CDSB Course Catalog
Semesters
Accounting
Mandatory Courses
E 700 Mathematics for Economics
E700 Mathematics for Economists – Lecture (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ingo Steinke
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 02.10.2025 | 09:00 – 11:00 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (for Business)
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
5
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Nikolas Wölfing, Rezvan Derayati
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 242 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Friday (weekly) | 17.10.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 154 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics I (for Business)
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 129 Göhringer Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
ACC 910 Area Seminar
ACC 910 Area Seminar Accounting (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Holger Daske, Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Tuesday (single date) | 02.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
ACC 920 Brown Bag Seminar
ACC/
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Holger Daske, Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget, Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| ⚠ Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 10.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 201 Unterrichtsraum; L 9, 7 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 10.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
| ⚠ Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
ACC/
TAX 916 Applied Econometrics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
Bridge Course
Bridge Course – from the GESS course offer
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Other)
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Information Systems)
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Management)
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Operations Management)
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Political Science)
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Psychology)
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Sociology)
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
IS 808 Advanced Data Science Lab I
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Finance
Mandatory Courses
E 700 Mathematics for Economics
E700 Mathematics for Economists – Lecture (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ingo Steinke
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 02.10.2025 | 09:00 – 11:00 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (for Business)
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
5
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Nikolas Wölfing, Rezvan Derayati
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 242 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Friday (weekly) | 17.10.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 154 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics I (for Business)
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 129 Göhringer Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
FIN 801 Asset Pricing
FIN 801 Asset Pricing (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Erik Theissen
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 29.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 409 Besprechungsraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 18.11.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 409 Besprechungsraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
FIN 910 Area Seminar
Finance Seminar (Research seminar, english)
Course type:
Research seminar
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Stefan Rünzi, Qi Zhang
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 004 Hörsaal; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Focus Research Seminar
Corporate Finance Research Seminar (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Ernst Maug
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 409 Besprechungsraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Focus Research Seminar Asset Management (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Stefan Rünzi
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | 409 Besprechungsraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Focus Research Seminar Corporate Governance (Others, german)
Course type:
Others
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:30 – 12:00 | 210 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
Focus Research Seminar Financial Institutions (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Oliver Spalt
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
Bridge Course
Bridge Course – from the GESS course offer
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Other)
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Accounting)
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Information Systems)
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Management)
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Operations Management)
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Political Science)
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Psychology)
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Sociology)
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
IS 808 Advanced Data Science Lab I
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Courses from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 930 Web Scraping for Researchers (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Examination achievement:
Group assignment (80%), Class participation (20%)
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 31.10.2025 | 11:00 – 15:00 |
Description:
This hands-on course equips doctoral students and postdocs in business with the essential skills to collect, extract, and process web data for research purposes. You will follow a structured, step-by-step approach to:
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
- Identify requirements for effective data extraction
- Automate data collection from websites or APIs
- Parse and clean data
- Navigate ethical and legal considerations
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Information Systems
Mandatory Courses
IS 801 Design Science Research
IS 801 Fundamentals of Design Science Research (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Höhle
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 910 Area Seminar
OPM/
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
1
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | O 142 Engelhorn Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
Bridge Course
Bridge Course – from the GESS course offer
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Other)
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Accounting)
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Management)
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Operations Management)
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Political Science)
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Psychology)
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Sociology)
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
IS 808 Advanced Data Science Lab I (Network Science)
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Courses from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 930 Web Scraping for Researchers (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Examination achievement:
Group assignment (80%), Class participation (20%)
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 31.10.2025 | 11:00 – 15:00 |
Description:
This hands-on course equips doctoral students and postdocs in business with the essential skills to collect, extract, and process web data for research purposes. You will follow a structured, step-by-step approach to:
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
- Identify requirements for effective data extraction
- Automate data collection from websites or APIs
- Parse and clean data
- Navigate ethical and legal considerations
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Management
Mandatory Courses
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MAN 805 Applied Methods in Management Research
MAN 805 Applied Methods in Management Research (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Torsten Biemann
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 20.10.2025 – 03.11.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MAN 910 Area Seminar
MAN 910 Area Seminar Management (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
1.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Michael Woywode
Date(s):
| Wednesday (single date) | 10.09.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 24.09.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 01.10.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 08.10.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 15.10.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 29.10.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 05.11.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 12.11.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 26.11.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 03.12.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Wednesday (single date) | 10.12.2025 | 14:00 – 15:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MAN 807 Experimental Research in Management
MAN 809 (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller
Date(s):
| Monday (single date) | 13.10.2025 | 10:00 – 13:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 13.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
Bridge Course
Bridge Course – from the GESS course offer
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Other)
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Accounting)
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Information Systems)
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Operations Management)
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Political Science)
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Psychology)
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Sociology)
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
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1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
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1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
Courses from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 930 Web Scraping for Researchers (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Examination achievement:
Group assignment (80%), Class participation (20%)
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 31.10.2025 | 11:00 – 15:00 |
Description:
