In the first semester students have to take one core course in the field of European Politics and External Relations and the course Portfolio Political Science. Both courses combine a broad engagement with core questions of politics with in-depth study of a particular contemporary theme from a sub-disciplinary perspective. Students study in groups of four to five students. Subsequently students also choose two relevant electives from a list of electives (topics change every academic year).

In the second semester students select a research project (24 ECTS credits) on a topic relevant to the field of European Politics and External Relations.

• In Part I (Thesis Seminars) students focus on core theory and common substantive literature and on research design within a programme that exposes them to a range of research methods.
• In Part II students concentrate on writing their thesis.

The final Master's thesis is a report on primary or secondary research carried out by the student as part of the research project. The thesis should be between 10,000 and 16,000 words long.