Student Experiences in the Dual MA
Dual Master’s Degree with Department of Political Science, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Since 2018, full-time Carleton MA students in Political Science have had the opportunity to participate in the Dual Master’s Degree Pathway offered in cooperation with the Department of Political Science (Politikwissenschaftliches Seminar) at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland. Upon successful completion of the Dual Master’s Degree Pathway students receive diplomas from Carleton University and from the University of Lucerne, each mentioning the partner institution and the Dual Master’s degree mode of study. Students can apply for admission to the Dual Master’s Degree Pathway upon admission to the MA program in Political Science or at the beginning of their first term (no later than September 30th) by notifying the Dual MA Pathway Coordinator Prof. Hans-Martin Jaeger and the Graduate Administrator Brookes Fee. Admission to the Dual MA Pathway is competitive, and the number of students admitted may vary from year to year.
Students admitted to the Dual Master’s Degree Pathway spend two terms of their two-year (5.0 credit) MA program studying at the University of Lucerne, usually the winter and summer terms of their first year. In their second year of study, they write a Master’s thesis (or with permission of the Graduate Supervisor, a major research essay) jointly supervised (or respectively, evaluated) by a faculty member from our department and our partner department at the University of Lucerne. The language of instruction and examination in the dual MA, including for courses offered at the University of Lucerne, is English.
Our department is one of the first two units at Carleton to offer an international dual MA degree and among the first in Ontario. The dual MA option offers Political Science MA students an international academic experience that goes well beyond a study abroad program. Participating students not only take courses with Swiss and other international students at the University of Lucerne, but have a genuinely international learning and research experience benefiting from the strengths and specializations of two different academic environments. Receiving diplomas from both participating universities also gives them international credentials, which may open up further international professional or educational opportunities beyond the MA.
As the youngest university in Switzerland established in 2005, the University of Lucerne has quickly established itself as a thriving and dynamic academic institution with more than one hundred international partner universities. With a total number of more than 3000 students and cutting-edge facilities, it offers an equally intimate and up-to-date study experience in Switzerland’s sixth largest city a short one-hour train ride from Zürich. Despite its relatively small size the Department of Political Science at the University of Lucerne ranks among the top research institutions and offers the highest percentage of English-language instruction in Political Science in Switzerland. Lucerne’s picturesque medieval Old Town is located on the banks of Lake Lucerne amidst the snowcapped mountains of the Swiss Alps. Carleton Political Science MA students are eligible for accommodation in student residences at the University of Lucerne.
More Information:
Department of Political Science, University of Lucerne
Further information about the Dual Master’s Degree Pathway can be obtained from the Dual MA Pathway Coordinator, Prof. Hans-Martin Jaeger and the Graduate Administrator, Brookes Fee.