Roads to Democracy(ies)

Call for Applications is now OPEN

1st application period: March 1st until June15th

2nd application period: July 2nd until August 30th

University of Coimbra Programme Coordinators
Virgínia Ferreira (Faculty of Economics) / Ana Paula Arnaut (Faculty of Arts & Humanities)
Numerus Clausus 12
Duration 4 semesters
Partner Universities
University of Uppsala (Sweden)
University of Siegen (Germany)
Contacts for information  Escola de Estudos Avançados - FEUC
Telefone: +351 239 790 501/510
e-mail: eea@fe.uc.pt
Annual Tuition Fee
1 500€

About the Masters’ Programme

The Master's "Roads to Democracy(ies)” aims to develop a broader understanding of how the concept of democracy has been understood and applied. It is aimed that students will develop the ability to understand and comment on the mechanisms that underlie the existing conceptual diversity, as well as the ways in which democratic transitions have been made. It is also expected, on the one hand, that students develop the necessary skills to allow them to critically and independently assess the democratic developments in national and supra-national; on the other hand students are expected to acquire awareness of the fragility of the democratic institutions and the importance of the concept of citizenship in the democratic process. Finally, through additional and specialized training, the programme will promote the acquisition of working tools, expertise, capacity for reflection, research, coordination and planning that will allow the execution of research projects autonomously.
This Master's degree results from a partnership including the University of Coimbra (Faculties of Arts & Humanities and of Economics), and the Universities of Uppsala and Siegen. Each participant University contributes to the programme with a particular focus. Coimbra is responsible for strengthening the strand "Democratization and globalization", Siegen the strand "Democratization, Political Cultures and Media" and Uppsala "Democratization and Welfare".

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the M.A. Roads to Democracy(ies) will be employable in a wide variety of fields. The Master‘s programme provides a good basis for responsible positions in, e.g.: civil service on the local, regional and national levels, personnel management, journalism, international organisations (non-governmental and governmental), culture agencies and cultural heritage institutions, public and private research institutions and institutes of higher education, internationally operating companies, political parties, private associations, foundations, national and international aid and development agencies.
Furthermore, the Master‘s degree enables students to pursue their studies to obtain a PhD degree.

Study Plan

The master’s degree will be awarded after successful completion of all the curricular units of the study programme and writing and defending publicly an original dissertation.
The 120 ECTS of the course have the following distribution: 1st semester – 32.5 ECTS; 2nd semester – 27.5 ECTS; 3rd semester – 30 ECTS; 4th semester – 30 ECTS. The two first semesters deviate from the norm of 30 ECTS due to the need to accommodate this programme with other already existing programmes not only in FEUC and FLUC, but also in the universities of Uppsala and Siegen. Hence the curricular units offered under b-learning regime have a fixed number of ECTS for the three universities of the partnership, since they are offered simultaneously to students of all of them.

The successful completion of the curricular units of the first two semesters, corresponding to 60 ECTS awards a post-graduate studies diploma.

Student  Mobility

The study programme is designed to allow students’ mobility to one of the Universities associated to the programme in the second and/or third semesters. The students should be in mobility at least during one semester but are encouraged to extend it for a second semester at the third University of the partnership. The innovative methodologies of teaching/learning are among the distinctive aspects of this Master’s Programme. In general, the mix of conventional teaching/learning methods and the use of more innovative formulas, such as the blended-learning courses, will allow students to widen critical reading skills, increase their autonomy in the context of online distance learning, and upgrade their capacity in using and learning with information and computer technologies. As a programme of second cycle training, this programme offers training in an intense and collective work promoting the critical mind and the theoretical thinking.

Please see the study programme HERE

Teaching Staff

Ana Paula Arnaut / António Casimiro Ferreira (FEUC; CES) / Daniel Francisco (FEUC; CES) / Daniela Nascimento (FEUC; CES) / Delfim Ferreira Leão / Maria do Céu Fialho / Mathias Thaler / Rui Cunha Martins / Sílvia Ferreira (FEUC; CES) / Silvia Maeso / Stephen Wilson / Virgínia Ferreira (FEUC; CES)

Academic Calendar

September-July. Courses will be lectured on weekdays

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates should have:

  • A 1st Cycle degree or legal equivalent, with affinities with the study areas of the Masters programme, or
  • A foreign 1st Cycle degree under the principles of the Bologna Process or recognised by the Scientific Councils of both faculties as satisfying the conditions of a graduate degree, or
  • Exceptionally, an educational, scientific or professional curriculum recognised by the Scientific Councils of both faculties from proposal of the coordination of the Masters, certifying the capacity to enrol in this masters.


Considering the lecturing language of most courses, a solid knowledge of the English language is required

Selection Criteria for Applications

The selection and pre-ranking of candidates to the Masters will be carried out by Scientific Boards, on a proposal from the Coordination of the Studies Cycle, taking into consideration the cumulative weight of:
- curriculum evaluation
- knowledge of English language
- interview (only in case it is thought to be important for the ranking)

Masters' Programme Flyer, University of Siegen

Masters' Programme Flyer, University of Uppsala

Criação do Mestrado em Democracia e Governação — Roads to Democracy(ies)