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  • STV4350B

STV4350B - European Union: Government, Politics and Policies

Course content

Starting from the observation that the European Union possesses many of the attributes of modern political systems, the aim of the course is to enable students to apply general theories of political science in order to explain how the EU works. For each of the main processes in the EU political system – executive, legislative and judicial politics, public opinion, interest groups and democracy, as well as regulative, expenditure, monetary and interior policies, the course will equip students with key political science tools and a solid grasp of relevant theories thereby enabling a rigorous and sophisticated analysis of politics in the European Union.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge:

- Understanding of relevant political science theories for analysing key aspects of government, politics, and policies in modern political systems
- Overview of the developments in the EU in all key aspects of its political system
- Familiarity with the scholarly debate in all main areas of government, politics and policies in the European Union

Skills:

- Ability to identify and apply relevant general theories from political science to analyse any aspect of the political system of the EU
- Ability to identify relevant primary and secondary sources of empirics in order to conduct independent research on any aspect of the political system of the EU
- Ability to identify competing theoretical claims regarding any aspect of politics in the EU and evaluate them in light empirical evidence

Competences:

- Develop the ability to produce theoretically informed empirical analysis
- Develop written and oral presentation skills
- Ability to consume, summarise, and evaluate academic research

Admission

Students admitted to other Master programs may also be qualified to apply for the course. Please contact the Department of Political Science.

The examination in this course is not available for external candidates. Only students admitted to the course may sit for the examination.

Prerequisites

Formal prerequisites

Bachelor's degree in Political Science or European Studies.

Recommended prior knowledge

Bachelor's degree in Political Science or European Studies.

Teaching

10 lectures will be given. The lectures are held intensively for a period of 5 weeks, with the exam in the sixth week.

This course will be taught at the University of Oslo, Blindern campus. Other locations in Oslo may be used. Fronter will normally be used.

The course is part of the regular course offerings at the Faculty of Social Science. Teaching is mainly held during the daytime. Detailed course-information is found on the Webpage for the current semester.

Exam information

Students will be evaluated on the basis of the weekly assignments. There will not be a final school exam. All assignments must be handed in on time in order to pass the course. Each assignment will be based on a published article and a dataset. The task will be to replicate the study and extend it by using the techniques demonstrated in the lectures. The students need to submit a fully functional script and a textfile of 500–1000 words which describes the purpose of the study, the method(s) and the results. The deadline for the assignments will be before the first lecture of the following week.

Exam resources

Dictionary, which must be handed in to the Department of Political Science office at least two days before the written exam.

Language of examination

It is generally possible to submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Assessment and grading

Course grades are awarded on a descending scale using alphabetic grades from A to E for passes and F for fail. Read more about the grading system .

Explanations and appeals

See grades - explanations and appeals for information about the regulations for justification of examination results and appeals.

Possibility of make-up exams and re-takes

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam .

Withdrawing from exams and limits on re-takes

A student can sit for this exam up to 3 times. If a student wishes to withdraw from the exam, s/he must do this in StudentWeb at least two weeks prior to the first day of the exam. Failure to do so will be counted as one of the three opportunities to sit for the exam.

Exam options for students with special needs

Students may apply for access to alternative exam resources or exam forms on the basis of chronic illness and/or special needs that create a marked disadvantage to other students in the exam situation. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

Application-forms for special examination arrangements on school-exams may be sent to The Faculty of Social Science. Application-forms for special examination arrangements on other exams may be sent to the institute who organise the course

Students may apply for access to alternative exam resources or exam forms on the basis of chronic illness and/or special needs that create a marked disadvantage to other students in the exam situation. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

Evaluation of this course

This course is evaluated half way through every semester and every four year the course undergoes a thorough evaluation.

An external auditor regularly evaluates the academic quality of the course and he/she makes a written report every year.

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