Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, UMCS
Głęboka 45, 20-612 Lublin, Poland

Master of Arts (MA) |  Full time studies |  2 years/ 4 semesters |  English |   ECTS 120

Understanding the contemporary international political reality, which is increasingly complex and in which information and its flows play an increasingly important role, requires knowledge and skills in many fields.

The “International Political Communication” study offer meets this condition, offering a wide spectrum of competences in the field of international relations (with their complexity, dynamics and multidimensionality); contemporary civilization challenges (climate change, new challenges and threats, a need to reformulate development strategies); political communication; political decision-making in the conditions of the information society; cognitive science, sociology and social psychology; the use of technology in the process of political communication; critical and analytical thinking about the instruments and consequences of political communication.

An important feature of the studies is the combination of general knowledge in particular fields with practical skills – in almost 40 courses, taught at two specializations, classes will be conducted by both experienced academic teachers and expert practitioners.

Specializations

• Strategic communication
• AI and New Media International Political Communication

Opportunities during the studying

Students will have the opportunity to study in an international environment, and classes will be conducted not only by specialists from UMCS, but also from other universities and institutions – from abroad. Moreover, students will be able to develop their interests within students’ academic societies and during internships, as well as during study visits to institutions related to the subject of studies (international organizations, state institutions, media, etc.).

Studies at the UMCS Faculty of Political Science and Journalism also provide the opportunity to meet interesting people from the world of politics, diplomacy, media and culture. UMCS also offers the opportunity to develop personal competences, social activity (students’ organizations, students’ self-government) and entrepreneurship (Academic Incubator of Entrepreneurship) and practicing sports (Physical Culture Center).

As part of programs to internationalize the teaching process, students can, among others, participate in the Erasmus student exchange program. Students can also count on psychological support. Lublin, as a large urban center, also offers various opportunities for students to find work.

Strengths

The study program in the field of “International Political Communication” proposed by UMCS stands out among other similar programs due to the diversity of content and the uniqueness of the proposed specializations. At other universities, such studies usually last one year and most often do not offer specializations.

Moreover, the program of the studies has been designed so that its content reflects the multi-level and multidimensionality of political communication processes in the international space, in conditions of dynamic changes and in the face of emerging new challenges. Thus, graduates of the studies have the opportunity to obtain deep and specialized knowledge in the field of international political communication in the broad context of the development of modern technologies and political and social changes and their consequences at various levels of the functioning of the international system.

The teaching staff consists of employees of the Institute of International Relations and the Institute of Political Science and Administration of UMCS, with significant research and teaching achievements in the field of international relations and political communication, as well as employees of partner institutions. These include, in particular, the East Stratcom Task Force, the European Commission team dealing with combating Russia’s disinformation activities, the Department of International Media Communication and Communication Technologies of the University of Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv and the Department of Public Communications of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas. It should also be emphasized that the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism of UMCS has very good premises, with modern teaching infrastructure and appropriately equipped teaching rooms, also providing the possibility of online teaching. The Faculty Library is equipped with English literature and offers access to electronic versions of numerous journals.

Graduate’s profile

A graduate of the “International Political Communication” studies will acquire unique knowledge, skills and social competences, preparing both for the challenges of the modern labour market at the local or global level, as well as for conducting scientific research. The graduate of the studies will have extended – in comparison to BA studies – multidisciplinary knowledge in the field of international relations and political and administrative sciences, with particular emphasis on the topic of global space and the process of international political communication.

As a result, the graduate knows the place of international political communication in the structure of contemporary international and political phenomena and the ways of its theoretical understanding. Has knowledge of the social, political, cultural, historical, psychological and technological determinants of this communication, taking into account the dilemmas of contemporary civilization conditioned by historical acceleration, the role of the technological factor, the development of artificial intelligence and the functioning of the media. Knows about the threats to the exercise of power resulting from disinformation activities and narrative competition in the dynamic global communication space conditioned by geopolitical changes and the factor of digital technologies.

Has knowledge of the specificity of entities involved in international political communication and the content of this communication, taking into account common civilization challenges, knows what strategic communication, artificial intelligence, new media are and what communication in crisis situations is. Knows the conditions of professional activity and the principles of industrial property and copyright protection. Moreover, he/she is able to use his/her knowledge in an innovative way, using well-selected information and methods, to analyze complex processes of international political communication, the specificity of the activities of entities and instruments used in the global communication space.

Is able to cooperate in teams dealing with the analysis of the global communication space, applied technologies and social engineering, existing threats and possibilities of immunization against them, and manage the work of these teams. The graduate is prepared for PhD studies, is able to independently plan and implement lifelong learning in the field of international political communication, changes in the technological factor, artificial intelligence and new media, and counteract existing threats using knowledge of international and political processes and the use of information technologies. Is able to critically use the acquired specialist knowledge to identify and solve complex and unusual problems related to international political communication in its global space and diverse contexts (cultural, civilizational, geopolitical).

What next

Graduates of the “International Political Communication” studies have the opportunity to apply for admission to postgraduate and doctoral studies. Taking into account that in the modern international environment, information and communication skills are both a resource and an instrument, the knowledge and skills obtained during studies will enable graduates to be competitive on the international and domestic labour market in the rapidly developing sector of political communication, in state structures involved in public diplomacy, in protection against dangerous disinformation activities that may threaten the stability of the state, but also in the state’s activities in the field of strategic communication.

Thus, a graduate can develop his/her professional career in many places: public institutions (state and local government, diplomacy and security structures), enterprises (especially international and transnational ones operating in a culturally diverse environment), international organizations (including non-governmental organizations), local and global media, IT and public relations industries, marketing, branding and advertising agencies, research institutions dealing with international relations and in broadly understood civil society institutions – as well as conduct scientific research and continue an academic career.

1. Admission is open to both Polish citizens and international students.
2. Programme is offered on a tuition fee paying basis to candidates holding a bachelor degree or any other equivalent degree which entitles them to undertake the Master’s degree programme in the country where the documents were issued.
3. A candidate must submit a complete set of application documents (visit Application Procedure Tab above ⭡), including the certificate proving the applicant’s English language skills (list of recognized certificates: https://rekrutacja.umcs.pl/en/language-proficiency-certifications/  ) or a document confirming that the Education was fully conducted in English (issued by the school/University) and/or based on an interview in English.
4. Registration is open within the admission period or until all the vacancies are filled.
5. Academic documents should be translated into Polish. Visit database of recognized sworn translators in Poland HERE.
   NB: Please contact the Admissions Office for further guidance.

The required registration fee payment is PLN 85. Please check the instructions on how to make a payment in the system.
Admission enquiries: studyinenglish@umcs.pl

1) Create an account and fill in the required fields,

2) Scan and combine the following application documents into a single PDF file;

• Academic documents: Bachelor degree original certificates with transcript of records (Apostille or legalized copies for international students) along with the eligibility statement. If the documents are issued in a different language other than English/Polish we require a translation.  
• Certificate demonstrating the applicant’s English language proficiency (Refer to the list of recognized certificates) or contact the admissions team to schedule an interview.
• Passport bio page with clear details.
• Confirmation of payment for the APPLICATION FEE (mandatory)
• Candidate Profile Form:
  – Complete the required fields in the portal,
  – Download the candidate profile generated by the IRK application system,
  – Print, fill in date, handwritten signature by the applicant.  

3) Upload the consolidated PDF file (Documents mentioned above) into the application portal.

4) Upon finalizing with the process above, contact the admission office to initiate a review of your application. Email: studyinenglish@mail.umcs.pl

Note: Kindly contact the admissions office only after completing the payment of the application fee for your chosen program.