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Education

Preparatory reading MSc Political Science

10 August 2026

Dear incoming students,

Welcome to the MSc programme in Political Science — we look forward to having you join us!

Over time, students have often told us they'd appreciate a bit of orientation before the year begins, especially for those coming to the programme without an explicit background in political science. In response, we've put together a short list of suggested readings for each specialisation, listed below. These are just a handful of items — seminal texts, textbooks, or review articles — meant to give you a starting point into the programme.

A few things we'd like to be clear about:

  • The readings are entirely voluntary.
  • They're intended as background for those without prior training in the field.
  • They are not required preparation and will not be assumed as knowledge once teaching starts.

If you have any questions before the start of the programme, your study advisers are happy to help. If you need support on registering for your classes, please contact the SSC: ssc@leiden.edu.

We look forward to welcoming you in September!

With best wishes,

Dr. Adina Akbik
Director of Graduate Studies
Institute of Political Science
Leiden University

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