This hands-on course equips doctoral students and postdocs in business with the essential skills to collect, extract, and process web data for research purposes. You will follow a structured, step-by-step approach to:
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
- Identify requirements for effective data extraction
- Automate data collection from websites or APIs
- Parse and clean data
- Navigate ethical and legal considerations
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Marketing
Mandatory Courses
E 703 Advanced Econometrics I (for Business)
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 129 Göhringer Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MKT 801 Fundamentals of Marketing Research
MKT 801 Fundamentals of Marketing Research (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Florian Kraus
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MKT 903 Advanced Business Econometrics
MKT 903 Advanced Business Econometrics (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Florian Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 26.09.2025 | 09:30 – 12:00 | ZOOM-Lehre-036; Virtuelles Gebäude |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:30 – 17:00 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:30 – 17:00 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
| Friday (single date) | 14.11.2025 | 09:30 – 17:00 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MKT 910 Area Seminar
MKT 910 Marketing Area Seminar (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Learning target:
Students will learn to follow-up with and discuss about current research topics in accounting and taxation. The interaction with leading researchers will allow them to develop own research ideas and get insights into the design, execution and presentation of research projects.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Florian Stahl
Description:
The course focuses on current research topics in the field of marketing. Visiting researchers present their latest working papers and discuss their ideas with participating faculty and students. The presentations have workshop format and are similar in style to leading scientific conferences. The course introduces students to the variety of research methods that are currently popular in empirical and theoretical research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
Bridge Course
Bridge Course – from the GESS course offer
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Other)
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Accounting)
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Information Systems)
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Management)
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Operations Management)
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Political Science)
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Psychology)
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Sociology)
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 930 Web Scraping for Researchers (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Examination achievement:
Group assignment (80%), Class participation (20%)
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 31.10.2025 | 11:00 – 15:00 |
Description:
This hands-on course equips doctoral students and postdocs in business with the essential skills to collect, extract, and process web data for research purposes. You will follow a structured, step-by-step approach to:
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
- Identify requirements for effective data extraction
- Automate data collection from websites or APIs
- Parse and clean data
- Navigate ethical and legal considerations
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Operations Management
Mandatory Courses
E 700 Mathematics for Economics
E700 Mathematics for Economists – Lecture (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ingo Steinke
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 02.10.2025 | 09:00 – 11:00 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 805 Research Seminar Business Analytics
OPM 805 Research Seminar Business Analytics (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christoph Bode, Prof. Dr. Cornelia Schön-Peterson
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 910 Area Seminar
OPM/
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
1
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | O 142 Engelhorn Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 901 Research Seminar Operations Management & Operations Research
OPM 901 Research Seminar Operations Management & Operations Research (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Cornelia Schön-Peterson, Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz, Prof. Dr. Moritz Fleischmann, Prof. Dr. Christoph Bode
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (for Business)
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
5
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Nikolas Wölfing, Rezvan Derayati
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 242 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Friday (weekly) | 17.10.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 154 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics I (for Business)
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 129 Göhringer Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
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1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
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1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
Courses from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS or from M. Sc. in Business Informatics
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 930 Web Scraping for Researchers (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Examination achievement:
Group assignment (80%), Class participation (20%)
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 31.10.2025 | 11:00 – 15:00 |
Description:
This hands-on course equips doctoral students and postdocs in business with the essential skills to collect, extract, and process web data for research purposes. You will follow a structured, step-by-step approach to:
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
- Identify requirements for effective data extraction
- Automate data collection from websites or APIs
- Parse and clean data
- Navigate ethical and legal considerations
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Taxation
Mandatory Courses
E 700 Mathematics for Economics
E700 Mathematics for Economists – Lecture (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ingo Steinke
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 23.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 24.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 001 Hörsaal; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | 211 Seminarraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 25.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 02.10.2025 | 09:00 – 11:00 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (for Business)
E 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
5
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Nikolas Wölfing, Rezvan Derayati
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 009 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 242 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Friday (weekly) | 17.10.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | EO 154 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics I (for Business)
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 129 Göhringer Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E 703 Advanced Econometrics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
ACC/
TAX 916 Applied Econometrics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Registration procedure:
This course does not have limited capacity.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 910 Area Seminar
ACC 910 Area Seminar Accounting (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Holger Daske, Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Tuesday (single date) | 02.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 920 Brown Bag Seminar
ACC/
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Holger Daske, Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget, Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| ⚠ Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 10.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 201 Unterrichtsraum; L 9, 7 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 10.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
| ⚠ Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
Academic Writing Course
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Crow) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Tuesday (single date) | 11.11.2025 | 09:00 – 18:00 | 230 Besprechungsraum; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E922 English Academic Writing for Business and Economics (Stahl) (Course, english)
Course type:
Course
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Konrad Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Mandatory Elective Courses
Bridge Course
Bridge Course – from the GESS course offer
Women in Leadership (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
This is a Pass/
- Give a paper presentation in building block 1.
- Participate in an IAT in building block 2.
- Give a conference presentation in building block 3.
- Participate in a negotiation in building block 4.
- Full and active participation in all four building blocks is necessary to pass the course.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, Sehrish Usman
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 22.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 29.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 05.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
| Wednesday (block date) | 12.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
Description:
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the gender gap in leadership positions.
We will analyze the psychological and economic reasons for the low fraction of women in leadership. While leadership positions are defined broadly and range from politics to public and private institutions, a special emphasis will be on the academic environment.
The course will highlight women’s educational and labor market choices, their fertility decisions, and their preferences. We will also examine structural hurdles for women to reach the top, for example stereotypes, discrimination, and social norms. Finally, the effectiveness of gender equality measures – such as quota systems – will be discussed. In addition to the theoretical and empirical fundamentals, the course also comprises two hands-on practical sessions taught by experienced instructors in which students’ rhetoric and negotiation skills are trained.
