The aim of the bachelor’s degree programme in political science is to train competitive, academically educated and qualified professionals for Latvian state, society and local government; to train professionals with in-depth knowledge on domestic and international processes as well as interactions between the two;
– to train researchers for both academic and professional institutions.
The achievement of the aforementioned aims and the implementation of the aforementioned tasks make it possible to plan achievable results in the study programme.

Specific knowledge about:
– Major aspects of political theory and relevant issues;
– The way in which political thought emerges, how it is linked to practical politics, and why the history of political ideas is important in present-day politics;
– Political events in Latvia and links between political development in Latvia and the development of the rest of the world, as well as about Latvia’s political system;
– Political processes in Latvia and the world, factors which influence them, and Latvia’s political role and situation in the international environment;
– Circumstances of the functioning of societies and the identification and implementation of policies;
– Various approaches and methods in studying politics, the importance and measurement of data, fundamental principles of data processing and analysis, as well as use of statistical methods;
– Models and theories of operational policies, fundamental problems of public policy;
– Quantitative and qualitative methods in analysing operational problems and alternatives;
– The functions and organisation of political and social institutions in Latvia;
– Theoretical aspects and multiple explanations of international politics and foreign policy;
– Various theories about ideologies and the role of ideologies in a modern society.

Specific skills:
Professional skills (Critical and analytical thinking;
Descriptive and inferential analysis of empirical data;
Analysis of scholarly texts, identifying the author’s message and primary arguments;
Analysis of various bilateral and multilateral political negotiation processes;
Analysis of practical situations in public governance;

Preparation and analysis of national, regional and local policy planning and territorial development plans;
Independent analysis of problems and dilemmas in public governance;
Analysis of normative acts;
Drafting of important documents for institutions of public governance;
Evaluation of election processes on the basis of various voting models and analysis of voter behaviour; Processing and presenting information and arguing on behalf of the student’s views;

Studying independently;
Learning new skills; analysing the structure of political parties, NGOs and the Civil Service, also evaluating the work of the Civil Service).

Organisational skills related to becoming involved in the work of political and public institutions, shaping the structure and design of the relevant organisations;
– to being responsible in relation to defined tasks and being able to take decisions;
– to planning the student’s professional growth and career.

Communications skills related to high-quality and creative work at the national and the international level;
– to working for state and non-governmental organisations;
– to lobbying on behalf of specific operational policies;
– to working in a group, discussing and critically evaluating the research work done by the student and by fellow students, always taking the norms of academic and professional ethics into account.