Prospectus

nl en

Political Science and Public Administration (Research)

The Leiden Research Master’s Programme in Political Science and Public Administration aims at providing students with a thorough grounding in the literature on political institutions and a rigorous training in the methodological skills that are necessary to conduct research in this field. Students acquire this knowledge and these skills not only by being taught, but also by gaining hands-on experience with the way in which a broad research interest is transformed into a theoretically informed puzzle with concrete hypotheses, how a research method is chosen that is appropriate for the hypotheses that are to be tested, what problems can be encountered in data collection and analysis, how the data can be interpreted to test the hypotheses, and how the results can be presented effectively.

First Year

This information for cohort 2012-2014 is subject to change. Check the e-guide pages regularly.

The alternative course for the Public Administration Track is shown indented below the corresponding course for the Political Science Track

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Block 1

State of the Art in Political Science: the Classics 5
Public Policy 5
Institutions and Institutionalism I: Political Perspectives 5
States, Markets and Politics 5

Block 2

Institutions and Institutionalism II: Organizational Perspectives 5
Politics and the Policy Process 5
Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis 5

Block 3

S.o.t.A. in Pol Science: International Regimes and Institutions 5
Public Values 5
Cabinet Government I 5
Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis 5

Block 4

European Integration 5
Cabinet Government II 5
Politics of Bureaucracy 5

Second Year

This information for cohort 2011-2013 is subject to change. Check the e-guide pages regularly.

The alternative course for the Public Administration Track is shown indented below the corresponding course for the Political Science Track

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Block 1

Political Parties and Particularism I 5
Decision Making and Policy Implementation in the EU 5
Report and Presentation 5
Proposal Lab 5

Block 2

Political Parties and Particularism II 5
Networking and Performance in the Public Sector 5
State of the Art in Political Science: Comparative Politics 5
Democracy, Bureaucracy & Public Choice 5
Advanced Methodology 5

Block 3

Replication Workshop 5
Philosophy of Science 5
Research Master Thesis Lab 5

Block 4

Research Master's Thesis 15

More info

The Research Master programme totals 120 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) points. Students are expected to earn approximately 30 ECTS points per semester and 15 ECTS per block. All courses take 5 ECTS, the thesis 15 ECTS. One credit point equals 28 hours of study, including lectures, reading, writing papers, and preparing for tests and examinations.

The Institute expects the highest scholarly effort and achievement from students. Students’ academic work will be evaluated per assignment and per course. This includes both oral and written assignments. Timely completion of degree requirements is expected.