The course consists of four core building blocks:
1. Women in Leadership: The Economic Perspective.
This part of the course focusses on (economic) reasons for gender gaps in leadership positions. We start by looking at the status quo of women in leadership. Course participants are introduced to statistics on the fraction of women in various leadership positions (with an emphasis on women in academia). We will discuss time trends and differences across countries. Research evidence on the effectiveness of gender equality measures such as gender quotas and family friendly policies will be discussed and their impact on economic outcome variables such as women’s labor market choices and the gender pay gap will be examined. We will also examine gender differences in risk preferences and in the willingness to compete. The last part of this section deals with role model effects and students will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a female role model.
2. Women in Leadership: The Psychological Perspective.
The psychological perspective addresses gender stereotypes as one of the key barriers to female advancement into attractive organizational positions such as leadership positions. Gender stereotypes reflect widely shared expectations about the characteristics of men and women (descriptive component of gender stereotypes), but they can also prescribe how women and men should or should not behave (prescriptive stereotypes). Both kinds of stereotypical expectations about men and women can impact the way men and women define themselves and are perceived by others. Three sessions dealing with leadership and gender stereotypes will discuss stereotype contents, the changes over time and their impact on gender differences in leadership aspirations and success. In this context, we will address topics such as the “Think Manager – Think Male” – phenomenon, research on the Glass metaphors (glass ceiling, glass escalator, glass cliff), Queen Bee effects, backlash effects, as well as failure-as-an-asset effects. Students will be asked to discuss practical implications of the research presented and develop own ideas regarding interventions to increase the number of female leaders.
3. “Raise Your Voice” – Rhetoric Training
The third block consists of a hands-on training on delivering presentations in an academic context. Students will be instructed to present their research findings in a conference-like scenario. They will learn how to present their work in a convincing and professional manner and how to adequately respond to (critical) questions. Each student will have to give a short presentation and will receive individual feedback by the instructor on how to improve their presentation skills.
For successful training, students are asked to prepare the following items before the beginning of this block:
- Prepare a short presentation (5–7 minutes) on the following question: “What excites me about my research topic?”
- Bring a video-capable device (mobile phone or tablet) for the video exercises.
4. “Raise Your Pay” – Negotiation Training
The final part of this course teaches students negotiation skills. Students learn how to carry their point in a negotiation, how to deal with conflicts, and how to react to verbal attacks. Students will have to participate in a negotiation game and receive individual feedback by the instructor to improve their negotiation skills.
Training concept:
- Develop strategic negotiation skills for career advancement
- Apply theoretical insights through practical exercises
- Improve decision-making and conflict resolution capabilities
- Build a toolkit of negotiation tactics for salary, promotion, and career opportunities
As a prerequisite for participating in this training, students are expected to submit one personal negotiation topic in advance that they would like to address and develop during the course.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Other)
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Accounting)
MET: Applied Data Science: Machine Learning for Economics and Business Data (Lecture, german)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Davud Rostam-Afschar
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Information Systems)
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Management)
MAN 802 Fundamentals of Non-Profit Management Science (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernd Helmig
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 18.09.2025 | 14:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 09.10.2025 | 15:30 – 16:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 20.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:30 | EO 237 Besprechung; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSB (Operations Management)
OPM 801 Optimization and Heuristics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | SO 322 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
OPM 918 Business Analytics: Models, Methods, Managerial Insights (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Raik Stolletz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 29.01.2026 | 10:15 – 13:30 | SO 318 Seminarraum; Schloss Schneckenhof Ost |
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Political Science)
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Psychology)
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Bridge Course from the course offer of the CDSS (Sociology)
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Lecture) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Literature: Books are available in the library. The slides can be downloaded from ILIAS.
Examination achievement:
Written exam (90 minutes)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gautschi
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The main focus of this course lies on the introduction to statistical models and estimators beyond linear regression useful to social and economic scientists. Although very useful, the general linear model (linear regression) is not appropriate if the range of the dependent variable Y is restricted (e.g., binary, ordinal, count) and/
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
Tutorials: Classes will be accompanied by two tutorials to repeat and practice the topics from the lectures. We will use the statistical packages R and Stata.
Credits and Exam: Credits (6+3 ECTS points) are awarded on a passed written exam. Participation in the final exam is subject to having passed all requirements (Studienleistungen) in the tutorial.
Requirements tutorial (Studienleistungen): Presentations of weekly exercises; you must hand in the slides of the presentation, the Stata or R syntax file and output of the respective exercise, and a short output interpretation.
Contact: Fon (0621) 181–2049 or mail gautschi@sowi.uni-mannheim.de
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Danielle Martin Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Cross Sectional Data Analysis (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Learning target:
The goal of the lab session is a) to practice the topics you learned in applied form, b) an opportunity for questions, and c) give you and discuss with you hands-on approaches for your further empirical work (e.g., the graphical representation of results).
