2024-2025

Bachelor in Political Sciences : General

Schedule

regular course
ECTS Credits 180

Presentation
Programme
Opportunities

Your bachelor's degree begins with a broad training in human sciences (political economy, law, philosophy, history, sociology, media information) and analytical tools (qualitative methods, statistics and database).

You will learn to master the basics of the four major axes of the discipline: political sociology, analysis of public action, theory and history of political ideas, and international and European relations.

By the second block, you're right at the heart of what makes political science so special! You'll master Belgian politics and power games at national, European and international levels. The international aspect of your training becomes clearer thanks to courses in economic relations, international relations, public law and European institutions, international economic policy... but also thanks to meetings with professionals in the field.

You're off to a good start

you want to master the mechanisms of how our society works;
you want to participate directly in the management of our society and its evolution;
you are passionate about current affairs and political issues at national, European and international levels;
you have an analytical and critical mind;
you express yourself fluently orally and in writing and wish to do so in other languages.

Teaching methods

Courses, exercise sessions, project coaching, meetings with industry professionals... everything is done to ensure excellent mastery of concepts and the development of practical skills.

From the outset, you learn to identify political phenomena, search for information, analyze data and propose concrete actions in response to various institutional, economic, social, and diplomatic challenges.

Throughout your training, you develop communication skills, not only in French, but also in two other languages: English and Dutch or German or Spanish. From Block 2 onwards, several courses are taught entirely in English and are based on individual and directed readings, learning the vocabulary of the discipline, group discussion sessions...

During seminars and numerous practical assignments, you meet officials from international institutions, Belgian politicians and representatives of civil society. Thanks to their experiences, you'll take a fresh look at the pillars of political science to become specialists in them.

At the heart of political issues right from the baccalaureate!

Project-based learning crosses and mobilizes your knowledge of several disciplines around concrete cases.

Like true policy experts, you learn to work collaboratively and demonstrate multiple skills:

from observation, documentary research, source criticism, data collection and analysis;
to the production of a high-quality report - with, in some cases, a policy brief written in English - which you and your team present before a jury.

To boost your foreign-language communication soft skills, coaching is provided by your language teachers.

Learning by doing pedagogy

projects take an increasingly important part in your bachelor's course, through concrete and diversified political science cases:

IN BLOCK 1:

Observing actors and their communication 2.0
- How do political actors position themselves in the paper, audiovisual and digital media?
- A task of observation, identification and description that you carry out in your Block 1 Project "Deciphering political communication".

IN BLOCK 2:

Explain the evolution of public policies in our societies in transitions
- How are our societies adapting in a changing world?
- Through a qualitative field survey, you analyze and describe how public authorities and field actors are responding to the societal challenges of the 21st century: Block project 2 "Policy-making in transforming societies".

IN BLOCK 3:

Acting like actors in negotiation simulations
- How to use argumentation and negotiation to reach agreements?
- Your Block 3 project "European integration: learning theories in negotiation role-plays"places you at the heart of the action. You embody the Member States' negotiators through a "European triologue" between the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament.

International experience

At the end of your bachelor's degree, you will have the opportunity to study in France (Université de Montpellier, Université Catholique de Lille...), the Netherlands (Maastricht University), the United States (Creighton University), Spain (Valencia University, Loyola Andalusia University), Italy (Sacred Heart University-Milan, Salerno University) or Germany (Trier University).

Success aids

Succeeding in a year of study at university involves many challenges.

To help you meet them, UNamur supports you in developing your disciplinary, methodological and human skills... with the support of numerous professionals.

Preparatory courses, individualized help...

Find out more about our training programs.

After the baccalauréat: the master's degree

The bachelor's degree in political science at UNamur gives access to master's degrees at all the universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, such as the master's degree in political science (general orientation or international relations), the master's degree in public administration, or the master's degree in European studies.

But many Université de Namur students decide to pursue their studies at prestigious universities abroad (Sciences Po Paris, King's College London, University of Edinburgh, School of Oriental and African Studies - SOAS, University of Amsterdam....).

