Welcome!

2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR

ONE-YEAR MA PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

Topics to Be Covered Who’s Who

Calendar

Diploma requirements

Core courses

Faculty & Supervision Interests, Mentorship

Certificate programs

Hungarian (i.e. European) diploma

Course readers, communication

Student Representatives

Departmental Office

Q&A

Who’s Who

Head of Department

Zoltan Miklosi Associate Professor

Office Budapest: Nador. Str. 9, FT 803

Office Vienna: Quellenstrasse 51, B110

Email: miklosiz@ceu.edu

Tel: 36-1-327-3000/2569

MA Program Director

Attila Folsz Assistant Professor

Office Budapest: Nador. Str. 9, FT 807

Office Vienna: Quellenstrasse 51, B110

Email: folsza@ceu.edu

Tel: 36-1-327-3000/2074

Who’s WhoAdministrative Staff

Eva Lafferthon Department Coordinator

Office Budapest: Nador. Str. 9, FT 808

Office Vienna: Quellenstrasse 51, B111

Email: lafferthone@ceu.edu

Tel: 36-1-327-3078

Ildiko Tropa MA Program Coordinator

Office Budapest: Nador. Str. 9, FT 808

Office Vienna: Quellenstrasse 51, B111

Email: tropai@ceu.edu

Tel: 36-1-327-3416

Fax: 36-1-327-3087

Borbala Darabos MA Program Coordinator

Office Budapest: Nador. Str. 9, FT 808

Office Vienna: she is present only in Budapest

Email: darabosb@ceu.edu

Tel: 36-1-327-2789

Calendar

Pre-session (September 2 – 6) – Budapest

Prepare for the semester:

- get to know CEU facilities like the computer system and the library;

- attend orientation sessions;

- start thinking about what classes to register for;

- mandatory Scope and Methods class for Group 1 at 11.00, for Group 2 at 13:30 today (September 2);

- mandatory Academic Writing courses;

- Math Refresher classes;

- General Knowledge Test at 13.00 on September 3.

For further details see the departmental schedule athttps://politicalscience.ceu.edu/course-schedules

Calendar

Zero Week (September 9-13) – Budapest

- One introductory class from each course (try to attend all these classes and check out the cross-listed courses);

- Optional Exemption Tests (see schedule);- Welcome Reception - September 12, Thursday at 4 pm

in the Nador 13 Rooftop;

- Opening Ceremony in Budapest at 5 pm, September 13, Friday.

Calendar

Fall term (September 16 - December 6) – Budapest &Vienna- Earn approx. 16 credits from courses; complete approx. half of

the Core requirements;

- Sep 28-29: students from departments/schools with fall term in Vienna depart for Vienna.

Winter break (December 7 – January 6)- No exams, just holidays! (but final papers).

Winter term (January 7 – March 27) – Budapest - Earn the rest of your 32 course credits; complete the remaining

Core requirements.Spring term (March 30 - June 12) – Budapest

- Special elective courses held by visiting faculty;- Thesis writing.

CalendarThesis scheduling

- January 19: deadline to choose thesis title and supervisor (you will have to fill in a

questionnaire);

- February 7: submit the title/300-word proposal of MA thesis;

- February 21: submit a formal research proposal of 1,000-1,500 words;

- March 5-6: Thesis Writing Workshops;

- April-May: research trips (CEU and dept. funding available);

- April 15: submit first draft of intro/theory chapter of thesis;

- May 11: submit 2/3 draft of thesis;

- May 25: submit a full draft of your thesis;

- June 4, 3 pm: submit final version of your thesis;

- June 8-10: MA thesis defenses + oral exams.

Calendar

Graduation Ceremony

June 19, 2020

Diploma requirementsI. Earn 32 credits in courses, which

1. HAVE TO include

Scope and Methods (two-credit course)

and

Four credits from each of the core groups:

- Political Theory,

- Political Economy,

- Comparative Politics,

- Research Methods

2. include elective courses offered or cross-listed by the department and...

3. MAY include:

4 credits offered by the Department of International Relations or the School of Public Policy,

4 credits of any other courses offered at CEU without permission,

and/or 4 credits in PhD-level political science courses, with a permission of the doctoral committee and the

department. Such a request must be sent to ds(at)ceu.edu AND polsci(at)ceu.edu.

