PPE - Philosophy, Politics and Economics (M.A.)

The Major Philosophy, Politics and Economics of Development includes, but is not limited to, the following core subject areas:

• Development Economics and Politics
• Institutional Economics: Institutions, Growth and Development
• International Political Economy
• Democracy and Dictatorship
• Global Justice and the Global South
• Research Colloquium Development Studies, in cooperation with the German Development Institute (DIE)
• Current Issues and Further Questions.

The Major International Economics includes, but is not limited to, the following core subject areas:

• Behavioural Economics
• Institutional Economics
• Advanced Micro- and Macroeconomics
• The International Financial System
• Current Issues and Further Questions.

The Major International Politics includes, but is not limited to, the following core subject areas:

• Foreign Policy
• Global Governance
• Security
• International Political Economy
• International Organizations
• Current Issues and Further Questions.

The Major Philosophy and Society includes, but is not limited to, the following core subject areas:

• Game Theory and Social Structure
• Advanced Philosophy of Economics
• Ethics and Society
• History of Economic Ideas in the Context of Social Philosophy
• Current Issues and Further Questions.

The educational approach of Witten/Herdecke is unique. We have created an active community of students and professors around each of our degree programmes. Hence, as a student of PPE in Witten, you will interact with exceptionally talented, involved, committed and sociable people.

Classes are kept small and teaching is interactive to the core, fostering discussion and avoiding a ‘chalk and talk’ frontal teaching style. In particular, each semester our students are involved in designing the curriculum of the upcoming semester. The Studium fundamentale allows students to integrate courses in music, literature, art, history,  archaeology and many more into their degrees. The possibility to choose between three majors and to conduct independent studies allows for a high degree of individuality in the students’ course portfolio.

The excellent international reputation of our university helps us to attract internationally renowned scholars for talks and seminars at Witten/Herdecke University. In fact, the University partners with students in selecting and inviting international lecturers. Our network of partner organisations helps PPE students to pave their way to a successful career in Germany and abroad.

Any non-EU national who has been offered a place to study the M.A. Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Witten/Herdecke University, starting in the winter semester.

The scholarship covers 934 Euros per month for two years (the amount is set by the German Federal Foreign Office and is the amount needed to apply for a visa).

The scholarship application for the winter semester is open from 23 March till 30 April. The decision will be communicated in May. Please see the guidelines for all terms and conditions regarding the PPE scholarship and use the application form. You need to have your place at Witten/Herdecke University for M.A. PPE confirmed before you apply for the scholarship. This process can take up to two months, so make sure to apply for the M.A PPE programme in plenty of time before the scholarship application window opens.

Guidelines for all terms and conditions

Application form

You would like to apply for the study programme Philosophy, Politics and Economics (M.A.)? These are the next steps:

1.  Please note our dates for application, selection day & enrolment.

2.  Click on the link to our online application portal UWE.

3.  Set up a personal applicant profile in the online application portal.

4.  Fill in all the required fields for your application.

5.  Upload all required documents to the online application portal UWE. You will find an overview of all required documents under "Application documents".

Before beginning your studies at Witten/Herdecke University, please keep in mind the following dates:

• Application:
  The degree programme starts each year in the winter semester (1 October). We offer a rolling application process: This means that you can apply all year round and thus secure your study place at an early date.
   
• Admission Seminar:
  After having positively assessed your submitted and complete application during pre-selection, we invite you to an admission seminar. This takes place either at our university or – for applicants from abroad – in the form of online interviews. It is important to us that these discussions are not conducted as a test. Rather, they are about getting to know you as a person while giving you the opportunity to get to know us. Your interview partners will be professors, scientific staff and students of our faculty, as well as alumni of the programme and external experts from business, culture and politics.
  
  Together with you, we want to find out if the Philosophy, Politics and Economics programme suits you with its content, requirements and objectives. In many cases we will talk about
  • your interest in research- and application-centred issues concerning corporate and organizational structures,
  • your motivation for graduate management studies taking a holistic approach to organizations,
  • your enthusiasm for innovative and entrepreneurial ideas, as well as
    your creativity and your personal commitment.
• Enrolment:
  Only a few days after the admission seminar you will be informed whether we can offer you a study place depending on the outcome of the interview. If the places for the next start of studies are already taken, we will put your name on a waiting list. At the same time, we will offer you a secure study place for the winter semester of the following year. You can find out whether there are still places available for the upcoming winter semester anytime by contacting our application office.
  If we offer you a study place, take advantage of the opportunity to enrol early.
  
  Please note our enrolment period:
  For the winter semester:           1 May until 15 October

Please note:
If you are an EU national and plan to start studying at UW/H in a particular year, the deadline for submitting your application is 31 July of that year. Prospective students from non-EU countries should submit their application and additional documents well before the deadline as they may have to obtain a visa, which requires further paperwork. The time needed to complete this process with the German authorities can vary considerably from one country to another and may take six months or longer. It is therefore advisable to check early enough with the German embassy or consulate in your country in order to find out about visa processing times and to submit your application early enough.

Please do not hesitate to contact our applications office for any queries and questions you may have. If due to reasons beyond your control you manage to apply on short notice only, we will always do our very best to find an individual solution for you.

Your application needs to be submitted via our online application portal UWE. After setting up your personal applicant account, please enter all the necessary data and upload the following required documents:

• Proof of an academic qualification in economics, business or management, or in a multidisciplinary degree programme including economics, business or management with at least 180 ECTS credits or a regular period of study of at least six semesters (please see “Admission requirements” for further details). If your degree certificate is not yet available, please submit the current transcript of records.
   
• A tabular CV
   
• A letter of motivation that addresses the following issues:
  • Why do you want to study this specific Master’s degree? (max. 1 page)
  • Reflect on a current political issue that is related to the content of the master’s program (max. 1 page).
  • Please describe a personal team experience which was either very good or very bad, and analyze your contribution/experience (max. 1.5 pages).
• Proof of English proficiency
  Required English skills:
  CEFR: B2
  IELTS: 6.5
  TOEFL iBT: 83
  Successful completion of a degree programme in an English-speaking country or proof of completion of an English-language programme of at least one year is considered equivalent.
  All language certificates should not be older than four years at the time of application.
   
• A deposit/transfer receipt (copy) of the application fee* of 50 €.
  The application fee should be transferred to the following bank account:
  Universität Witten/Herdecke
  IBAN: DE06 4525 0035 0000 4530 35
  BIC: WELADED1WTN (Sparkasse Witten)
  Reference: Application fee WiGe + name of the applicant
  
  Alternatively, you can transfer the application fee to our PayPal-Account fibu@uni-wh.de.
   
• If you would like to send us further documents, such as internship certificates or evidence of your economic, social, sporting or political commitment, you can do so by email to application.fmes@uni-wh.de

*Why an application fee?
Witten/Herdecke University does not allocate its study places based on a numerus clausus, but on a personal selection procedure. Professors, academic staff and students, among others, review the application documents and interview the selected applicants. The application fee is a service charge to cover the expenses of this very complex procedure. Therefore, we cannot refund this fee in case the applicant cannot be offered a study place or the applicant refuses the study place.

Check visa and financial proof

To avoid disappointment later on, please find out whether you need a visa and what requirements you have to fulfil. If you want to study with us, you may be required to provide financial proof when applying for a visa, showing you have the finances to pay:

• accomodation
• living expenses
• health insurance
• etc.

You will find detailed information on visa requirements and regulations here.

Access to the applicant portal