Cycle
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
EPICB160	Political Science	45h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB118	Introduction to diplomacy	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB260	History of political ideas	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB217	Democracies, Populisms and Extremism	30h th. + 15h ex.
LHISB204	Belgian political structures and institutions in contemporary times	45h th.
EPOLB317	Public governance	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB362	International Relations Theories	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB364	Belgian and comparative policy issues	45h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
ECGEB130	Foundations of law	45h th. + 15h ex.
DROIB102	Constitutional law	75h th. + 6h ex.
EPOLB315	History and law of international relations	60h th.
DROIB210	EU Institutional law	45h th.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
ECGEB170	Economic facts and decisions	45h th. + 15h ex.
ECGEB270	Macroeconomics	45h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB304	Analysis of (inter)national economic discourse	30h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
ECGEB140	Sociology	45h th. + 15h ex.
ECGEB121	Economic and social history	45h th. + 7.5h ex.
ECGEB120	Philosophy	45h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB142	Communication and media literacy	45h th. + 15h ex.
ECGEB322	Civic engagement	15h th. + 30h ex.
ECGEB321	Religious Studies	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB322	Anthropology	30h th. + 30h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
ECGEB110	Information Systems I: Introduction and Modelling	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB154	Statistics for the humanities I	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB214	Criticism of information sources	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB225	Statistics for the social sciences	15h th. + 30h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
EPICB131	Project: Deciphering political communication	37.5h th. + 30h ex.
EPOLB221	Research Project : Policy-making in transforming societies	75h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB322	Project : European Integration. Learning Theories in Negotiation Role-plays	60h th. + 50h ex.

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EELVB190	Anglais 1 (niveau B1+)	30h th.
EELVB290	English 2 (level B1+ or higher)	30h th.
EELVB390	English 3 (level B2)	30h th.

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EELVB196	Spanish 1 (minimum level A2)	30h th.
EELVB296	Español 2 (nivel B1 o superior)	30h th.
EELVB396	Español 3 (nivel B1+ o superior)	30h th.

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EELVB192	German 1 (minimum level A2)	30h th.
EELVB292	Deutsch 2 (Level B1)	30h th.
EELVB392	Deutsch 3 (mindestens level B1+)	30h th.

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EELVB181	Kritische benadering van socio-economische onderwerpen	30h th.
EELVB281	De Vlaamse/Nederlandse bedrijfswereld - interculturaliteit	30h th.
EELVB381	Bedrijfscommunicatie en sollicitatiegesprekken – B2	30h th.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
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EELVB191	Elementair Nederlands: basisgrammatica, -woordenschat en dagelijkse situaties	30h th.
EELVB291	Mondelinge en schriftelijke communicatie in het alledaagse Nederlands	30h th.
EELVB391	Mondelinge en schriftelijke communicatie op de werkvloer -B1	30h th.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
EPOLB216	New social and political conflicts	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB308	Theories of democracy and democratic innovations	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB309	Ecological governance	30h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Th.+Ex.	Credits/Block
			1	2	3
FINT0027	Historical introduction to the main non-European civilisations ("Arab-Muslim world - Sub-Saharan Africa" module)	45h th.
LHISB319	War and Strategy in Late Modern History	30h th.
ECGEB375	International economic relations	30h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
EPICB160	Political Science	5	45h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB118	Introduction to diplomacy	5		30h th. + 15h ex.

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	ECGEB130	Foundations of law		5	45h th. + 15h ex.

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	ECGEB170	Economic facts and decisions		5	45h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
ECGEB140	Sociology	5		45h th. + 15h ex.
ECGEB121	Economic and social history	5		45h th. + 7.5h ex.
ECGEB120	Philosophy	5		45h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB142	Communication and media literacy	5	45h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
ECGEB110	Information Systems I: Introduction and Modelling	4	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB154	Statistics for the humanities I	5	30h th. + 15h ex.

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	EPICB131	Project: Deciphering political communication		5		37.5h th. + 30h ex.

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	EELVB190	Anglais 1 (niveau B1+)		3	20h th.	10h th.

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	EELVB196	Spanish 1 (minimum level A2)		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB192	German 1 (minimum level A2)		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB181	Kritische benadering van socio-economische onderwerpen		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB191	Elementair Nederlands: basisgrammatica, -woordenschat en dagelijkse situaties		3	15h th.	15h th.

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EPOLB260	History of political ideas	5		30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB217	Democracies, Populisms and Extremism	5	30h th. + 15h ex.
LHISB204	Belgian political structures and institutions in contemporary times	5		45h th.

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	DROIB102	Constitutional law		5	38h th. + 3h ex.	37h th. + 3h ex.

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	ECGEB270	Macroeconomics		5	45h th. + 15h ex.

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ECGEB322	Civic engagement	4		15h th. + 30h ex.
ECGEB321	Religious Studies	4	30h th. + 15h ex.

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EPOLB214	Criticism of information sources	5	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPICB225	Statistics for the social sciences	5	15h th. + 30h ex.

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	Code	Name	Staff	Credits	Hours/Quarter
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	EPOLB221	Research Project : Policy-making in transforming societies		10	45h th. + 7h ex.	30h th. + 8h ex.

