Political scientists: career paths and job opportunities

Round table discussion

What career opportunities are open to graduates in political science? What qualifications are expected of political scientists at their first job? Is a bachelor's degree enough to compete in today's job market? Or is a master's degree needed for career growth? These and other questions will be answered by graduated political scientists working in different fields. They will speak about their working life and give advice on how to manage the transition from student to working life successfully. The event takes place in the context of the mentoring program of the Institute of Political Science. The flyer can be found here.

Wednisday, 16 December 2015 | 16:00 - 18:00
LB 134 | Campus Duisburg

On 19 November, students of the MA program "International Relations and Development Policy" debated on the subject "Does more Europe mean superpower Europe?". Oliver Schwarz was member of the jury of this event. The debate took place in the context of the debating series "NRW debates Europe". For more information, please click here.

On Tuesday, the 12 November, Oliver Schwarz held a presentation on "The European Parliament and the Europeanization of national parliaments, voters and political parties". The presentation was held in the context of the BA lecture "Introduction to European Integration" of Prof. Dr. Michael Kaeding.

On Monday, the 9 November, Oliver Schwarz held a presentation on "EU enlargement: goals and preliminary results". The presentation was held in the context of the MA course "Transformation of political regimes in Eastern Europe " of Prof. Dr. Susanne Pickel.

The Bachelor thesis "Euroscepticism - an empirical analysis of economic, political and cultural reasons" has been given the 2015 award of the Institute of Political Science. Oliver Schwarz and Prof. Dr. Susanne Pickel who have both supervised the thesis congratulate Lea Santkiewitch for this award!

On 9 November, Oliver Schwarz will participate in a debate at the VHS Duisburg. For more information, please click here.

With the beginning of lectures consultation hours of Oliver Schwarz will take place in LF 321 Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11:30 beginning on 4 November 2015 and ending on 10 February 2016. To make an appointment, please click here.

On 16 October, Oliver Schwarz presented the mentoring program of the Institute of Political Science to more than 200 new students of the BA Political Science program. The event took place in context of the faculty's project weeks on the occasion of study start.

The latest publication by Oliver Schwarz is available now. The book has been jointly edited with Matthias Lemke, Toralf Stark and Kristina Weissenbach. It examines the various perspectives from political science and sociology on legitimacy and legitimacy practice. For more information, please click here.

From 21 to 25 September, the DVPW Congress will take place at the University of Duisburg-Essen. In the panel on differentiated integration Oliver Schwarz will discuss on his paper "Two plus three plus two: Options of differentiation vis-à-vis the freedom of movement of workers in an enlarged European Union". The panel will take place on Thursday, 21 September, from 16:00 to 18:30 in room LB 134. For more information on the DVPW Congress, please click here.

From 26 to 29 August, Oliver Schwarz will participate at the ECPR General Conference in Montreal. In the panel on "European Union Enlargement" he will discuss on his paper "Two Steps forward One Step back: What Shapes the Dynamics of European Enlargement?". Another paper with the title "Exploring the Impact of the Energy Community: A True Pan-European Single Market or Different Worlds of Compliance?" will be presented at the panel on "EU Energy, the Environment and EU Policy-making". The conference participation is funded by DAAD. For more information on the General Conference, please click here.

Two steps forward, one step back - Oliver Schwarz and Sandrino Smeets (Radboud University Nijmegen) will present their research on the dynamics of European enlargement. Their presentation takes place in the context of the Midday Forum (Mittagsforum) "Political decisions in context" of the Institute of Political Science on 15 July from 12:45 to 13:45. For more information, please click here.

Macedonia and other countries in the region have substantial business and trade relations with Greece that would be endangered if the country suffered more economic turmoil. In his interview with WDR 5 Oliver Schwarz explains the implications of the Greek crisis. For more information, please click here.

On 20 June 2015, Oliver Schwarz will held a presentation on "Decision making in EU foreign and security policy" at the Theodor-Heuss-Akademie in Gummersbach. For more information and a detailed programme, please click here.

The latest issue of the scientific journal "Südosteuropa Mitteilungen" contains a review of Finn Laursen edited book "EU enlargement - Current Challenges and Strategic Choices" written by Oliver Schwarz. For more information, please click here.

