Informationen for Students Information for Students
Here you will find information on modules, examination and module assignments, guidelines for term papers and presentations, as well as suggested topics for final theses.
Modules
Political Science offers a wide range of modules at Bachelor's and Master's level. Here you can find information about the political science modules in the Bachelor's and Master's programs.
More information on the specific course selection can be found on the HeiCo platform.
Examination Regulations
You can refer to the examination regulations for questions relating to examination requirements. They contain detailed information on all examinations to be taken, the requirements for obtaining credit points and the procedure and assessment of your final theses. If you have any questions about the examination regulations, please contact the Examinations Office directly.
Module Handbook
In the module handbook you will find detailed information on all available modules of the seven departments of the South Asia Institute in the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. You can read which courses are compulsory for you in which module and which elective options are available to you. If you have any questions about the respective modules, please contact the academic advisor of the respective department.
Guidelines for Term Papers
Bachelor:
A term paper in the Bachelor of Political Science should answer a clearly defined research question in a structured manner and with the help of the qualitative methods learned in class. To answer the research question, students should relate the theories discussed in class to an area of application in South Asia. In doing so, students should show that they are familiar with the most important sources on their theoretical topic and field of application and that they have understood the causal path on which their theory is based.
Formal requirements:
- Length: 3000-4000 words (unless otherwise specified by the course instructor)
- One and a half line spacing
- Pages must be numbered, excluding cover page and table of contents
- Cover page with the name of the university, institute and department, the current semester, submission date, the name and matriculation number of the author of the thesis and the name of the supervisor
- Uniform citation style
- Submission via pdf directly to the lecturer
Evaluation criteria:
- Meaningful structure of the thesis and research question
- Appropriate research design (according to the methods learned)
- Knowledge of the most important literature on theory and use case
- Coherence of the analysis
- Independent added value created by the work
Master:
A term paper in the Master's program in Political Science should answer a narrowly defined research question in a structured manner using the qualitative methods learned in class. In order to answer the research question, students are required to relate the theories discussed in class to an area of application in South Asia. The theories should be critically examined and, if necessary, adapted to the requirements of the research design. For this purpose, an extensive knowledge of the theoretical literature is necessary, which should be discussed in detail. Students should recognize and weigh opposing viewpoints in the research literature in order to develop a strong theoretical foundation for their work or to justify the adoption of an existing theory for their case. In addition, term papers should demonstrate a deep knowledge of the chosen case.
Formal requirements:
- Length: 6000-7000 words (unless otherwise specified by the course instructor)
- One and a half line spacing
- Pages must be numbered, excluding the cover page and table of contents
- Cover page with the name of the university, institute and department, the current semester, submission date, the name and matriculation number of the author of the thesis and the name of the supervisor
- Uniform citation style
- Submission via pdf directly to the lecturer
Evaluation criteria:
- Meaningful structure of the work and research question
- Appropriate research design that does justice to theory and empirical data
- Clear knowledge of methods
- Comprehensive knowledge of the literature on theory and use case
- Coherence of the analysis
- Added value created independently through the work
- Critical approach to sources and sensible choice of literature
Guidelines for Presentations
Bachelor:
A presentation in Bachelor of Political Science should take a theoretical approach to an empirical case. Students should briefly present a “puzzle” and show why a certain case requires closer theoretical consideration. To do this, the student should know and briefly present relevant literature on the topic. The “puzzle” should be solved or at least partially explained in the presentation with the help of an existing theory, whereby students are also welcome to point out existing contradictions or explain them with theoretical additions.
Formal requirements:
- 20-30 minutes presentation
- Power-Point slides with references for illustration
- 1000 words written elaboration of the presentation
- Presentation should be discussed with the lecturer approximately 2 weeks in advance in a consultation hour
Evaluation criteria:
- Red thread of the presentation
- Recognizing a puzzle
- Meaningful argumentation structure
- Knowledge of literature that goes beyond the texts covered in class
- Comprehensive understanding of the applied theory and the case
- Adequate visual elaboration through Power Point slides
Master:
A presentation in the Master's program in Political Science should explain an empirical case using the theories learned. Students should recognize a “puzzle” and explain why a case contradicts theoretical expectations. To do this, the student should present and critically evaluate available literature on the topic. Subsequently, the student should use the literature to develop and justify an explanatory approach for the case.
Formal requirements:
- 23-45 minutes presentation
- Power-Point slides with references for illustration
- 1000 words written elaboration of the presentation
- Presentation should be discussed c.a. 2 weeks in advance in a consultation hour with the lecturer
Assessment criteria:
- Red thread of the presentation
- Recognition of a puzzle
- Meaningful argumentation structure
- Comprehensive knowledge of the literature
- Understanding of the applied theory and the case
- Adequate visual elaboration through Power Point slides
Suggested Topics for Final Theses
If you are interested in writing a thesis in politics, you can support the work of the department by contributing to the following topics:
- State capacity and governance in South Asia
- Democratic backsliding in South Asia
- South Asia in the global economy
- The economic dimension of foreign policy
- Climate policy in South Asia
- The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on South Asian politics
- Strategic culture in South Asia
- Political economy of South Asia
- Globalization and reforms in South Asia
- Social policy in South Asia
- Attacks on civil society in South Asia
