Mundus MAPP is a full-time in-person program which is unique in the flexibility with which students can tailor their learning experiences to their individual needs through the selection of mobility tracks. Mobility tracks in the joint degree each allow for a different focus – Political Economy and Development, Governance and Development, Global Public Policy and European Public Policy – while maintaining a uniform core of policy studies subjects. Students are exposed to a variety of European academic traditions and policy contexts through the study visits and internships. Moreover, all mobility tracks include exposure to either development studies or to a careful consideration of the impact of economic and democratic transition, rather than merely the experience of Western European or North American countries.

The ability to “mix and match” first and second year institutions (the mobility component) thus allows students to build up a specialisation within Mundus MAPP that is most suited to their individual career objectives. Each of the track-specific core course blocks complement the general core courses where students acquire common theoretical grounding in policy studies but provide somewhat different disciplinary perspectives. For detailed information on the structure of the program and course descriptions click here.

Mundus MAPP includes a strong practice component, represented by the internship, the spring course/study-trip and pedagogical methods such as the use of case studies in the classroom. This is designed to allow students to observe the real world of policy-making, interact with practitioners, apply theoretical knowledge to practical policy problems, collect empirical (case study) material for research projects and theses, and build up professional contacts and networks that will facilitate their integration into the job-market.

Depending on where students intend to spend their first and second year they can choose between four different mobility tracks:

The central focus in this study track is on the policy process at the international and global level, including the design and operation of international organizations and global policy regimes. The track is designed to provide students with thorough understanding of public policy in national as well as in international contexts.

The CEU-IBEI track specializes in Global Public Policy, with an emphasis on policy making and problem solving in a range of international contexts (from the strongly institutionalized European policy regimes to the broader and less institutionalized global regimes). The central focus is on the policy process at the international and global level, including the design and operation of international organizations and global policy regimes. The track is designed to provide students with thorough understanding of public policy in national as well as in international contexts. This includes analysis of policy networks, international organizations and global policy regimes. Students will gain knowledge in policy analysis, economics and European studies in the first year, and international relations and international political economy in the second year. The central analytical tools include quantitative and qualitative research methods, and comparative international public policy tools such as the organization, resources and policy instruments of global policy regimes. Applicants who wish to pursue a career in international civil service, voluntary organization or global industries, may be attracted to this track.

Global Public Policy track students will study at Central European University (Private University), Vienna, Austria in the first year, and continue their studies at Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals in Spain in the second year.

This study track focuses on policy analysis, policy making and problem solving in the European Union, its member states and neighborhood countries. The central focus is on the policy process in national and transnational contexts from agenda-setting to implementation from a problem solving perspective.

The CEU-York trackspecializes in European Public Policy, with an emphasis on policy analysis, policy making and problem solving in the European Union. The central focus is on the policy process in the EU and its member states, from agenda-setting and policy making, through policy design, implementation and evaluation. The track is designed to provide students with thorough understanding of the EU as a supranational institutional system, and thus of the dynamics of public policy in a multi-level context. Students will gain knowledge in policy analysis, economics, comparative politics and European integration studies. The central analytical tools include quantitative and qualitative research methods, and comparative public policy tools such as policy design, policy instruments, organizational arrangements, implementation and evaluation. Applicants who wish to pursue a career in the civil service, think tanks or regulated private sectors such as utilities, in the EU, its member states or its neighborhood, or use the European experience in other countries may be attracted to this track.

European Public Policy track students will study at Central European University (Private University), Vienna, Austria in the first year, and continue their studies at the University of York in the UK in the second year.

This study track seeks to deepen applicants’ knowledge in problem situating approaches of public policy. The logic of this track essentially revolves around the topic of political economy and development.

The ISS-IBEI track seeks to deepen applicants’ knowledge in problem situating approaches of public policy. The logic of this track essentially revolves around the topic of Political Economy and Development. It aims to understand how different modes of governance, production and trade regimes, financial institutions, knowledge structures, identity constructions, international organizations, and cross cutting processes (such as regionalism, regionalization, globalization and capitalism and democratization among others) influence the setting and application of policies at global, regional and national levels of interaction. Accordingly, the ISS’ situational analysis of governance in development, which draws on approaches in policy sciences, international relations and international political economy, is complemented with IBEI’s situational and extensive case study based approach drawing on the fields of International Relations and Development Economics. Applicants wishing to study public policy with the objective to work for international organizations/think tanks or NGOs and/or applicants wishing to have a career in research related fields (PhD for example) may well be attracted to this specific track.

Political Economy and Development track students will study at the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands in the first year, and continue their studies at Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals in Spain in the second year.

This study track specializes in topics revolving around governance and development, and attracts applicants wishing to study public policy in the context of developing countries with the objective to work for an international organization in the future.

The ISS-York track specializes in topics revolving around Governance and Development. If ‘Governance’ entails a process which goes beyond the realm of nation states in policy making, then thinking about formal and informal ‘institutions’ and the manner in which they are formed, defined, changed, maintained and /or evolved allows applicants to situate and understand better the various logics of political and economic reforms operating across the implementation of various good governance related policies in the developing world. Similarly, analyzing how public policies are designed, formulated, implemented and evaluated across a variety of development related fields such as environmental governance and fiscal decentralization enables applicants to acquire the necessary policy analysis skills needed in these domains. As such, the ISS’ situational analysis of governance in development, which draws on approaches in policy studies, international relations and international political economy, is combined with York’s problem solving analysis of governance related policies in development drawing on the interdisciplinary linkages between public administration, governance and organizational studies. From this perspective, an applicant wishing to study public policy in the context of developing countries with the objective to work for an international organization in the future may well be attracted to this specific track.

Governance and Development track students will study at the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands in the first year, and continue their studies at the University of York in the UK in the second year.