About BAPS

The program prepares leading professionals and scholars in the fields of Political Science by providing high-quality education and promoting critical thinking and analytical skills, complying with the highest Western educational standards and with values of freedom, equality and inclusiveness. The Program’s students learn political technologies, political expertise, various elections analysis and public policy. Besides students get competencies in Sociology, Economics, Communications and Psychology. This unique combinations of skills enables graduates of the program work as political consultants and political experts, public officials, public opinion influencers, public policy analysts and researchers.

Double Major in Political Science and International Relations

For a double major in Political Science and International Relations, students have to elect 6 courses from the list below and earn 18 credits / 30 ECTS:

  • Comparative Politics
  • Political Analysis
  • Introduction to Political Theory
  • Data Analysis for Politics or Introduction to Statistics II: Analyzing and Modeling Data
  • Politics and Institutions of Kazakhstan
  • Introduction to Statistics

Curriculum

PROGRAM FOUNDATION: REQUIRED COURSES (32 KIMEP CREDITS EQUIVALENT TO 52 ECTS)

Course Code

 Course Title KIMEP credits ECTS Prerequisites
GEN 1100 Academic Speaking 3 5
GEN 1121 Academic Reading and Writing II 3 5
IRL2512 Fundamentals of International Relations 3 5 GEN1100 and GEN1120
KAZ/RUS21021.2 Prof Kazakh (Russian) Language 2 3 None
IRL3xxx Politics and Institutions of Kazakhstan 3 5
ECN2181 Introduction to Statistics
IRL Introduction to Political Theory 3 5
POL3512 Comparative Politics 3 5
GEN/PAD 2700 Fundamentals of Sociology 3 4 ENG0004
ECN1101 Introduction to Economics 3 5 ENG0004
IRL4596 Academic Internship in International Relations for BIR 3 5
Total   32 52

Group A) Program Foundation elective courses:  24 credits, 40 ECTS

Students need to choose 8 courses in this category. They may choose other foundation electives from the list of foundation electives group A of the BIR program or any course for obtaining a double major degree (see section at the end of the program descriptor).

Course Code Course Title Credits ECTS Prerequisites
ECN4181 Introduction to Game Theory 3 5
IRL 3523 International Political Economy 3 5
POL 3534 Social and Political Theory 3 5
IRL/POL3515 Political Geography 3 5
IRL3517 International Institutions and Law 3 5
PAD3521 Global Sustainable Development 3 5
PAD4541 Gender and Public Policy 3 5
PAD3547 Social Policy in Transitional Countries 3 5
PAD4003 Public Policy of Kazakhstan 3 5
POL4xxx Geopolitics and Political Economy of Natural Resources 3 5
POL4xxx Institutions of the European Union 3 5
LAW4503 Law of the European Union 3 5
IRL3548 European Social Movements 3 5
PAD4443 Public Management 3 5
IRL3543 Nationalism, Populism and Ethnic Conflict in Contemporary Europe 3 5
CSS/IRL3 Computational Social Sciences 3 5
IRL4xxx Diplomatic Negotiations 3 5
IRL4xxx Business Diplomacy 3 5
Total 24 40

KIMEP-wide electives 12 credits, 20 ECTS

Group B) KIMEP-wide Elective Courses (12 KIMEP credits / 20 ECTS)

Students may take a minor (see separate part of the catalog) and elect courses necessary to take the minor to count towards the category KIMEP-wide elective courses. Alternatively, they may choose 12 credits (20ECTS) from the list of Group B KIMEP-wide electives included in the BIR program.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS (39 KIMEP CREDITS EQUIVALENT TO 64 ECTS)

 

Major Required Courses (18 KIMEP credits equivalent to 29 ECTS)

Course Code Course Title KIMEP credits ECTS Prerequisites
POLXXXX or PSY2202/CSS/ECN3240 Data Analysis for Politics Or Introduction to Statistics II: Analyzing and Modelling Data 3 5
POL3XXX Political Analysis 3 5
POL4590 Undergraduate Seminar in Political Science 3 5
PAD3542 Public Policy Analysis 3 5
IRL3595 Research Design and Methods 3 5 90 credit hours
IRL4597 Professional Internship in International Relations 3 4

Major Electives (21 KIMEP credits equivalent to 35 ECTS)

