StudyQA — Master: Comparative and Middle East Politics and Society (CMEPS)

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In addition to the political science core modules, students at AUC will take courses on the foundations of political science during their first year of study, while students at Tübingen University will, depending on their first degree, attend courses on the foundations of political science or basic Arabic language training. Students will take Arabic and German language classes, respectively.

Core courses
All students will take core courses on Middle East Politics and Societies, Regime Change and Democratisation, Comparative Politics of the Middle East, and Development Politics and International Cooperation.

Middle East Politics and Societies
This course provides an in-depth examination of the nature and dynamics of Middle East politics. It explores some of the region's key political and social structural traits, as it aims at generating an understanding of the fundamentals of the modern Middle East. The course will focus on state formation, national identities, leadership, elites, and the impact of the West.

Regime Change and Democratisation
The course addresses the academic debate on authoritarianism, regime change, and democratisation from a theoretical and empirical perspective, comparing developments in different world regions. It provides knowledge about key concepts and theoretical approaches to analyse processes of systemic political change, such as political regime analysis, theories of democratic transition and consolidation. Hybrid regimes are a further topic of analysis. While the focus of this module is on concepts and explanatory approaches (including the examination of long-term structural factors and political actors within and outside political regimes) as well as on international factors in regime change, empirical cases chosen from different continents allow students to apply concepts to real-world cases.

Comparative Politics of the Middle East
Polity, economy, and society are considered as interconnected areas for research in comparative politics. In this course, the debate about theory in Middle East politics is explored in relation to comparative work on other areas; it examines key concepts and questions of comparative politics with the help of cases taken from the Middle East and North Africa, chiefly covering questions of state-society relations, political regimes, civil society, statehood, and political economy. By doing so, it gives an overview of the region's key characteristics on an advanced level of studies.

Development Politics and International Cooperation
The course examines the main features of the politics of development and international development cooperation, including, but not limited to, conceptual issues such as the changing understandings of "development" itself as well as theoretical approaches to explain development or its absence; key bi- and multi-lateral as well as state and non-state actors in development cooperation; prominent challenges for development cooperation actors (climate change, poverty, good governance, etc.); and key trends of practical development cooperation. This course may take place as a joint seminar for all CMEPS students at AUC and at Tübingen University.

Elective courses
In addition to these compulsory courses, students will have the possibility to specialise in a certain field. At AUC and at Tübingen University, they can choose from a variety of elective courses which are listed below (subject to availability).

Educational organisation

During their studies, CMEPS students complete either an exchange term with the American University in Cairo (exchange track) or an extended internship (professional track).

At Tübingen University, CMEPS studies are organised as follows:

24 ECTS credits for the alternate modules (depending on students' first degree)

Module 1: Foundations and Methods in Political Science 1
Module 2: Introduction to Comparative Politics
Module 3: Language Acquisition Advanced Learners

Module 4: Language Acquisition 1
Module 5: Language Acquisition 2

45 ECTS credits for the compulsory modules

Module 6: Language Acquisition 3 (only for exchange track students; during third semester)
Module 7: Issues in Comparative & Middle East Politics and Society 1 - The Modern Middle East
Module 8: Issues in Comparative & Middle East Politics and Society 2 - Democratisation
Module 9: Issues in Comparative & Middle East Politics and Society 3 - Development (for professional track students as a blocked course; during the third semester)
Module 10a: Short Internship or Transdisciplinary Qualifications (for exchange track students; during the second semester)

Module 10b: Long Internship (for professional track students; during the third semester)

21 ECTS credits for the mandatory elective modules (for exchange track students in semesters one to three, for professional track students in semesters one to two)

Module 11: Issues in Cultures and Civil Societies of the Middle East
Module 12: Special Issues in Political Science
Module 13: Special Issues in Comparative & Middle East Politics and Society

30 ECTS credits for the examination module

Module 14: Examination

At the AUC, CMEPS studies are organised as follows:

Compulsory courses:

POLS 504/5204 - Advanced Political Science Methods (three credits, first semester)
POLS 535/5235 - Middle East Politics (three credits, first semester)
POLS 558/5258 - Comparative Politics and the Middle East (three credits, second semester)
POLS 570/5270 - Special Topics in Political Science for Graduates (three credits, third semester)
POLS 530/5230 - Regime Change and Democratisation (three credits, first semester or Tübingen equivalent during third semester)
Elementary German classes

Four mandatory elective courses in consultation with the Graduate Adviser/Coordinator of the joint programme

Thesis

Study abroad unit(s)

For the exchange track, an exchange semester at the German (Tübingen University) or Egyptian (American University in Cairo) partner institution is an integral part of the programme, as are joint seminars and the joint supervision of the MA thesis by faculty members from both universities.

The professional experience track will include a long internship instead of the exchange semester.

Internships

CMEPS students in Tübingen complete a mandatory short internship (exchange track) or a long internship (professional experience track) during the course of their studies.

Course objectives

Irrespective of their first degree, by the end of their studies CMEPS students will have a unique profile that combines an advanced knowledge of comparative politics with a strong specialisation in the politics, society, cultures, and language of the Arab Middle East.

Language requirements

Applicants must provide evidence of proficiency in English, e.g., through TOEFL (scores: at least 90), IELTS (at least 6.5, writing section at least 7.0), or by providing a similar certificate. Students are exempted from certifying their English language skills under certain conditions (mother tongue, previous study experience in English-language programmes); please consult our homepage for details.

German language skills are not a prerequisite at either of the partner institutions.

Academic requirements

Selection of students is based on academic capabilities, personal qualification and motivation. You are eligible to study in the CMEPS programme if you:

hold a BA degree or equivalent

a) in political science or a related social science, or
b) in Middle East studies, Islamic studies, or a related discipline (only at Tübingen University)

provide evidence of your proficiency in English, e.g., through TOEFL (scores: at least 90), IELTS (at least 6.5 in total and 7.0 in the writing section), or by providing a similar certificate

At Tübingen University, applicants' Bachelor's grade must be 2.5 or better (on the German grading scale); at AUC, a GPA of at least 3.2 is required.

At Tübingen University, required documents for application comprise: high school diploma, BA certificate/transcripts of records, CV, a letter of motivation (up to two pages), proof of English language requirements
Optional documents are: evidence of other achievements (internships, work experience, etc.), contact details of an academic referee (if desired, to be noted in CV)

At the American University in Cairo:
Make sure to select Graduate Admissions and the correct entry date as well as the concentration for MA in Comparative & Middle East Politics and Society (CMEPS) on the application form.