About the Academic Track

The Master’s in Political Theory provides students with a conceptual toolkit for analyzing complex normative and methodological issues of contemporary political life. Students are encouraged to take an active role in critical thinking about political practices, institutional arrangements, and social science methods by building a solid foundation in social and political thought. The track combines analytical rigor with political relevance.

Vision
Teaching political theory and applied philosophy in a theoretical, practical and analytical manner

Mission:
It seeks to provide international communities with specialists in critical analysis and thinkers in current political contexts and social and political thought.

Objectives:
Clarification of ideology, doctrines and schools in politics
Developing skills in practicing modern methods to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the field of politics.
Helping the administration implement its strategy through its effectiveness in translating problems from the perspective of different sciences and linking them with political science.

Study Duration

● The student studies eight courses, distributed as follows:
√ Six compulsory courses.
√ Two elective courses from among the courses offered by the college for master’s students.
● The study is conducted through research seminars in each course. The research seminar is based on multiple references and is in accordance with the methodology and standards of scientific research.
● The study of each of the eight courses takes four credit hours for a minimum of four weeks and may exceed that according to each student’s abilities. After that, the student’s competency and knowledge test is held in the course he completed, then he begins another course in the same manner, and so on.
● The student is assigned a hypothetical course that the college chooses from among the courses that the student has studied at the undergraduate level, and this is considered a practical training for the student to be evaluated with ten credit hours. The student must divide this course from twelve to fourteen brief lectures. The student presents each lecture in the form of a written summary of its topic in Word or PDF format, accompanied by a video recording of it in the student’s voice using the Power Point program, with a duration of not less than ten minutes and not more than About twenty minutes.
● Study courses in the first year, the student has the right to extend the study for a period not exceeding a second year.

The requirements for obtaining a master’s degree in various disciplines are sixty credit hours according to the study plan approved by the University Council, and these requirements are distributed according to the following programs:
1- Research courses of thirty-two credit hours.
2- A scientific thesis with eighteen credit hours.
3- A practical training of ten credit hours.

Requirements for registering a thesis topic for a master’s degree
● The student must pass the stipulated courses with a score of at least 70%.
● The student obtained a TOEFL certificate of at least 450, or its equivalent, or obtained an equivalent certificate in the French language, with the exception of those who obtained a first university degree in one of the two languages, or in one of the two languages.
● The student submits a request to the university administration to register a master’s thesis with a proposed topic in one of the subspecialty tracks.
● If the initial approval of the subject title is achieved, the college council will designate a supervisor to guide and follow up the student in preparing the plan.
● The research plan includes the importance of the topic and a critical presentation of previous studies in it, specifically the research problem, then defining the study’s curriculum and its main hypotheses or questions that you want to answer, and the division of the study and its sources.
● The student presents his proposed plan in a scientific seminar, discussing the plan as a topic and an approach.
● The student adjusts his plan based on the professors’ observations in the seminar if he is asked to amend.
● After the seminar, the plan is presented to the college council to take its decision regarding the registration of the subject.
● In the event of approval, the College Council’s decision is presented to the University Council to approve the registration, and the registration date is calculated from the date of the University Council’s approval.

Jury discussion and award of degree
● The minimum for preparing a master’s thesis is nine months, starting from the date of approval by the University Council to register the subject, and the maximum is two years, which can be extended for a third exceptional year upon the recommendation of the supervisor and the approval of the College Council, provided that the total period of student enrollment in the degree does not exceed four years.
● The supervisor submits a semi-annual report that includes what has been accomplished and what is required in the remaining period.
● After the student completes the thesis and the supervisor reviews it, the supervisor submits to the university administration a report stating its validity for discussion, including an evaluation of the student’s performance during the preparation period of the thesis of 140 degrees, with a full copy of the thesis signed by him, and a letter with the names of the discussion and judgment committee proposed by the professors of the specialty, for presentation to the college Council.
● At least fifteen days must pass before the student’s discussion from the date of the approval of the discussion committee by the college.
● The validity period of the committee formed to discuss the thesis is six months, which may be renewed for a similar period based on a report from the supervisor and the approval of the College Council.
● Each member of the committee writes a detailed scientific report on the validity of the thesis for discussion, and the thesis is evaluated out of 420 degrees, and the average of the three degrees is taken.
The student may not be discussed unless he/she gets at least 70% of the supervisor’s evaluation of his performance and the committee members’ evaluation of the message in the individual reports.
● A group report is submitted after the discussion, signed by all members of the committee, in which an evaluation of the thesis discussion is given on a scale of 140 degrees.

The thesis is passed after public discussion with one of the ratings shown in the following table:

Percentage of gradespointsappreciation symbolAppreciation
ArabicEinglish
95 to 100%4A+A+Prominent
90 to less than 95%7 , 3aA
85 to less than 90%3 , 3b+BVery well
80 to less than 85%3BB
75 to less than 80%7 , 2c+C+Good
70 to less than 75%3 , 2cC

After the college approves the student’s results, the master’s degree is awarded at a rate calculated from the average total of the courses and thesis grades.
After obtaining the approval of the University Council to grant a master’s degree to the student, he is entitled to obtain insured certificates, authenticated by the university, stating that he obtained that degree, in order to present them to the various authorities.

