.
Punishing students for missing lectures or seminars with lower grades is a wrong path. It suggests the course itself isn’t compelling enough to draw attendance naturally. If a discipline is relevant and interesting, students will participate because they want to, not because they fear penalties. While grading pressure is real, especially for those eyeing further studies or professional paths, the knowledge gained at HSE proves invaluable in unexpected ways. Alumni, now pursuing master’s or PhD programmes, frequently tell me that our Political Science and Politics programme provided a strong foundation. They feel competitive in global academic environments, surrounded by classmates from diverse universities, because HSE equipped them with robust soft skills, like critical thinking, and hard skills, like data analysis. This preparation positions them well for future opportunities, even if grades feel all-consuming during their studies.
Our programme’s tracks make it a unique product compared to other political science programmes in Russia and many countries. Most programmes take a broad approach, teaching basic knowledge about various regions—Brazil, Russia, Africa—without allowing students to dig deeply into any one area. Our tracks, focusing on regions like Europe, China, and Latin America, provide substantial knowledge about a specific region’s internal and external politics, society, and economics. They also include a second language, which is a critical addition to one's career. For example, working in a Chinese company in China requires Chinese, as English alone creates a dialogue barrier. This combination of regional expertise and language skills is highly applicable in the real market.
These tracks attract students with personal or professional interests in a particular area, preparing them for careers or further studies in those regions. The design reflects our commitment to meeting the expectations of applicants and society, ensuring graduates have practical, specialized skills. We are actively researching additional tracks, such as Africa, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, to expand our offerings. By strengthening contacts with institutions in these regions, we aim to support students who want to work, study, or simply learn more about these areas. This evolution of the track system responds to growing student demand and global opportunities, ensuring our programme remains relevant and forward-thinking in preparing graduates for diverse, region-specific careers.
I treat our BA level as a broad BA level, meaning it gives you quite a lot of different opportunities for self-realization. Some students do continue their studies to become instructors, and some focus on data analysis, producing very good results. They work in consultancy, banking, telecommunications, or other areas requiring analytics. This is part of the basis we provide for students to find their place in these competitive fields.
Other students go into governance, taking positions in legislatures, not only in St. Petersburg but also in Moscow and even abroad. This is tied to their skills in policy analysis - how to analyze current policies, correct them, and make recommendations. So, we expect our students to work in governance, the real sector of industry, including banking, and in research.
However, as we’re renewing the programme, we’re adding a big international relations component. We expect our alumni to work in international organizations, diplomacy, international consultancy, and international corporations. Some students achieve this now with additional education and effort, but with the implementation of the new programme, this will be one of our major focuses.
Internships span a wide range of sectors, including governmental agencies, ministries, media, NGOs, corporations, and research labs at HSE and beyond. For international students, however, there are significant challenges. Many of our partners do not communicate effectively in English, limiting opportunities for non-Russian speakers. Additionally, some internships, particularly those involving specific documents, are restricted to students with Russian citizenship, which excludes international students from most companies, NGOs, or state sector roles. This is an unfortunate barrier, but we work to provide alternatives.
Our research centers are fully accessible to all students, including international ones, offering rich opportunities for engagement. The Center for Comparative Government Studies focuses on analyzing political processes and institutions across different countries, primarily through comparative methods, which is ideal for students interested in governance. The Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, based in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, conducts quantitative studies on values, behavioral activities, and political preferences, providing hands-on experience with data-driven research. The Center for Youth Studies explores education, science, and the unique characteristics of Generation Z, appealing to those interested in social trends. The Laboratory for Education and Science examines relationships among teachers, school children, and parents, as well as issues like bullying, offering a platform for socially relevant research.
These centers allow students to participate in data collection, field trips, and collaboration with experienced researchers, fostering practical skills. Beyond HSE, some Russian organizations have less rigid regulations and are open to international students, enabling them to gain applied or practical experience in professional settings. These opportunities, whether in research or practice, are invaluable for building a competitive portfolio and preparing for future careers.
My core advice is simple: do what you want. Many students, especially in their third or fourth year, worry that poor grades will jeopardize their job prospects, believing employers prioritize high GPAs and well-rounded skills. This fear is understandable, as grades feel critical for securing a future in competitive fields. However, recent job market trends show that HR professionals are not seeking an ideal candidate with a perfect 10/10 GPA across all subjects. Instead, they value individuals who are extremely good in a specific area, where they demonstrate deep knowledge and passion.
For example, if you struggle with methods courses and have poor grades in them, but your heart lies in policy analysis, political theory, or international relations, focus on that field. Dive into books, explore additional materials, write, and go beyond the educational programme to develop your expertise. That’s your path to success. Don’t feel pressured to pursue trends, like mastering Python, just because the market seems to demand it. Chasing skills that don’t align with your interests risks devaluing your unique talents and knowledge, potentially leading to mediocrity in an area where you’re not truly invested.
By contrast, pursuing what you love allows you to excel, creating a fulfilling career path that avoids burnout from forcing yourself down the wrong track. It’s normal to feel anxious about your future, especially at this stage, but those hard feelings are part of the process, not just for your age but for anyone navigating career decisions. Focus on the subjects that ignite your interest, and let that guide your studies and professional preparation. There’s a saying I like: if you choose a job you really like, you won’t work a day because you won’t treat it as a job. You’ll see it as completing activities you appreciate, and it will still bring you money.
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