About the department

The Department of Political Science offers a bachelor's degree in Political Science and two specific follow-up master's degrees: Political Science - African Studies and Political Science - Latin American Studies. All fields of study can be studied in both full-time and part-time form. We also offer doctoral study in African Studies and doctoral study in Latin American Studies.

In the bachelor’s degree students will gain knowledge about political systems, political thinking, international relations, and European integration. In the follow-up master's programmes they specialize in African or Latin American studies and thus acquire a unique political science education focused on essential non-European regions. Teaching includes e.g. selected issues from geopolitics, anthropology, conflict resolution, theories of undemocratic regimes or development. Doctoral programmes are focused on the research of given territories with the aim to apply theoretical knowledge from selected research areas of political science to the African or Latin American area.

Our students also have a unique opportunity to travel abroad. As part of the traditional Erasmus exchange programme, students choose from over 40 universities in 16 countries from Norway through Romania to Portugal, while in non-European destinations the offer includes almost 60 universities in more than 30 countries (e.g. Ghana, South Korea or Bolivia). Students also travel abroad for internships in CzechTrade offices and selected embassies of the Czech Republic. Only in the academic year 2018/2019, 62 of our students travelled abroad.

In the field of science and research, we focus on topics such as democracy, electoral behaviour, political institutions, international security, national conflicts and indigenous movements in Latin America. At the same time, we solve scientific projects of the GA ČR, our researchers conduct field research in Africa and Latin America, and publish in prestigious world scientific journals. We also publish one ourselves: Modern Africa: History, Politics and Society.

Our graduates have long been employed in institutions of state administration (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government Office, embassies, and others), private sector (companies operating on the Czech market and abroad), media or non-governmental organizations. Knowledge of domestic and European policies or the functioning of public institutions, analytical skills, language skills and the ability to effectively solve complex problems in the labour market provide them with added value compared to other applicants.