Comparative and Middle East Politics and Society (CMEPS)

The CMEPS programme features a unique structure to hone students’ skills in their original area of knowledge and to add another complementary academic discipline to their portfolios. Tübingen's CMEPS programme kicks off with an intensive introductory political science course before the start of the semester. A study trip to international organisations, development agencies, and important political and cultural institutions takes place in the winter of the first semester at Tübingen University. Students with an area studies background at Tübingen and students at AUC pursue the “Political Science” profile. They focus on courses in research methods and theories of political science and non-native speakers take some courses in advanced Arabic. Students with a Political Science background at Tübingen pursue the “Arabic” profile and take intensive Arabic language courses for beginners during the first two semesters. Throughout the first three semesters, all students take the core CMEPS political science courses such as Comparative Politics of the Middle East, Regime Change and Democratisation, Comparative Theories of Political Science, and International Cooperation and Development. Additionally, students can choose a few elective courses during their first three semesters. This could, for example, be a course on international relations or the political economy of the Middle East, international migration governance, social movements, development cooperation, conflict analysis, the political impact of new media, or political regime analysis. During their third semester, CMEPS students do a semester at the respective partner university. Abroad, Tübingen students take Arabic courses, a political science course, and an elective course at AUC. Students from the AUC usually complete one core CMEPS course as well as elective courses during their stay at Tübingen. The students also take German classes at the University of Tübingen. Furthermore, students start working on their Master's theses during the third semester and prepare their thesis proposals for the International CMEPS Colloquium in January. Tübingen students then return to Tübingen and present, together with their fellow students from AUC, their MA thesis proposals at a joint colloquium with professors from both universities. During their fourth semester, students write their MA theses and complete their oral defence vis-a-vis the examiners of both universities. During one of the semester breaks or during the fourth semester, students complete an internship.