Democracy and Governance

The objective of this study programme is to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to become professionals in modern democratic government, civil society, politics and international organizations.It provides in-depth knowledge about:

- the global, historical context of democracy

- modern democratic institutions

- public policy and governance- political theory and ethics

- elections and political behavior

- comparative ethnopolitics

Students graduating from this programme:

- will have comprehensive knowledge of modern democratic institutions and their political processes;

- will be able to identify and analyze key problems and processes of democratic governance, involving both government institutions and civil society;

- will have the proper research skills to perform policy analysis and contribute to policy formation;

- will have solid writing and oral presentation skills to be effective in their professional work;

- will obtain an international perspective that will enrich their qualifications both in their home country and globally.

The curriculum of the study programme is based on five parts:

- the Methods module (18 ECTS) - in this module, students will be trained in the essentials of social science methodology and academic skills; both quantitative and qualitative methods will be addressed; innovative teaching methods (such as a ‘flipped classroom’) will also be used;

- the Core Competencies module (36 ECTS) - this module will lay out for students fundamental concepts and theories for understanding democratic development and modern governance. The six required courses in this module have also been designed not only to convey information, but also to train students in different research and communication skills;

- the Specialization module (30 ECTS) - within this module students will be able to choose courses that deepen their knowledge of specific topics in the field such as identity-based phenomena, regional specificities or third-sector issues;

- the Electives module (6 ECTS) - students may choose additional electives either from within or completely outside the existing curriculum;

- the MA thesis (30 ECTS) - students much complete a 20,000-word academic thesis on a topic of their choice that demonstrates both knowledge and application of the basic analytical and methodological skills involved with studying Democracy and Modern Governance.

GENERAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED:

-  Online application;

- Motivation letter;

- Official copy of the Bachelor’s Diploma or its equivalent and Diploma Supplement (transcript/grade list) in the original language*

- Official, certified translation of the Bachelor’s Diploma and Diploma Supplement into English;

- Proof of English language proficiency (ut.ee/requirements, e.g. TOEFL iBT 75, IELTS 5.5, exceptions listed on web);

- Copy of the passport page stating the applicant’s personal details.

*All copies of education documents must bear an original seal and a signature of an authorized official of the issuing school or be certified with an apostille.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

- Submit the online application (relevant link available at a programme’s website);

- Mail the required and carefully prepared documents by the deadline to: International Student Service, University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18, Tartu 50090, Estonia

APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 16

Applicants who graduate or have their diplomas issued later than the application deadline (in July, for example) must send an application form and their most recent official transcript of records by the required deadline. 

Tuition fee is 3200 EUR/year and it covers tuition, essential study materials, supervision and advice for thesis preparation. Tuition-waiver scholarships are available for the best applicants. Students receiving this scholarship do not have to pay the tuition fee if they complete full-time study load (30 ECTS per semester). If it turns out that they do not complete full-time study load per semester, they have to pay tuition fee per missing credit point below the required 30 ECTS.