On 23 June 2015, Dr. Thomas Brey, chief correspondent of the German News Agency dpa for Southeastern Europe in Belgrade, will give a speech on the topic "Croatia: Recovery or Stagnation?". The event is organized by the Southeast Europe Association (Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft). All people interested are welcome. For more information, please click here.

On 17 June, Oliver Schwarz discusses the latest developments of EU migration policy with Nicolaus Kern. Nicolaus Kern is chairperson of the Committee for Europe and One World of NRW and speaker for European affairs of the Pirate Party. For more information, please click here. The discussion takes place at:

Konferenz- und Beratungszentrum „Der Kleine Prinz“
Schwanenstraße 5, 47051 Duisburg
Begin: 18:00 p.m.

On accasion of the FDP federal party conference in Berlin Oliver Schwarz spoke about the liberal idea in Europe. He took part in the radio broadcast "Der Tag" of the Hessian Broadcasting Corporation. His interview with hr2 moderator Oliver Glaap is available as a podcast.

On Friday, the 8 May 2015, Oliver Schwarz analyses the results of the United Kingdom general election together with Prof. Dr. Michael Kaeding. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. in LF 310 (Rotunde) at Campus Duisburg. There will be a live link to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Coffee and tee will be available.

On accasion of the Europe Week Oliver Schwarz discusses the European Year for Development 2015. The discussion takes place within an event co-organized by the Peace Academy Rhineland-Palatinate (Friedensakademie Rheinland-Pfalz). For more information, please click here.

On 21 April 2015, Roman Franz, chairman of the Regional Association of Sinti and Roma in NRW, will give a speech on the topic "Sinti and Roma: Europe's undesirable citizens?". The event is organized by the Southeast Europe Association (Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft). All people interested are welcome. For more information, please click here.

With the beginning of summer semester, consultation hours of Oliver Schwarz will take place in LF 321 Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. beginning on 15 April and ending on 15 July. To make an appointment, please click here.

On 7 May 2015, the general election takes place. Prime minister David Cameron has promised a referendum on the future of Great Britain's relationship with Europe by 2017. No UK election has been so thrilling, the outcome has never been so uncertain and the campaign themes so important - not only for British voters but also for Germany and Europe. The full analysis of Oliver Schwarz can be found on Regierungsfoschung.de.

Werner Weidenfeld and Wolfgang Wessels (eds.)
Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration 2014
Baden-Baden: Nomos 2014
ISBN 978-3-8487-1931-0

The Yearbook of European Integration from the Institute for European Politics has since 1980 closely documented and analysed the process of European integration. For the sixth time in a row Oliver Schwarz portrays in his contribution the latest developments in the EU's accession candidate Macedonia.

On 19 February, the University of Duisburg-Essen held its Pupils' info day 2015. In order to introduce interested pupils to the study program of the Institute of Political Science, Oliver Schwarz held a presentation and answered questions about the BA in Political Science.

The consultation hours of Oliver Schwarz during semester break are available online on Doodle. To make an appointment, please click here.

In January, 26 students took part in a three-part workshop on MAXQDA. The workshop was held by Dr. Steven Engler from the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI). It was integrated in the teaching research project "Practical methodology application: The freedom of movement. Local challenges in an enlarged European Union" of Oliver Schwarz. The workshop was financed by the QVM program budget.

On 7 January, the city of Duisburg has been honored as "Europe active commune in NRW". The special award was presented by NRW-Europe Minister Dr. Schwall-Düren to Mayor Sören Link. Oliver Schwarz attended the ceremony that took place in the city hall and congratulates award-winner Duisburg. A press report on this event can be found on Der Westen. For more information on the award, please click here.

Two students of my finished teaching research project "20 Years of European Citizenship: Progress and Challenges" have produced a short video on our activities. The video was coproduced with the Europe Direct Information Centre Duisburg and the city's directorate of communication. It can be found here.

Due to the announcement of reforms in the educational system, Macedonia is witnessing its largest protest movement since the country's independence in 1991. On that occasion Oliver Schwarz gave an interview to the international broadcaster "Deutsche Welle". His interview can be found here.