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History - Location of the Department

The Department of Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) at the University of the Peloponnese has been operating since the academic year 2007-2008 and is part of the School of Social and Political Sciences, which is located in Corinth.

The PSIR Department owns fi ve lecture halls with modern educational equipment, an independent specialised library with a spacious study hall, and a fully equipped hall with state-of-the-art PCs. It has 19 teaching staff members, 14 associate teaching staff members, as well as 8 administrative staff members. All teaching staff members have studied in widely known universities abroad (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany) and apply international teaching practices, which combine lectures, seminars, theory model applications and practical application. In parallel, they use complex evaluation processes, which encourage the students’ participation. All courses are fully accessible on the e-class platform (eclass.uop.gr)

Undergraduate and Postgraduate studies

The purpose of the Department is the adequate scientifi c training of students in the subjects of Political Science, International Relations, International Political Economy, Area Studies, New Technologies, World and European History, Culture, Law, Sociology and Philosophy. Aſt er the completion of their studies, the Department’s graduates will have specialised knowledge in the fi elds of Political Science and International Relations, which will allow them to understand and critically analyse theories and phenomena about the design and application of policies, not only at a national state level, but also at an EU, NGO and international organisation level.

In 2014, it was one of the fi rst departments externally evaluated by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency and the results were excellent (here). In 2019, the accreditation process of the Undergraduate Curriculum was completed on the same level of success (here). In order to gain the degree, students have to successfully attend 48 courses and accumulate 240 ECTS-credits in total, according to the requirements applied for all European four-year fi rst-cycle curricula.

In the Department, there are four postgraduate curricula: the MA in Governance and Public Policies (founding year: 2012), the MA in “Mediterranean Studies” in English (founding year: 2014), the MA in Global Risks and Analytics (founding year: 2015), the Inter-University Joint Postgraduate Studies programme “Local and Regional Administration and Local Government” in cooperation with the Department of Business Administration at the University of Piraeus and the Department of Economics at the Democritus University of Thrace.

Carrer Prospects

The Department’s graduates can work in public institutions (the Parliament, Ministries, public businesses and organisations, regional and local administration, the diplomatic corps etc.), the private sector (e.g. consulting companies), research institutes, non-profi t organisations, the media, NGOs and international organisations among others.

As it is documented by censuses that have already been conducted, the Department’s graduates have real chances for a professional career and their enrolment in postgraduate curricula at top universities in Greece and abroad. The following institutions in the public or private sector are examples of places where our graduates seek and gain a job or research position:

▶ The Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, in the diplomatic corps or specialised agencies, such as the International Development Cooperation Agency
▶ European Union agencies
▶ International organisations, such as the United Nations, in fi elds such as the United Nations
Development Programme, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) etc.
▶ Greek and international NGOs
▶ Greek and international research foundations
▶ Project management consulting companies
▶ Companies for political communication consultancy and surveys
▶ Political foundations and research centres
▶ Political Parties
▶ Businesses operating abroad and especially in the Balkan area

Research

The PSIR Department is a centre of intensive research activity. It includes the operation of research centres, such as the Centre of International and European Political Economy and Governance, the Centre for Political Analysis, the Centre for Greek and International History (KEDIS), and the Centre for Mediterranean, Middle East and Islamic Studies (CEMMIS).

It also includes the operation of research groups, whose work is related with Political Technology, Political Leadership, South-east European Studies, Philosophy, Culture and Social Practices.

Moreover, the PSIR Department hosts the Jean Monnet Chair on EU’s Relations with Less Developed Countries, which is funded by the European Commission.

The PSIR Department participates in research networks, such as the Consortium for the Promotion of Chinese-Greek and Chinese-European Relations, the Hellenic African Studies Network, and the Hellenic Network for Third Sector Research.

The research work the teaching staff members of the PSIR Department are responsible for have been launched through competitive research programmes. Such projects are:

▶ Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence: “Visualising, Analysing and Learning about EU Studies” (2020-2023)
▶ “Christianity and Religious Pluralism in the Modern Middle East: International Politics and Religion at the turn of the 20th and 21st century” (2020-2023)
▶ Jean Monnet unit “European-focused Policy Analytics – EuroPolA”
▶ Research Programme JEAN MONNET MODULE “The European Spirit through Culture and Philosophy: Towards an open Europe” (2021-2023)
▶ “Information Diasporas in EurAfrica for Legal Migration” (IDEAL-Migration) (2020-2022)
▶ Research Programme “Thales II”: “Mapping and evaluating Greek NGOs” (2020-2022)
▶ Gamifi cation of media and digital literacy for youth (2020-2022)
▶ “Encouraging active citizenship and participation via empowerment of young EU citizens” (EURVoice) (2020-2022)
▶ “Deciphering the formulation of Greek economic diplomacy towards the Western Balkans” (DEFORM-GR-WB), The London School of Economics and Political Science, Hellenic Observatory, H2020 Grants (2020-2021)
▶ - Ages of Marathon Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (EPAnEK) – Action: “Research – Create – Innovate” (2018-2021)
▶ “Food and Humanitarian Non-Profi t Organizations in Greece: Synergies, Networks of Knowledge and Innovation”. Call for Support of researchers with a focus on new researchers. Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020”, Greek NSRF (2014-2021)
▶ “The Chinese Grand Strategy and Greece”, NSRF – Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning (2014-2020)
▶ The PSIR Department is also partner in the following international programmes:
▶ Research Programme HORIZON 2020 Kids4All (2021-2024)
▶ “Europeanisation meets democracy from below: The Western Balkans on the search for new European and democratic Momentum (WB2EU)”, Jean Monnet Network, Erasmus+ (2020-2023)
▶ «Voces y miradas literarias en femenino»: construyendo una sociedad europea inclusiva/ FEMIN (2020-2022)
▶ EU Middle East Network In Action (EUMENIA) (2019-2021)

The Department has established the concept of “Visiting Researcher”. Visiting researchers are welcomed for a certain period of time and are members of the research, by making use of the facilities and the research staff members of the Department.

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