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sandra Morgenstern
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 243 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Lab sessions will repeat and practice topics from the lecture based on weekly exercises. These exercises follow the lecture so that you will have a week or more to solve each exercise.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
written exam (90 min.)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Joseph Sakshaug
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
How do we know which research design fits best our research question? What requirements must be in place for good descriptive, causal and predictive inference? How do we estimate causal effects? How do we design and analyze experiments? Can we make causal claims from observational data? Researchers in the social sciences must be able to answer all of these questions.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
This course teaches the fundamental concepts behind the estimation of causal effects, including potential obstacles to causal inference. Real-world examples will be discussed in detail and students will apply the techniques learned with real datasets in R. Students will come away with an understanding of how to estimate causal effects in both randomized and observational settings, with a particular focus on the careful design of both types of studies.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Ruben Bach
Date(s):
| Wednesday (fortnightly) | 03.09.2025 – 26.11.2025 | 12:00 – 15:30 | A 301 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Research Design (Tutorial) (Scientific exercise, english)
Course type:
Scientific exercise
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Max Otto
Date(s):
| Thursday (fortnightly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| In the practice sessions, students will learn how to implement causal inference methods in R. Students should bring their own laptop for the all practice sessions. Previous knowledge in R is not necessary although advantageous. Please make also sure to install R and R studio before the first practice session. |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Comparing welfare states with cross-national and process tracing analyses (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Written term paper (5000 words) by mid-January 2026
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus, Andrew Zola
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Comparing welfare states has become a major sociological field, using a variety of methods to study institutional differences, historical path dependencies, and societal changes. This elective seminar provides an introduction to comparative strategies and methods, particular those used in cross‐national comparison of modern welfare states, using examples of empirical studies from this filed. In the seminar, the different quantitative and qualitative methods and strategies to compare internationally and to analyse processes over time will be discussed. It begins with an overview of the main approaches to historical and comparative sociology (Durkheim, Weber) and the differences in current research practice between variable‐and case‐oriented sociological analysis. Comparative welfare state analysis and the varieties of capitalism perspective use macro‐comparative typologies to explain cross‐ national differences, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore cross‐national differences. Qualitative comparative methods (QCA, fuzzy set), comparative or time‐related quantitative methods (cluster analysis, pooled time series) will be discussed. In addition, the method of within‐case analysis, in particular process tracing, that seeks to establish tests for evaluating evidence about causal mechanism over time will be discussed. The application of these methods and approaches will be illustrated by examples from comparative studies of welfare states and market economies. Finally, recent debates on the pro/
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Wahlmodul B: Migration and Integration (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students will be evaluated based on a term paper (6 ECTS).
Term Paper:
Term Paper:
- Length: Approximately 5,000 words (±500), including references but excluding appendices.
- Content Requirements:
- Research Question: A clearly defined and original question.
- Literature Review: A critical review demonstrating the relevance of the research question and existing scholarship.
- Argument: A well-reasoned and evidence-based thesis.
- Empirical Evidence: Empirical examples that substantiate the argument.
- Deadline: January 15, 2026.
Instructor(s):
Dr. Keonhi Son
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
A gender perspective challenges key assumptions in comparative welfare research. Traditionally, the unit of comparative welfare analysis has been the average male worker in the manufacturing industry with dependents. This operationalization implicitly excludes women from empirical analysis, particularly in historical contexts, as significant female labor market participation only emerged after the 1970s. For example, while male workers' political struggles were instrumental in shaping welfare states by securing social rights, it remains unclear whether women exerted similar influence, given their historically limited access to political resources such as voting rights in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, although traditional social policies have faced retrenchment in times of austerity, work-family policies have expanded over the past two decades, coinciding with rising female labor force participation and increased female representation in parliaments.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
This seminar provides students with the opportunity to critically examine theoretical frameworks in comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and to test these theoretical propositions empirically. The course explores the impact of welfare policies on gender relations and assesses women's political influence on the formation of welfare policies within historical continuities. The seminar is structured in two parts. First, it introduces feminist critiques of welfare states and empirical studies that analyze the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in these processes. After engaging with the relevant literature, the second part of the seminar culminates in a student-led conference, where participants will present empirical research testing whether conventional welfare research determinants apply to social policies for women. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and will integrate key course themes and insights.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Vertiefungsmodul/
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Dr. Tamara Gutfleisch
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | C 112 Unterrichtsraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
In sociology and related fields, factorial survey experiments (also known as vignette experiments) are widely used to study a range of social phenomena. This method combines experimental logic with survey techniques to examine the causal effects of multiple dimensions (e.g., education, age) on outcomes such as attitudes, judgments, or behavioral intentions. This course provides an introduction to the methodological foundations of factorial survey experiments, discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, and situates it within the broader family of experimental methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical application: through hands-on exercises, students will learn how to develop and conduct their own factorial survey experiment, from formulating research questions and constructing vignettes to preparing the design for implementation. By the end of the course, participants will be able to critically assess experimental research in the social sciences and to design their own research project using factorial survey experiments.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
Students will be required to create an account on the SAS on Demand platform using their student email adress. Further details will be provided in the seminar.
