Hertie School of Governance

The Hertie School of Governance is a private university based in Berlin, Germany, accredited by the state and the German Science Council. It prepares exceptional students for leadership positions in government, business, and civil society. Interdisciplinary and practice-oriented teaching, first-class research and an extensive international network set the Hertie School apart and position it as an ambassador of good governance, characterised by public debate and engagement. Our motto is "Understand today. Shape tomorrow".

The Hertie School of Governance was formally founded as a private, non-profit institution in December 2003 by the Hertie Foundation, becoming the first professional school for public policy in Germany.

Offering programmes that emphasised academic excellence and practical orientation in the reunified capital of Berlin, the Hertie School was, from its start, a unique educational institution in Germany.

The school began by organising panels, symposia and discussions, providing a platform for policymakers, professionals, and practitioners from the media, NGOs, and business to engage with academia.

In February 2005, the Hertie School was granted official state recognition and given the authority by the Berlin Senate to award the academic title Master of Public Policy as an institution of higher learning.

The first cohort of students in the two-year Master of Public Policy programme began their studies in September 2005, and the programme has grown considerably each year.

In September 2008, the school launched its second master's programme: the Executive Master of Public Administration. Together with the Freie Universität Berlin and the Social Science Centre Berlin (WZB), the Hertie School established the Berlin School of Transnational Studies in 2008.

In 2011, the Hertie School was one of the few private universities in Germany to receive the right to award doctorates. The Doctoral Programme in Governance started in 2012.

The first cohort of the new study programme Master of International Affairs began their studies in 2015.

The Hertie School of Governance is a private university based in Berlin, accredited by the state and the German Science Council. It prepares exceptional students for leadership positions in government, business, and civil society. Interdisciplinary and practice-oriented teaching, first-class research and an extensive international network set the Hertie School apart and position it as an ambassador of good governance, characterised by public debate and engagement.

This course introduces students to the policy process with a governance perspective. It analyses the capacity of political actors to design instruments to influence particular outcomes in different fields. Focusing on governance, rather than governments, students gain a broad perspective in the range of relevant actors involved in the policy process. The course provides students with a thorough understanding of the policy process, as well as the perspective to achieve their own targets as future policy actors. The course is taught as a seminar with about 25 participants. It is offered with different foci such as social policy, energy policy or the policy process in the EU.

This course deals with the design and operation of organisations that matter for public policy. It provides an understanding how these organisations 'tick' internally, how they shape the design and implementation of public policies and how they can be 'governed'. Critical thinking about solutions offered in debates related to public management issues will be encouraged. The course is taught as a seminar with about 25 participants.

This course provides students with an introduction to micro- and macroeconomics. It is suitable for students without an economics background, though students who have received prior training will also benefit from the course. It focuses on the core topics such as supply and demand analysis, market and price analysis, competition, market failure, asymmetric information, externalities and government intervention, game theory and uncertainty, macroeconomic equilibrium, money market and the role of central banks, labor market, aggregate demand and supply, government and fiscal policies. The course is taught as a lecture with about 80 participants. The lecture is complemented by a lab session with approximately 16 participants in which students have the chance to discuss and further elaborate on the topics covered in the lecture. For students with a strong economics background, waivers are available.

This course offers an introduction to quantitative research methods for policymakers. Students will become acquainted with quantitative methods conducive to empirical policy research. No prior knowledge of statistics is assumed and concepts will be addressed both empirically and theoretically. The course is taught as a lecture with about 80 participants. The lecture is complemented by a weekly lab session with approximately 16 participants in which concepts will be reinforced through hands-on application using STATA. For students with a strong quantitative methods background, waivers are available.

This course elucidates the relationship in modern societies between law and governance i.e. between legal structures and rules and decision-making. It is divided into three main parts: foundational legal techniques and sources, such as legal interpretation and argumentation; the relationship between law and policymaking; and the trans-nationalisation of modern law, and the impact of such trans-nationalisation on the law’s form, structures and substance. By examining primary legal materials and their interaction with contemporary public policy issues and dilemmas, students gain competences in reading and applying legal sources, as well as in understanding the impact of law on decision-making at different levels of governance. The course is taught as a seminar with approximately 25 participants.

The course builds on the foundations laid in Economics I during the first semester. Students deepen their knowledge and acquire analytical competences in this course depending on their field of interest. They can choose between three variations of the course: Open Economy and Exchange Rates, Public Sector Economics, or Growth and Trade. Each course is taught as a lecture with about 80 participants. The lecture is complemented by a lab session (with about 16 participants) in which students have the chance to discuss and further elaborate on the topics covered in the lecture.

During the first semester, students decide on their concentration and either attend the Statistics II course (for students with the Policy Analysis concentration) or the Management and Leadership course (for students with the Management and Organisation concentration). In order for them to refine and deepen their quantitative analysis or management skills, they attend at least two concentration-based electives in their third or fourth semester.