Politics and Governance of Global Challenges, Master's, 2 years

The Master’s programme in Politics and Governance of Global Challenges explores the complex multi-level governance of global, and often wicked, problems in the contemporary world such as inequality, climate change, migration, or pandemics. Throughout the program, we analyze the historical development of the transnational system for addressing global challenges and critically examine contemporary interactions between different actors in international, national and local arenas, public and private. Students will develop the knowledge, skills, and competences to understand, analyze, and critically discuss global challenges from a politics and governance perspective, including working towards potential fair and sustainable solutions for addressing the complex issues facing our world today.

This is a political science master’s programme that integrates theories of politics and governance, and advanced social science methods education, in project-based learning on real world global challenges. The programme includes options for international mobility, internships, or self-organised interdisciplinary studies at other UiB departments in the third semester.

Many employers, in the private and public sector, value students’ ability to critically examine the politics and governance of global challenges.

The Department of Government is friendly, international, and not too big. As a master’s student, you will be part of the research environment. 

More information below

Here you will find interviews with our students

Career

The program provides competence relevant for a wide range of careers, in the public and private sector, to national and international NGO work, and academic careers. In particular, the program provides a relevant education for those seeking a career working with the major challenges of our time, such as climate change, migration, inequality, health, food safety and more.

Job opportunities with a master’s degree from the University of Bergen

Teaching and learning methods

Project-based learning is at the core of the programme. It aligns the learning outcomes in terms of conceptual-analytical knowledge and skills with the student’s ability to understand, analyze and discuss real-world problems. Students will learn to conceptualize the politics and governance of global challenges in an informed manner, design projects in that area and justify methodological choices, and communicate findings and policy recommendations to diverse audiences (scholarly and policy world).

The first semester introduces students to the issue of global challenges and to the project-based learning approach, through a mandatory theory course and a mandatory research design course specific to the programme. Students will also start their mandatory advanced qualitative methods training.

The second semester continues with advanced quantitative methods training, a choice of elective state of the art courses offered at the department, and the second program-specific theory course. Towards the end of the second semester, the student will be assigned a mentor/supervisor who will tentatively serve as a contact point with the department through the third semester and as a master thesis supervisor in the fourth semester.

The third semester allows considerable choice and flexibility for the student, where an internship, self-organized course and choices from the UiB portfolio of master courses, or study abroad are all possible options. The fourth semester is reserved for working on the master thesis.

Activities that the students will encounter during the four semesters include lectures, guest lectures, including by practitioners, seminars, workshops and tutorials blogposting, self-organized student conferences (including annual “Global Challenges Day”), self-organized forms of learning, project based learning.

More information below

Photo:

Silje K. Robinson, UiB

Structure

The programme covers two academic years (four semesters) and starts in the autumn. Most students conduct some form of fieldwork for their master’s project. 

First semester

Mandatory courses:

• GOV351 Understanding Global Challenges (10 ECTS)
• GOV352 Researching Global Challenges (10 ECTS)
• GOV353 Qualitative Methods (10 ECTS)

Second semester

Mandatory courses:

• GOV321 Quantitative Methods (10 ECTS)
• GOV355 Conceptualizing Global Challenges (10 ECTS)

Elective courses, choose 10 ECTS:

• GOV325 Discretion and paternalism (10 ECTS)
• GOV326 Political Organization and Multilevel Governance (10 ECTS)
• GOV327 Knowledge, Politics and Organization (10 ECTS)
• GOV328 Leadership in Organizational and Cultural Contexts (10 ECTS)
• GOV360-1 Global: Globally Organized Crime and Network Analysis (5 ECTS)
• GOV360-2 Global: Politics and Governance of Migration (5 ECTS)
• GOV360-3 Global: Gendered Autocratization as a global challenge (5 ECTS)
• GOV360-4 Global: China in Global Politics (5 ECTS)

A supervisor is appointed for your master’s project.

Third semester

• GOV371 Internship (30 ECTS) or GOV372 Self-organized Course and courses across UiB study programs (for a total of 30 ECTS, of which the self-organized course can cover 10 ECTS) or Mobility/Study Abroad (30 ECTS)

Fourth semester

• GOV380 Masters thesis (30 ECTS)

See full list of courses

What you learn

Employers will be interested in your training in both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

With an MA in Politics and Governance of Global Challenges, you will

• know recent theoretical and empirical debates on politics, public policy and governance of global challenges, such as migration, climate change or inequality,
• have developed critical thinking skills and be able to conduct independent analysis in assessing, diagnosing and addressing the politics and governance of global challenges,
• be able to communicate and identify relevant issues and how to analyze them with regard to the politics and governance of global challenges to different stakeholders.

Full list of learning outcomes

Study Abroad

See list of recommended exchange agreements

Admission Requirements

In order to apply for the Master’s programme in Politics and Governance of Global Challenges you need a bachelor's degree of 3-4 years'. The degree must include at least 80 ECTS in political science or related (sub-)discipline, including 10 ECTS in qualitative and quantitative social sciences methods.

Applicants must submit a short (max. 500 words) application statement where they explain how their academic background connects to the master programme. The application statement is for documentation purposes and is not evaluated.

You also need to document:

• Average grade of minimum C (equivalent to Norwegian grade C)
• Proficiency in English

How to apply

Follow these links to find the general entry requirements and guidelines on how to apply:

• Citizens from outside the European Union/EEA/EFTA (4 January 2024)
• Citizens from within the European Union/EEA/EFTA (1 March 2024)
• Nordic citizens and applicants residing in Norway (15 April 2024)

All applicants with citizenship from outside the EU/EEA must pay tuition fees.