S Elective Seminar: Introduction to Political Sociology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Benjamin Rohr Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: Structuralist Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henning Hillmann
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 01.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 08:30 – 11:45 | D 002 Seminarraum 1; B 6, 27–29 Bauteil D |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Elective Seminar: The unequal distribution of health and illness (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Students are required to attend all classes (one absence will be excused). Credits will be granted for active participation, an oral presentation and a paper on one of the themes of the seminar.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Christof Wolf
Date(s):
| Friday (block date) | 12.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 26.09.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 17.10.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 07.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 21.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
| Friday (block date) | 28.11.2025 | 10:15 – 13:30 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
This course aims at introducing students to selected research questions from the field of health sociology. We begin by giving a short introduction to the sociology of health and illness and some key findings regarding the role of societal factors in the historical development of population health. Additionally, we will discuss methodological questions arising when defining, measuring and studying health and illness. After these introductory sessions we will focus on two central topics: first, the relationship between social inequality and health and second, the effect of social cohesion on health. Both topics will be discussed from a micro and macro perspective, respectively. The course ends with a discussion of policy implications following from a sociological perspective on health and illness.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Elective Courses
European Tax Law
European Tax Law (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Registration procedure:
European Union Law has an increasing impact on the taxation of private individuals as well as of companies doing business in Europe. While the European Union has no original tax authority its law has a major influence on national tax laws.
The course will start with an introduction into European Union Tax Law, the aims and measures so far taken by European institutions. After that the course will cover the positive harmonization of indirect taxes mainly by European directives. In a third part the course will focus on secondary law harmonizing direct taxes in Europe, e.g. the Parent-Subsidiary Directive. In a last section the course deals with the importance of the fundamental freedoms for the taxation in Europe. A special focus will be put on the case law of the European Court of Justice.
- Basic principles of European Law
- Harmonization of indirect and direct taxes by primary and secondary law
- Fundamental freedoms referring to taxation in Europe
- Important case law
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Friedemann Kainer
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| ⚠ Friday (weekly) | 19.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Friday (single date) | 26.09.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 13:45 – 17:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
FIN 801 Asset Pricing
FIN 801 Asset Pricing (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Erik Theissen
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 29.10.2025 – 12.11.2025 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 409 Besprechungsraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 18.11.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 409 Besprechungsraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 808 Advanced Data Science Lab I
Advanced Data Science Lab I (Exercise, english)
Course type:
Exercise
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Markus Strohmaier, Indira Sen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 314–315 Besprechungsraum; L 15, 1–6 (Hochhaus) |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MKT 903 Advanced Business Econometrics
MKT 903 Advanced Business Econometrics (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Florian Stahl
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 26.09.2025 | 09:30 – 12:00 | ZOOM-Lehre-036; Virtuelles Gebäude |
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 09:30 – 17:00 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:30 – 17:00 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
| Friday (single date) | 14.11.2025 | 09:30 – 17:00 | 107 Bibliothek/ |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Courses from the doctoral programs at the CDSB, CDSE and CDSS
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSE
E5100 Economic History / E8042 Economic History (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Dr. Alexander Donges
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8013 Search Theory and Labor Markets (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Edoardo Maria Acabbi Ph.D.
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8017 Macroeconomic Shocks and Propagation: Methods and Applications (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Matthias Meier
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8022 Industrial Organization Empirics (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
9.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Laura Grigolon
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8037 Public Economics I (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Janeba
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8048 Environmental cost benefit analysis (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Kathrine von Graevenitz
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 06.11.2025 – 18.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E8054 Research in Health and Labor Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Ziebarth
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E8063 Energy Economics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
2.5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Mateus Nogueira Meirelles de Souza
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 16.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Thursday (single date) | 11.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | S 031 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E859 Institutional Economics and Economic Policy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
7,5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 12:30 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E866 Research Seminar in Economic Policy (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
5
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grüner
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 22.09.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 002 Seminarraum; L 9, 1–2 |
| Monday (weekly) | 29.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E877 Behavioral Game Theory (and Experiments) (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Tuesday (single date) | 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 21.10.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
E878 Advanced PhD Seminar in Experimental Economics (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Henrik Orzen
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E920 Uncertainty, Learning and Dynamics (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
10.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Instructor(s):
Dr. Gregorio Curello
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 18:45 | 410 Besprechungsraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
E929 Topics in Macroeconomics: Dynamic Incentive Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
4
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 13.10.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | P 043 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 14.10.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | P 044 Seminarraum; L 7, 3–5 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSB
ACC 924 Analytical Reading Group (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
3
Attendance:
Online, live
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sebastian Kronenberger
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 19.09.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 19.12.2025 | 12:00 – 13:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 16.01.2026 | 12:00 – 13:30 |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
CDSB-Kurs-Intensive Longitudinal Methods in Contexts of Work and Learning (Seminar for doctoral students, german)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
german
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rausch
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | O 226–28 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Corporate Sustainability and Decarbonization (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
3.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Stefan Reichelstein, Prof. Dr. Gunther Glenk
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | O 131 Wilhelm Müller Hörsaal; Schloss Ostflügel |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
IS 930 Web Scraping for Researchers (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
6.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Online, live
Examination achievement:
Group assignment (80%), Class participation (20%)
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Participants will work in pairs to develop a Python-based web scraper.
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer
Date(s):
| Thursday (single date) | 23.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 09:00 – 17:30 | |
| Friday (single date) | 31.10.2025 | 11:00 – 15:00 |
Description:
This hands-on course equips doctoral students and postdocs in business with the essential skills to collect, extract, and process web data for research purposes. You will follow a structured, step-by-step approach to:
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
- Identify requirements for effective data extraction
- Automate data collection from websites or APIs
- Parse and clean data
- Navigate ethical and legal considerations
Through practical exercises in small groups, you will develop a fully functional web scraper using the Python programming language, which you can easily adapt for your own research projects later on.