Students need to take 7 courses from the list below:

Course Code Course Title KIMEP credits ECTS Prerequisites
IRL3521 Theories of International Relations 3 5
IRL3520 Foreign Policy of Kazakhstan 3 5
IRL4531 Political Economy of Central Asia 3 5 Xx
POL4xxx Public Opinion and Polling 3 5
POL4xxx Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections 3 5
POL4xxx Special Topics in Methods and Models 3 5
POL 4537 Society and Culture of Central Asia 3 5
IRL3526 Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy of the USA 3 5
IRL3527 Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation 3 5
IRL3528 Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy of the People’s Republic of China 3 5
IRL/POL4534 Politics of the European Union 3 5
JMC3605 Political Communication 3 5
IRLXXXX Topics in the History/Politics/Culture of Europe 3 5
IRL/POL4 Middle East and North Africa 3 5
POL4xxx Political Sociology 3 5
Total 9 15

Course description

IRL/POL4530 Middle East Politics (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

A survey of the twentieth and twenty –first century political history of the Middle east and its regional issues, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, ethnic and religious nationalism, the geopolitics of oil, the two Western wars in Iraq, and both Western and Islamic alliances. This course will also compare the governments and political ideologies of the Middle East region, focusing on social and institutional structures and development issues. Concepts and ideologies like Arabism, Islam, modernization, and the nature of states and political systems will be studied.

 

IRL/POL4534 Politics of the European Union (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

European politics has never been so topical and exciting. With the end of the Cold War division of Europe into East and West, Europe is uniting under the umbrella of the European Union and is moving ahead with a unique experiment whereby European law supersedes national law and a single European currency is used. The purpose of this course is to offer students an informed and accessible overview of European government and politics as well as of the structure and policies of the European Union.

 

IRL/POL 4540 Geopolitics and Political Economy of Natural Resources (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

This course is devoted to geopolitical and economic aspects of countries endowed with different types of natural resources. Natural resources shape the economy and economy shapes political choices. However processes of discovery and use of natural resources have to be analysed in geographical and institutional context.

 

POL3512 Comparative Politics (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

This is an introductory course in the field of Comparative Politics. The course will acquaint students with various paradigms in the field, while also offering practical case studies to illustrate different political orientations of nation states and regions.

 

POL3534 Social and Political Theory (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

This course provides a historical background to the development of social and political thought in European and Asian civilizations from antiquity to the present day. Readings from primary sources, such as Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, the Dhammapada, Augustine, al Farabi, ibnKhaldoun, Aquinas, Machiavelli, as well as modern thinkers from Hobbes to the post-moderns will help students to comprehend the theoretical underpinnings of research on political systems, political economy, social hierarchy and comparative civilizations.

 

POL4537 Society and Culture of Central Asia (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

The course offers a theoretical background for understanding issues in the general field of political sociology and then moves on to review the similarities and differences between the social, political and cultural aspects of Central Asian states.

 

POL3546 Selected Topics in Regional Studies (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

This course examines various topics in comparative politics and regional studies. Topics vary according to the interests of students and instructors.

 

POL/IRL3515 Political Geography (3 credits, 5 ECTS)

This course provides an introduction to political geography, the study of the location, distribution, and interaction between political units in the world. The world political map has changed dramatically over the past century with a sharp increase in the number of states and nation-states. Today’s era of globalization heightens the need for an understanding of global political-geographic issues. This course will cover such wide- ranging topics as international conflict, relationships between states, ethnic tensions within states, globalization, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the political geography of Central Asia.

Tuition & Fees

Scholarship opportunities
There are many merit-based scholarship opportunities for Kazakhstani and international students.
While studying at KIMEP University, students may also apply for part-time positions available on the University campus.

If you would like to apply for a scholarship, contact the Office of Financial Aid.

Tuition & Fees

Study abroad opportunities
One- or two-semester exchange programs with many international partner universities offer students the opportunity to discover the world. Credits earned abroad count towards KIMEP degrees.

Innovations
We are proud to announce a new course “Model UN” in collaboration with UN Kazakhstan starting from Spring 2017 semester.

Careers

Civil service and public service apparatus

Quasi-state companies and national companies and holdings

International companies

Transnational corporations

NGO

Business sector

Own private consulting practice