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	EELVB290	English 2 (level B1+ or higher)		3	30h th.

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	EELVB296	Español 2 (nivel B1 o superior)		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB292	Deutsch 2 (Level B1)		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB281	De Vlaamse/Nederlandse bedrijfswereld - interculturaliteit		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB291	Mondelinge en schriftelijke communicatie in het alledaagse Nederlands		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EPOLB216	New social and political conflicts		5		30h th. + 15h ex.

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	FINT0027	Historical introduction to the main non-European civilisations ("Arab-Muslim world - Sub-Saharan Africa" module)		5	22.5h th.	22.5h th.

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EPOLB317	Public governance	5	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB362	International Relations Theories	5	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB364	Belgian and comparative policy issues	5		45h th. + 15h ex.

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EPOLB315	History and law of international relations	5		60h th.
DROIB210	EU Institutional law	5	45h th.

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	EPOLB304	Analysis of (inter)national economic discourse		4		30h th. + 15h ex.

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	EPICB322	Anthropology		5		30h th. + 30h ex.

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	EPOLB322	Project : European Integration. Learning Theories in Negotiation Role-plays		10	30h th. + 20h ex.	30h th. + 30h ex.

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	EELVB390	English 3 (level B2)		3	30h th.

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	EELVB396	Español 3 (nivel B1+ o superior)		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB392	Deutsch 3 (mindestens level B1+)		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB381	Bedrijfscommunicatie en sollicitatiegesprekken – B2		3	15h th.	15h th.

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	EELVB391	Mondelinge en schriftelijke communicatie op de werkvloer -B1		3	15h th.	15h th.

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EPOLB308	Theories of democracy and democratic innovations	5	30h th. + 15h ex.
EPOLB309	Ecological governance	5		30h th. + 15h ex.

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Code	Name	Credits	Hours/Quarter
			1	2
LHISB319	War and Strategy in Late Modern History	5	30h th.
ECGEB375	International economic relations	5		30h th. + 15h ex.

Les métiers essentiels pour les grands défis de demain

Essential professions for tomorrow's major challenges

Power, power and decisions

As political scientists, you master the principles through which society is structured.

Experts in understanding the mechanisms of power and political, economic and social life, you unravel the secrets and stakes of public action on the local, regional, national and international scene.

The history of democracy, liberalism and nationalism, as well as your knowledge of economics, law, history and philosophy, enable you to take a critical look at today's society. This unique ability to cross viewpoints sets you apart and places you among the players best prepared to understand and help the world we live in evolve.

Political life

Graduates play an active role in political life within ministerial cabinets, political parties, trade unions, parliamentary groups... They follow debates and prepare in-depth dossiers on specific issues for elected representatives.

National and international public administration

Whatever the level of power (federal, community, regional, provincial or communal), political scientists are apt to manage day-to-day affairs in all public services (health, interior, finance, education, foreign affairs...).

Many graduates dream of working for an international organization (European Union, NATO, FAO...). Competitive examinations and national quotas limit job opportunities in this sector. Nevertheless, most of these institutions offer internships to young graduates, which can, in some cases, increase the chances of landing a job there as a contract worker.

Associative world

From neighborhood committees to development aid organizations in the broadest sense, there are many associations where political science graduates can put themselves at the service of public affairs. There, they perform research, decision-making or management functions.

Other sectors

Political scientists can work in the media or become spokespersons for political organizations, provided, of course, that they demonstrate specific personal aptitudes, or even benefit from additional training. Large private companies (banks, consultancies...) appreciate the international outlook of certain political scientists, to whom they entrust missions where links with foreign countries are now crucial.

Key players in society

Capable of using legal, sociological, political and economic knowledge to develop a coherent narrative on a given subject, political scientists have a wide sphere of professional action. When it comes to landing a first job, in addition to mastery of analytical methods (qualitative and quantitative), proficiency in languages and a wealth of commitment, particularly in the associative world, will often be decisive.

Architects of public action

Political science students share a strong sense of public interest, both locally and globally. Indeed, it's to encourage this openness to the world that UNamur offers students in this field the chance to take an Erasmus trip as early as the third bachelor's block.

Changing society requires an understanding of its innermost workings. At the end of their training, political scientists master the workings of Belgian and/or international institutions, as well as the economics and management of public affairs. They are prepared to draw up action programs, both realistic and respectful of constraints, in response to increasingly complex societal problems.

Studies in political science also develop the ability to communicate in French and foreign languages. Political scientists must be able to explain what they do and rigorously defend the results of their action.