You do not need to be familiar with Python to attend the course. If you have not worked with Python yet, we provide setup instructions before the course starts.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
MAN 809 (Lecture w/
Course type:
Lecture w/
ECTS:
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller
Date(s):
| Monday (single date) | 13.10.2025 | 10:00 – 13:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
| Thursday (single date) | 13.11.2025 | 10:00 – 17:00 | EO 256 Seminarraum; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
TAX 923 Reading Course Taxation Research (I) (Seminar for doctoral students, english)
Course type:
Seminar for doctoral students
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg, Prof. Dr. Johannes Voget
Date(s):
| ⚠ Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | O 048 Seminarraum; Schloss Ostflügel |
Caution: Individual dates in the series marked with ⚠ have changed. Please check the portal for details.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Course from the doctoral programs at the CDSS
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Formal Models in CP (and some in IR) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Literature:
Various chapters of Scott Gehlbach's Formal Models of Domestic Politics (CUP) and journal articles from different fields
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 317 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This course is a continuation of the intro into Game Theory and surveys key applications of game theory with a particular emphasis on the link of theories, methods and empirics. Emphasis will be placed on prominent applications of those concepts in political science, in both comparative and international politics. Topics covered include electoral competition, delegation, political agency, governmental veto players, authoritarian politics, manipulation, war and crisis bargaining. While the focus is on understanding applied work, previous training in game theory is required. Students will build upon their previous game theory training to become informed consumers of scholarship utilizing the methodology and begin to learn how to apply game-theoretic logic to their own work. The course is partly taught from lecture notes, at other times students present a research paper and stimulate discussion in class.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
The course may also count as an Advanced Topics Seminar in International Relations. In this case, please indicate this accordingly to the Student Services via email when you register for the exam during exam registration period.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Free Speech and Censorship (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Richard Traunmüller
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This seminar starts from the premise that the current epistemic political crisis is not rooted in a denial of scientific facts, but in the ubiquitous tendency to evaluate scientific findings selectively and according to one's own political ideas. Researchers, too, are ordinary people and therefore politically motivated information processors. They seek information that supports their political ideas and avoid information that contradicts their ideas. They also seem to consider study results more plausible when they are consistent with their political ideas and to doubt study results that contradict their political beliefs. If this tendency, known as myside bias, meets the possibility of flexible presentation of results and a politically unbalanced disciplinary environment, politically biased findings are a very real danger and epistemic distrust an obvious, if not indicated, consequence. In this seminar we will discuss what political biases in science exist, where they come from, what consequences they have and what we can do about them.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Politics: Political Behavior in Context (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term Paper (ca. 8.000 words)
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Harald Schoen
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Political behavior takes place in context. This statement is a truism and implies several challenges at the same time. Context is a multidimensional concept comprising – inter alia – social, political, and institutional features. At the theoretical level, the diversity of dimensions requires careful consideration of how to integrate contextual features into individual-level models of political behavior. Moreover, combining data from different levels of aggregation to examine the role of contexts in individual-level behavior raises several methodological issues. In this seminar, we will address the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the analysis of contextual effects on individual-level political behavior. Students will review the latest empirical studies in the field and prepare research papers in which they analyze specific questions using available data sets.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Political Speech: The Case of the European Parliament (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Term paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas König
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 15:30 – 17:00 | C 216 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
Attention: This seminar starts on September 18, 2025 (3 rd week of lecture time)
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
This seminar introduces students to cutting-edge methods for analyzing political speech quantitatively, with a special focus on the European Parliament (EP). The course covers techniques in computational text analysis (e.g., topic modeling, sentiment analysis, scaling models), data preprocessing, and causal inference using speech data. Students will engage with theoretical debates about representation, agenda-setting, and rhetorical strategy, and will complete a research project using a large corpus of EP speeches. Participants should have skills in quantitative methods (regression, causal inference), familiarity with R or Python, and prior coursework or reading in text-as-data or NLP is recommended but not required. Grimmer, Justin & Brandon M. Stewart. Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, Slapin, Jonathan B. & Sven-Oliver Proksch. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate, selected journal articles (APSR, AJPS, EUP, JOP, CPS).
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Advanced Topics in International Politics: The Politics of Human Rights (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
The goals of this course are
- to provide you with systematic knowledge and understanding about key debates on human rights violations and state repression
- to enable you to critically assess and evaluate academic research, its theoretical and empirical contributions
- to familiarize yourself with key datasets in human rights research
- to engage in and contribute to analytical discussions about published research
- to foster constructive discussions and effective reading
- to improve your writing and presentation skills
Examination achievement:
Schriftliche Hausarbeit / Research paper
Instructor(s):
Prof. Ph. D. Sabine Carey
Date(s):
| Tuesday (weekly) | 02.09.2025 – 02.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Why do governments engage in repression of citizens? This seminar introduces students to foundational and recent research on human rights violations and repression around the world. We start by defining human rights and how they can be observed and measured. We discuss conditions that facilitate repression with particular focus on the role of democratic institutions and international human rights norms. The seminar sheds light on how governments organize repression, and we investigate different perpetrators of repression and how actors aim to justify or obfuscate state violence. We will also consider the role of the international community on influencing domestic processes of human rights protection and violation. Over the course of the seminar, you will develop your own research question on one of the topics discussed in the seminar and carrying out your own research.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
AG1/
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Learning target:
This course provides an in-depth overview of current topics in work and organizational psychology. Based on the restricted employee sustainability theory (REST, Barnes et al., 2003) we will discuss processes related to stress, well-being maintenance, social support, and learning & development within organizations. The focus is on reading recent original literature and critical discussions. To gain course credits, students will provide written answers to questions related to the topics and articles discussed in the course.
