About the Academic Track

About the Academic Track

Political sociology is a subject with a long and distinguished history and a thriving contemporary debate.
The Postgraduate Program in Law and Politics launched the MA Political Sociology to look beyond everyday political controversies in order to explore the underlying forces that either promote or delay political and social change.

The academic track will provide you with the analytical tools and empirical knowledge to understand some of the fundamental forces that have shaped and shape the world in which we live. It combines a strong core course that explores classic empirical and historical puzzles about the relationship between politics and society, with the flexibility to develop individual interests in a wide range of different areas. It will give you the opportunity to broaden your knowledge of politics and society, and build special expertise in particular areas.

It will also give you the opportunity to develop your rigorous oral and written debating ability. Colloquium discussion and essay writing will foster a critical approach that encourages you to re-evaluate generally accepted ideas, consider alternative explanations for important social and political developments, and support your conclusions with carefully disseminated evidence.

Study System

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.

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Academic Track Structure

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

Curriculum

I. Compulsory Courses

Political Sociology

Course name: Political Sociology

Course code: MSO101

Credit hours: 4.00

The course reviews the most prominent ideas of the pioneers of political sociology, deals with the sociological meaning of political participation, studies the topic and origins of political sociology, sheds light on research methods and tools in political sociology, and reviews the intellectual starting points and theoretical trends in political sociology.
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.

Social Organization

Course name: Social Organization

Course code: MSO102

Credit hours: 4.00

The course is divided into four main chapters. The first chapter examines the principles and theoretical approaches to the studies of the sociology of organization. It deals with topics related to the definition and nature of the sociology of organization, its most important topics, and the relationship of organization sociology with other sciences. Issues such as work problems in early studies of sociology, as well as issues of organization and work problems in contemporary studies of sociology. In the second chapter, it is concerned with an analysis of the most important issues related to the organizational performance of state institutions. It examines the issue of organizational performance problems in state institutions, and deals with the impact of special interest groups and their mechanisms of action in public institutions and how they seek to contain the decision-making process. Then it presents a sociological analysis of the phenomenon of administrative corruption. Then the third chapter deals with the issue of social organization and work issues in modern societies, where it examines the impact of personal, family and social factors on the level of professional performance of workers and individuals in public sector institutions, and deals with the impact of subjective and family factors on the job and professional performance of working women in productive organizational institutions, and deals with The social connotations of women’s work and their differences according to the family’s living standards. In the fourth chapter, it looks at the tasks entrusted to the social worker to deal with humanitarian groups in work organizations. It presents the definition of the concept of humanitarian groups, their criteria, tasks, areas of work, and the basis for preparing the social worker for the scientific reports and recommendations required of him in the various social organizations.
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 Organization

Course name: Political Organization

Course code: MSO104

Credit hours: 4.00

The course deals with the foundations of political organization in the first chapter, by talking about the state in terms of its concept, the basis of its establishment, its function, its forms, and its relationship to the law. The first constitutional institution, which is the legislative authority, whose system, composition, and competencies were discussed, as well as the relationship between constitutional institutions – public authorities. As for the fourth chapter, it presented the second constitutional institution represented by the executive authority, through a statement of its composition and competencies. Whereas, in Chapter Five, he referred to the third constitutional institution, which is the judicial authority, and the general principles governing the work of the judicial authority, as well as the constitutional judiciary, to then devote Chapter Six to the topic of public rights and freedoms in legal states, and the guarantees established for the protection of each of the rights and public freedoms. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
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 Three Traditional Authorities

Course name: The Three Traditional Authorities

Course code: MSO105

Credit hours: 4.00

The Three Traditional Authorities
The course sheds light on the definition of the concept of power and removes ambiguity about it and the importance of political power. It deals with the types of powers in the state and details the discussion on the formation of each of the three powers and shows the relationship between them. It discusses the content of the idea of ​​the theory of separation of powers and its roots and how the idea developed throughout history and passed from one nation to another. Others, since its roots were initially in the forms of ancient states and then developed by some philosophers in different periods, which led to them in the modern era being stipulated by the constitutions of states, and it receives substantial attention, which affects the form of the state system and its laws, whether it is monarchical or parliamentary, and its advantages And the take on it. It was necessary to review the main theoretical foundations, on which the theory of balanced separation of powers in the democratic system is based, and to address the definition of the theory of separation of powers, the forms of separation of powers and the theories of experts in that.
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.

Planning and Political Organization

Course name: Planning and Political Organization

Course code: MSO106

Credit hours: 4.00

Planning and Political Organization
The course includes a study of the concepts of planning and political organization and the most important elements upon which these concepts depend to achieve the political goals of states, a study of models of international relations and the nature of the interactions regulating relations and the factors influencing aspects of governance and political organization, and a study of the scientific foundations on which the study of politics is based and an explanation of the role of ideologies and political philosophies in Organizing international political action, studying the most important challenges facing work in the field of politics, studying them and ways to deal with those challenges, studying the most important aspects of research and development of various political systems and interactions, predicting political trends and the political decision-making system.
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.

Criminal Sociology

Course name: Criminal Sociology

Course code: MSO151

Credit hours: 4.00

Criminal Sociology
The course is concerned with presenting the concept of crime and delinquency, classifications of crimes, and the sources and importance of crime statistics. In addition to introducing the field of criminal sociology and the most important topics of study in it, and the relationship of this field to criminology and its various branches, and the theoretical approaches to the interpretation of crime and delinquency. Although there are many approaches to the study of crime, criminology has become sociological since the 1920s, so this course focuses on the main sociological theories of crime. It deals with the most dangerous and common criminal phenomena in the present era, namely juvenile delinquency, prostitution, drug abuse… etc. In this approach, it deals with a comprehensive breakdown of the phenomenon, and shows the functional social interaction between it and other phenomena associated with it, centered on confronting it to combat it, and branching out into efforts in a circle Law and the field of scientific research to describe and theorize to serve planning and application. To achieve this, research on these three criminal phenomena (and others) was based on various references whose research, data and information varied, especially since the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century, which witnessed a remarkable spread of these phenomena in developed and developing countries alike.
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.

B11
Degree: Master's Degree
Track code: MA103PE
Study method: Distance Learning
Credit hour: 60
How long it takes: 
Full time: 2 years
Part time: 4 years
Limit time: 6 years
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