There is no one unambiguous answer to the question as to what politics is. When you hear the word politics maybe you think of your Parliament or Senate and political parties, or the United Nations and international conflicts. Some people associate politics with the rules of the game that have to be stipulated for a society, others think of the powers that be and how they vie for power. Each of these perspectives has some truth to it, and there are even more sides to politics. Political Science is one of the oldest social science disciplines. Political scientists study how political decisions are made and how the decision-making process is influenced by any number of factors. This can mean political scientists also address environmental issues, ethno-cultural, national and religious frameworks, economic and legal questions, history and international relations. If you choose the Bachelor’s in Political Science, you are choosing a study programme with numerous sides to it. Every year, the Bachelor’s programme in Political Science attracts a lot of students with all kinds of different backgrounds. They spend part of the week attending lectures, and in addition they have to read a lot, write papers, prepare for examinations and work on assignments alone or with other students. Plenty of discipline and an independent style of working would be very useful in this study programme. In the first year, there are lectures on political structures and processes, administration and policy, political theories, theory of knowledge, research methods, international relations and political economic history, and students are taught to draw up reports and present them. There are tutorials where students can delve more deeply into the material and links are dawn with current events. In the second and third year, there are courses such as the development of political science, research methods, political economy, and law and democracy. In addition to classes in Political Science, students can take courses at other departments such as Sociology, Communication Studies and Economics. They can also do an internship, write a thesis, and do part of the study programme abroad.

Graduates of Political Science find work in positions as policy staff member, lobbyist, political adviser, journalist or press relations officer, diplomat, pr officer, teacher or researcher. Potential employers include the state, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, employer organisations and trade unions, research divisions of political parties.