Literature:
Journal papers; reading assignments will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Examination achievement:
schriftliche Hausarbeit
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
Diese Vorlesung bietet eine Einführung in das Fach Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie und stellt dabei wesentliche Themen vor, unter anderem Arbeitsmotivation, Stress, Arbeitsgruppen, Führung, Arbeitsanalyse, Leistungsbeurteilung, Personalauswahl, Training. Es wird ein erster Überblick über wichtige forschungs- und praxisbezogene Fragestellungen vermittelt, wobei insbesondere die empirische Basis des Faches betont wird. Diese Veranstaltung empfiehlt sich für alle Studierenden als Einstieg in das Fach „Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie”.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Creating experiments with lab.js (Intensive seminar, english)
Course type:
Intensive seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Registration procedure:
If exchange students require a grade, the course will be graded.
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS will be contacted by the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de) via mail to indicate their course preferences.
NON-PSYCHOLOGY EXCHANGE STUDENTS may solely attend if (a) places are left (b) students posses basic knowledge in Psychology and statistics (c) the docent approves participation. For applications please contact the international affairs coordinator for Psychology (int-psy@uni-mannheim.de).
Literature:
Software:
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
OpenSesame can be downloaded for free under http://osdoc.cogsci.nl/index.html, where you can also find an extensive documentation.
Literature:
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 (Open Access)
Examination achievement:
Creating an experiment (specific requirements discussed in course)
Instructor(s):
Dr. Sophie Scharf
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 10.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 11.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 24.10.2025 | 10:15 – 17:00 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Saturday (single date) | 25.10.2025 | 10:15 – 15:15 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
lab.js is a simple, graphical tool to help you build studies for the web and the laboratory – in addition, it is free and open-source. Many standard tasks can be implemented in lab.js using its graphical user interface. Further, more complex tasks can be realized through the underlying programming language JavaScript.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to provide an introduction to both approaches. In doing so, the workshop involves both structured input from the instructor as well as a number of practical exercises so that participants can directly explore the features of lab.js.
No prior knowledge of the software or JavaScript is required. As an assignment, participants will create their own experiment based on the requirements discussed in the workshop.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
BC2 (also AC1): Research and Application Techniques 2: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
4.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Literature:
- Dunn, P. K., & Smyth, G. K. (2018). Generalized linear models with examples in R. New York: Springer.
- Hoffman, L. (2015). Longitudinal analysis: Modeling within-person fluctuation and change. New York: Routledge.
- James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T., & Tibshirani, R. (2013). An intro¬duction to statistical learning with applications in R. New York: Springer.
- Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford.
- Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
Examination achievement:
Master students (BC2): Marked written exam (90 minutes)
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Doctoral researchers (CDSS): Individual course criteria (e.g., short presentation, exercises, etc.)
Doctoral researchers from other institutions: Criteria depending on local regulations and requirements
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Meiser
Date(s):
| Friday (single date) | 12.09.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 17.10.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
| Friday (single date) | 21.11.2025 | 09:00 – 12:30 | 108 CIP-Pool; B 6, 30–32 Bauteil E-F |
Description:
Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Psychology
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
This course gives an introduction to the basic elements of linear algebra and mathematical calculus that are relevant for statistical modeling and hypothesis testing in psychological research and in related areas of the social sciences. We will go through essential concepts and operations of matrix and vector algebra, differential equations and integral calculus, and we will discuss implications for parameter estimation and measures of statistical uncertainty in multivariate models. Beyond these formal foundations, an advanced overview of applied statistical models will be provided, including linear and generalized linear models, machine learning-based regularization procedures, structural equation models, and multilevel analysis with a particular focus on modeling longitudinal data. The statistical models and procedures will be illustrated with simulated and empirical data. In addition, model specification, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing will be demonstrated and practiced in R. The combination of mathematical foundations and applied statistical analysis enhances the understanding of key concepts of statistical modeling, and it enables students and young researchers to tailor statistical models and tests according to their specific research questions.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
International Political Economy (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Valentin Lang
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
International Political Economy:
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
This lecture offers an introduction to current research topics in the field of International Political Economy (IPE). After introducing what it means to study IPE in the age of globalization, the course addresses four major themes of current IPE research.
1) In the first part on international trade, we will learn about the opportunities and challenges that come with the intensifying exchange of goods across the globe.
2) In the second part on international finance, we will focus on how global financial flows interact with political and economic stability, instability, and crises.
3) In the third part on international development, we will learn about global economic inequality and understand its links to development cooperation and migration.