Study Duration

The duration of study to obtain a master’s degree in Political and economics is two years as a minimum, and six years as a maximum.
In the first year, the student studies at least eight subjects, and the study is through research seminars for each course. The research seminar is based on multiple references and is in accordance with the scientific research methodology and standards.
In the second year, the student attends a general seminar for the topic of the thesis, which he will prepare and submit for discussion
The general seminar is discussed by the scientific committee at the university, and the title of the thesis is approved
The student works to complete his thesis under the supervision of the supervisor decided by the Presidency of the University based on the proposal of the Dean of the Faculty
The student completes his scientific thesis and submits for discussion before the committee formed by the Presidency of the University in a public session and completes the conditions for a master’s degree
Courses of study in the first year The student has the right to extend the study in it for a period not exceeding a second year
The thesis prepared by the student during a period of time not less than 9 months and not exceeding two years

Conditions for success and graduation

1) The student is considered to have passed any of the program’s courses if he achieves a final score of no less than 65%. He is also considered successful in the master’s project if he obtains a mark (granted by the judging committee) not less than 75%.
After the student presents the results of his project before the committee, and discusses its technical content.
2) The student is not entitled to submit to discuss his thesis until a scientific research is published in an approved refereed journal.
3) The student obtains a master’s degree certificate after he has fulfilled all the scientific requirements for this degree.

Academic Track Structure
8 courses = 32 credit hours,
 practical training = 10 credit hours
 Master's thesis = 18 credit hours
Courses
Practical Training
Master's Thesis

I. Compulsory Courses

Scientific Research Methodology

Course name: Scientific Research Methodology

Course code: MPOL101

Credit hours: 4.00


The course aims to train students to prepare research in political science, by identifying the most important steps of the research process such as the research problem, scientific hypotheses, concepts and variables, data collection methods, data analysis tools, reaching results and generalizations, in addition to introducing the most important approaches used in field of political science.
The curriculum’s inputs include: the form and type of knowledge, learners’ characteristics, needs, tendencies and interests, the society’s philosophy, values, hopes and aspirations. The outputs of the curriculum are: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Political Theory

Course name: Political Theory

Course code: MPT101

Credit hours: 4.00


The course aims to introduce the student to the science of political theory and its position in the science of politics. The course introduces this science through theoretical dealing with the most important philosophical starting points (cognitive system) on which Western political theory was based, embodied in the philosophy of modernity and postmodernism. Then, a number of political theories and problems within the field are exposed, which developed with the change of the political and economic reality. and Western social studies without being limited to a specific political theory, and then the course provides a panoramic overview of the most important theoretical debates within the field.
The curriculum inputs include: the form and type of knowledge, learners’ characteristics, needs, tendencies and interests, society’s philosophy, values, hopes and aspirations. The curriculum outcomes are: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

History of Political Thought

Course name: History of Political Thought

Course code: MPH102

Credit hours: 4.00


The course is divided into three parts: The first part: reviews the history of political thought from Athenian democracy to the Christian Middle Ages. Part Two: It extends since the European Renaissance, where Machiavelli; And how the latter established politics on new rules, creating an intellectual break with Plato and the Christian philosophical heritage. Then the impact of the Protestant religious reform on politics, passing through the major revolutions and the emergence of theories of natural right and the social contract, which he deals with in detail. And the end of Spinoza, who returned the human mind to the earth and his critical views of religion, and the advocate of freedom of opinion and expression. The third part: reviews the major currents that followed the Enlightenment: nationalism, liberalism, and socialism, how they developed in each country and for each of its main thinkers.
The curriculum inputs include: the form and type of knowledge, learners’ characteristics, needs, tendencies and interests, society’s philosophy, values, hopes and aspirations. The curriculum outcomes are: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Islamic Political Thought and Arab Political Practice

Course name: Islamic Political Thought and Arab Political Practice

Course code: MPT104

Credit hours: 4.00


The course aims to identify the main calligraphy of Islamic political thought: its concepts, theories, its most prominent phases and its founding writings. It also includes four main axes, the first of which deals with the issue of concepts related to Islamic political thought, while the second focuses on the features of thinking about the state in the classical stage, while the third will focus on analyzing the main features of thinking about the state in modern times. The fourth was devoted to drawing the features of the current crisis in the state, with an attempt to open a horizon to get out of the impasse.
The curriculum inputs include: the form and type of knowledge, learners’ characteristics, needs, tendencies and interests, society’s philosophy, values, hopes and aspirations. The curriculum outcomes are: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Political İdeologies

Course name: Political İdeologies

Course code: MPT105

Credit hours: 4.00


Political İdeologies
The course is concerned with studying the most important political ideologies in our contemporary world. This will be done with a realistic and critical view on the one hand, and by linking the course topics with what is going on in our Arab countries after the recent revolutionary movement and the resulting political conflicts and ideological polarizations on the other hand. The course aims to identify the concept of ideology, the characteristics of contemporary ideologies, their classifications, their functions, and the most important contemporary political ideologies (liberalism, socialism, and communism) in terms of origin, foundations, dimensions, criticisms, and future.
The curriculum inputs include: the form and type of knowledge, learners’ characteristics, needs, tendencies and interests, society’s philosophy, values, hopes and aspirations. The curriculum outcomes are: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

The Origins of Political Analysis

Course name: The Origins of Political Analysis

Course code: MPH106

Credit hours: 4.00


The course presents the concepts, ideas, and tools necessary for analyzing politics and comprehending its realities, and provides a description and analysis of the issues that occupy the mind of contemporary man: democracy, political behavior, political evaluation, policy making, and deals with the issue of power and influence through specific examples for those who have different degrees of them, in a way that helps the student to Creative perception of the realities of the world of politics and its makers.
The curriculum inputs include: the form and type of knowledge, learners’ characteristics, needs, tendencies and interests, society’s philosophy, values, hopes and aspirations. The curriculum outcomes are: knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

B06

Degree: Master's Degree

Track code: MA105PE

Study method: Distance Learning

Credit hour: 60

How long it takes: 
Full time: 2 years
Part time: 4 years
Limit time: 6 years