II. Defend a thesis

Core Courses

Political Economy

1. Concepts in Political Economy (Fall)2. Political Economy II (Winter)

Comparative Politics

1. Comparative Politics (Fall)2. Comparative Political Research (Winter)

Political Theory

1. Introduction to Political Philosophy: Justice and Equality (Fall)2. Political Theory (Winter)

Core Courses

Research methodology

1. Introduction to Statistics (Fall) Mandatory (2 credits)

2. One of the below Qualitative or Quantitative courses (2 credits) :

Applied Statistics (Fall)

Comparative Case Study Research (Fall)

Field Research and Data Analysis (Fall)

Core Courses

How to choose a core course

It is up to you whether you take a core course in the Fall or in the Winter

semester but make sure that you take four credits from each core group

during these two semesters.

There are differences between the core courses, make sure you check

syllabus!

Courses can get full (you will be put on the waiting list if this happens).

You cannot take all core courses at the same semester!

Core Courses

How to choose a core course

NOTE: You can be exempted from any and all core groups if you pass the

relevant exemption test(s) during the Zero Week (see schedule).

You will still need 32 credits from courses.

Faculty & Supervision InterestsFaculty mentors:

After your arrival at CEU, you can choose a personal mentor from among the faculty, whom you can always

consult with any kind of issue related to your studies.

Check the faculty profiles at https://politicalscience.ceu.edu/faculty and signal three professors whom you

would like to have as a mentor in this survey until Sep 8, 2019:

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5168339/Select-a-Mentor-2019-20

Mentors will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis, as each faculty member can mentor 3-4 students,

based on their availability.

The MA Welcome Reception is a good opportunity to make contact with your mentor, and otherwise you

should just email them or pop in during their office hours when you want to meet them.

N. B.: Mentorship is voluntary and informal, and not related to thesis supervision.

Besides courses, you will also need to write a thesis, therefore pick a thesis supervisor by Jan 19, 2020:

http://politicalscience.ceu.hu/research-interests

Students are expected to work closely with their approved supervisor during their thesis writing.

Certificate programs

Basic idea

In the course of your studies for an MA in Political Science

you can, if you so wish, specialize in a field of your choice,

and receive from the department – in addition to your MA

diploma – a certificate proving this.

Certificate programs

Available programs in 2019/20

- Social and Political Theory

- Comparative Politics

- Political Economy

- Political Communication

- Electoral Politics

- Research Methodology

- Comparative European Politics

- Post-Communist Politics

- Public Policy

- Constitutional Politics

Certificate programs

Requirements

earn at least 12 credits in courses related to the given specialization,

receive a B+ or better grade in each course,

write your MA thesis on a topic related to the given specialization.

The list of courses belonging to each specialization will be available

through the departmental website

(https://politicalscience.ceu.edu/certificates).

Hungarian (i.e. European) diploma

Besides the US-accredited MA in Political Science diploma, students also

obtain a Hungarian accredited Further Specialization (“szakirányú

továbbképzési szak”) in Comparative Political Science (“Összehasonlító

politikatudomány”).

The requirements of eligibility are the followings:

completion of all degree requirements of the One-year MA program;

previous degree of at least 4 years of university education prior to CEU;

successful oral defense of the thesis including answering some questions

related to the larger field of the discipline the thesis relates to.

Eligible students will be asked to sign an acceptance letter.

Course readers, communication

Course readers

The readers for all the courses are available in electronic form. You will

get information on them via e-mail. Please check also CEU's e-Learning

site: http://ceulearning.ceu.edu

Communication

Primary communication is via email (polsci [at] ceu.edu). It is your duty

as a student to check your CEU email regularly (at least daily) and

respond promptly to all departmental requests.

If you receive regular mail it will be delivered to the secretariat and an

e-mail notification will be sent to you.

Student Representatives

As MA students of the Department of Political Science, you have the right to vote and the right to be elected as a representative to the Student Union of the MA students.

You are to elect your representative and his/her deputy.

Representatives will be invited to dept. meetings to take part in decisions. Representatives can also take up positions in various university bodies.

As of the rights and obligations of students and their representatives, please visit the site of the CEU Student Union http://www.ceu.edu/studentlife/student-union

Please send a short statement that you would like to run as a candidate to the departmental email (polsci(at)ceu.edu) by Monday, September 9. There are no other requirements for nominations, and we will circulate these statements to all.

Election date and time will be announced later on. (Please note that MA2 students will elect their own representative so there will be two elections.)

Departmental Office

Our offices have an open-door policy.

Please visit the Secretariat on work days between 9:30 -16:30, if possible.

Location: Office Budapest: Nador. Str. 9, FT 808

Office Vienna: Quellenstrasse 51, B111

Central e-mail address: polsci [at] ceu.edu

Q&A