Public Administration

In Economics and Governance students apply modern economics to address societal issues such as reforming pension and healthcare systems in ageing societies, global environmental challenges, the impact of globalization on labour markets and income inequality, and pressure from immigration. This programme offers advanced knowledge and analytical tools on how to use data and statistics in doing analyses, which has become more and more important on today’s and tomorrow’s labour market. Moreover, our programme allows students to increase their economic reasoning skills and to critically evaluate various policy instruments.
The programme aims to develop professionals who are able to analyse and address policy problems broadly, and in the field of social policy and market regulation specifically. The focal point is on welfare states and markets. You learn about the role of government in creating, facilitating and controlling markets. You also examine the status of the current welfare state, such as the pension system, social security, and income distribution in society. You are provided a strong multidisciplinary preparation for a professional career in areas such as socio-economic policy- making or market regulation. The combination of applied economics and public governance forms a solid base for policy-makers, consultants and future leaders.

No nation-state can solve today's global challenges on its own. In the specialisation International and European Governance you will obtain a deep understanding of the interplay between the international, EU, and (sub)national governance systems and how this interplay affects a national government's capacity to address corss-border societal challenges. This expertise will prepare you for a job in an (inter)national public institution or the private sector.
In the specialisation International and European Governance you learn to formulate governance solutions to adress cross-border societal challenges. You will do this by applying state-of-the-art scientific knowledge of EU and International institutions and decision-making processes. It provides you a deep understanding of the complex, multi- layered nature of contemporary public governance and corss-border societal issues. You will gain state-of-the-art insights in how governments and stakeholders from the public and private sector can work together in complex multi-level governance systems. The International and European Governance specialisation prepares you for positions in international organisations as well as national public and private sector organisations that need to cope with the implications of an increasing global policy-making environment.

Why does governance so often fail to effectively address societal problems? Why does the success of policy solutions vary so strongly across countries and policy domains? The specialisation Public Management and Leadership develops a theoretical and practical understanding of how management and leadership behavior is at the heart of understanding – and improving – public governance. The programme provides an internationally comparative perspective on how the actions of political executives, top-level bureaucrats, managers in government agencies, and front-line professionals ultimately determine successful governance. This expertise prepares you for a career in an (inter)national public organisation or management consultancy. Public governance broadly refers to the structures, processes and institutions used by government to address urgent societal problems. However, to understand what makes public governance work in practice, it is necessary to look beyond the structures and processes of government, and pay attention to the behavior of organisations and the individual actors that operate within them. This master specialisation uses management and leadership theory to critically analyze how the decisions and actions of public managers ultimately determine successful governance. In doing so, the programme has an internationally comparative and practice-oriented perspective.