Study programme

Below you will find the course schedule of the Master's programme Research in Public Organisation and Organisational Science. Please note: The course offering is revised regularly and is therefore subject to changes.

You can also download the Master's programme Research in Public Administration and Organisational Science complete curriculum as a PDF-file for easy reference. 

The three pillars of this two-year Master's programme are: 

  1. The first pillar contains the core theoretical themes in the field of Public Administration and Organisational Science, such as public policy and governance, public management, bureaucracy and public service, and human resource management. These courses connect classic theories to cutting-edge research. You will both develop knowledge about theories and learn to apply them in research. It offers room to develop your personal interests through a tailor-made tutorial.
  2. The second pillar consists of a broad range of courses that focus on philosophy of science, research design, and a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods.
  3. The third pillar consists of both academic and applied research projects, such as a (smaller) applied research (group) project at the end of the first year and a (larger) individual thesis at the end of the second year.
Governance students

International study climate

We offer an international programme and aim for a diverse group of students. In the previous years, we have had students from Canada, Colombia, China, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, the United States and other countries. The mixed nature of the student group contributes to an international classroom. Connections to the international academic community and international practice are of great importance. For this reason, the programme starts with a study trip to another European country. In the past years, students visited Lille, Barcelona, Lisbon & Helsinki for example. These trips are organised by the second year students and form a strong international start of the programme. In addition, we encourage students to do a summer- or winter school abroad. Finally, the programme offers students the option to write the thesis alongside an (international) internship in the second semester of the second year.

Educational and examination methods

Below you can see the overview of the educational and examination methods in this programme.

Extra opportunities

Utrecht University offers several honours programmes for students looking for an extra challenge. Honours education is followed on top of your regular Master's programme and goes beyond the regular curriculum.

Read more about the honours programmes