IOCM student taking notes

Before your Studies

IOCM student taking notes
Image: Rebecca Bück

How to Apply

Submit your application to the Master Service Center of Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

IOCM takes in new students for winter terms only. This year’s application deadlines have expired. IOCM's next intake will be for the winter term 2025/26.

Your application has to include the following documents:

  • Letter of Motivation
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Bachelor Certificate (or equivalent)
  • Transcript of Records
  • Language Certificate

The application, including all documents, must be in English.

Additionally, you need to submit documents certifying optional entries on the application platform, such as proofs of your study abroad, work experience, or further language proficiencies.

Further information can be found in the Online Application Walkthrough for an Application for a Master’s Program provided by the Master Service Center.

The selection committee meets twice (in early June for international applications and in late June for German applications) and will inform each applicant about the decision as soon as possible thereafter. We look forward to your application!

Admission Requirements

You can gain admission to our program through two tracks. Read both of them carefully. If you do not meet the stricter criteria of track 1 you might still be admitted based on the criteria of track 2:

 

Track 1

Track 2

You will have access to our graduate program if you meet the following requirements:

  • You hold a first professional qualification (Bachelor or equivalent) with at least 90 credit points in the field of political science and an overall grade of 1.5 or better.
  • You have acquired at least 20 credit points from classes focused on international relations or international organisations.
  • You have acquired at least 15 credit points in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
  • You have completed at least one job-oriented internship in international relations or international organisations or studied one semester abroad.
  • Your proficiency in English corresponds to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

If you do not sufficiently meet any of the first four requirements of track I, but your overall grade is at least 2.3 and your studies, curriculum vitae and motivation indicate a particular fit for our program, you may also be admitted upon consideration of the following factors:

  • The scope and grades of the courses, which are particularly relevant for our Master program, as well as the final thesis of your first academic qualification;
  • your international experiences as they relate to IOCM;
  • your practical experiences and additional qualifications, which may be relevant for our program; and
  • your individual areas of interest and reflections on the content and requirements of our Master program, as indicated in your letter of motivation and your curriculum vitae, which inform us about your background, knowledge and skills as well as your personal goals and your capacity to study successfully.

Due to the interdisciplinary character of our master's program, we very much welcome applicants from relevant disciplines beyond political science, such as European Studies, International Law and Sociology. We do not expect you to meet all the requirements of track 1. Most important for our Master program is the relevance of your first academic qualification.

Please be aware that you might receive an offer with certain conditions. There is no waiver on the C1 level requirement for English language proficiency. However, if other criteria such as the methods requirements are not fully met, you may be permitted to fulfil these requirements during the first three semesters of the program.

If you cannot submit proofs of your prior academic qualification (e.g. because your Bachelor thesis is still pending), you can hand in your most current transcript of records, provided you can document the attainment of at least 140 ECTS or equivalent. 

The application process might include a personal interview, which we can arrange via Zoom.

After evaluating all applications, we will inform you as soon as possible whether you have been accepted into our program.