The master's degree course in Global Political Economy and Development (GPED) aims to help students to develop a critical understanding of the numerous theoretical approaches and practical issues as well as the wide spectrum of institutions, players and processes in the Global Political Economy. The course also seeks to enable students to apply this knowledge in practice.
The different seminars introduce students to the institutions, actors, structures and processes characterizing globalized capitalism, North-South relations and development cooperation. It focuses on the global level, but also looks at regional and national settings from a comparative perspective. The program is interdisciplinary in character and is taught by scholars with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, among them political science, sociology and economics. The curriculum is based on a pluralist understanding of political economy as well as development and covers both mainstream and critical perspectives. It stresses the importance of an integrated approach to research, which links empirical analysis with methodological and theoretical considerations. Moreover, there is a practical component to GPED: Students are expected to complete a two-month internship that is relevant to the program topics. These internships can be undertaken at NGOs, international organizations, research centers etc.
The MA GPED has different cooperations with universities worlwide, such as the Jawaharlal University (India), The Rhodes University (South Africa), the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) and the University of Cape Coast (Ghana). Seminars are periodically led by lecturers from these partner institutions. Besides the courses offered specifically for the GPED, students are free to take courses from related Master Programs such as the Master in Political Science or Economic Behaviour and Governance. Students also have the opportunity of taking courses at the Language Centre in a variety of languages and specialist areas including German, English, French, Spanish, and German for economists, political scientists and sociologists.
