Profile
Trnava University was the second institution in Slovakia to offer political science after the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava. The programme was established in 1992 following the 1989 revolution. The Department of Political Science aims to educate students and help them develop a critical understanding of politics, its processes, its institutions, and key social challenges.
The department specialises in political philosophy, modern ideologies, and the foundations of political and philosophical anthropology. It also offers a compulsory core curriculum that covers international relations, the history of diplomacy, political history, the history of political thought, political theory, comparative politics, social policy, public policy, electoral systems, and party systems. The curriculum also includes other areas of political science.
To date, the department’s research, publications, and teaching have focused primarily on issues of democratic transformation. They also address the relationship between ethics and politics. The department also examines how societies come to terms with the totalitarian past, the development of Slovak political thought, Slovak history, and European integration.
Graduate scope
The programme in political science at our department extends and deepens students’ knowledge, especially in political theory, the history of political thought, democratic theory, comparative politics, international relations and diplomacy, political history, and political philosophy. The aim of the department is to educate graduates who will gain a comprehensive and critical understanding of politics as a sphere of human activity. Graduates acquire intellectual competencies that enable them to understand new and changing problems and challenges in political research as well as in practical political life. They are prepared to respond to these challenges in a responsible and informed way.
Graduates are able to apply their skills in a wide range of professional settings. Their competencies include analytical thinking, communication, strategic planning, and persuasive argumentation. Our graduates work in public administration at the state and local levels, in journalism, in research, and in the private sector.
Graduates can also work as secondary school teachers after completing additional teacher training.