4) In the fourth part on international institutions, we will focus on the role that international institutions and organizations play in the globalized economy.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
Ringvorlesung: Unwrapping the mind: knowledge, cognition, and AI (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
5.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Nicole Altvater-Mackensen, Prof. Dr. Arndt Bröder, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, Prof. Dr. Beatrice Kuhlmann, Prof. Dr. Simone Paolo Ponzetto, Prof. Dr. Carola Trips
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 17:15 – 18:45 | EO 150 AbsolventUM Hörsaal; Schloss Ehrenhof Ost |
Description:
With the rise of AI models like GPT-4, machines seem capable of mimicking human cognitive processes-thinking, perceiving, learning, and even making decisions. But do they truly think, or are they merely processing patterns in complex ways? In this lecture series, experts in cognitive science will explore what makes human cognition exceptional (if at all), how AI challenges our understanding of intelligence, and what we can gain from integrating AI into cognitive research. We will also address how insights from human cognition can help develop more efficient, interpretable AI models and examine the ethical considerations that come with their use. The perspective of psychology will approach cognition using both experiments and formal modeling.
Lectures will tackle human judgment and decision making, memory processes and memory strategies developing across the life-span, categorization and estimation as well as metacognition – the knowledge about one's own cognitive processes. . From the linguistic perspective, we will focus on language acquisition and processing, as well as on the question how language relates to other domains of cognition. We will present both experimental results and historical corpus data to showcase how language is represented and processed in the mind and how learners acquire language along the dimension of time. From a computational and AI-driven standpoint, the series will cover the modeling of cognitive processes, investigating how human judgment and decision-making are represented in computational frameworks. We will also explore the inner workings of AI language models, discussing how they process and generate language and how they can be extended through multimodal learning and interaction with users.
The philosophy lectures will explore what it means to say that something or someone “thinks” or “feels”. We examine whether attributing mental states to artificial machines differs fundamentally from doing so to humans or non-human animals. We hope that this will also shed light on the broader implications of AI for our general understanding of mind and agency.
Bringing together research from psychology, linguistics, computational science, and philosophy, this series offers a rich and interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence, learning, and perception-both human and artificial.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
S Game Theory (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
David Avagian
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 13:45 – 15:15 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
This tutorial accompanies the graduate-level introductory lecture on game theory. Its main objective is to practice solution concepts for static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. The contents are centered around the material covered in the lecture. Thus, the following key areas will be discussed: normal-form games, dominance, Nash equilibria, mixed strategies, continuous strategies, sequential games with perfect and incomplete information, subgames and subgame perfection, Bayesian equilibria, signaling and cheap talk games, expected utility and decision theory, bargaining theory, and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
S Quantitative Methods (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Domantas Undzenas
Date(s):
| Thursday (weekly) | 04.09.2025 – 04.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A 102 Seminarraum; B 6, 23–25 Bauteil A |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
S Quantitative Methods (Tutorial) (Seminar, english)
Course type:
Seminar
ECTS:
2.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Instructor(s):
Muhammad Muhammad
Date(s):
| Friday (weekly) | 05.09.2025 – 05.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | B 318 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
| This tutorial accompanies the course “Quantitative Methods” in the M.A. program in Political Science. The lab sessions will focus on the practical issues associated with quantitative methods, including obtaining and preparing data sets, how to use statistical software, which tests to use for different kinds of problems, how to graph data effectively for presentation and analysis, and how to interpret results. The seminar will also serve as a software tutorial. No prior knowledge of statistical programming is expected. |
VL Game Theory (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
Live & on-campus
Recommended requirement:
Examination achievement:
Exam
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger
Date(s):
| Monday (weekly) | 01.09.2025 – 01.12.2025 | 10:15 – 11:45 | C 012 Seminarraum; A 5, 6 Bauteil C |
Description:
The objective of this course is to provide students with the basics of formal modeling in political science. The course has some breadth in coverage in the sense that it provides a graduate-level introduction and overview to different areas in game theory. It is also narrow in the sense that the emphasis is not on application and model testing but getting trained in reading and writing down formal models. At the conceptual level the course will cover the following topics: normal form games, Nash equilibria, extensive form games, subgame perfect equilibria, repeated games, bargaining, games with incomplete and imperfect information, Bayesian perfect equilibria, signaling games, preferences and individual choices, basics of decision theory and social choice. At the substantial level, we will use these concepts to study, as examples, candidate competition, political lobbying, and war and deterrence.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.
VL Quantitative Methods (Lecture, english)
Course type:
Lecture
ECTS:
8.0
Course suitable for:
Master
Language of instruction:
english
Credit hours 1:
2
Attendance:
On-campus and online, live
Examination achievement:
data essay approx. 2000 words
Instructor(s):
Prof. Dr. Thomas Gschwend
Date(s):
| Wednesday (weekly) | 03.09.2025 – 03.12.2025 | 08:30 – 10:00 | B 244 Hörsaal; A 5, 6 Bauteil B |
Description:
The course introduces students to quantitative methods in political science. During the first half of the course, we will focus on linear regression models. The topics covered include discussions of the mathematical bases for such models, their estimation and interpretation, model assumptions and techniques for addressing violations of those assumptions, and topics related to model specification and functional forms. During the second half of the course, students will be introduced to likelihood as a theory of inference, including models for binary and count data.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
The main goals of this course are to develop sound critical judgment about quantitative studies of political problems, to understand the logic of statistical inference, to recognize and understand the basics of the linear regression model, to develop the skills necessary to work with datasets to perform basic quantitative analyses, and to provide a basis of knowledge for more advanced statistical methods.
In the accompanying course “Tutorial Multivariate Analyses” students will develop the necessary expertise in using statistical software to conduct quantitative research in political science.
More information
1 Credit hours indicate the duration of a course which is offered weekly during one semester. One credit hour equals 45 minutes.