About the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy

Politics, democracy and political science are facing major challenges: Today, technological progress and digitalization have an impact on almost all fields of politics.

Against this background, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy sees itself as a scientific interface. We work out new paths along political and technical issues of the day by deciphering multi-thematic contexts. Numerous specialized chairs and professorships are dedicated to urgent political discourses, complex international interdependencies and the potential of future technologies in research, teaching and knowledge transfer.

The integration of technological and natural sciences into political science and policy discussion has created an educational offering that is unique in the world. Our degree programs provide technological comprehension and political science proficiency for a diverse range of career paths. At the newly created TUM Think Tank, we address complex societal challenges with innovative formats and creative solutions.

A democratic founding story

Inspired by U.S. political science, a university was founded in post-war Germany at the suggestion of the U.S. occupying power with the aim of strengthening the understanding of democracy and the rule of law in the education of civil servants. The Bavarian Parliament founded the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy in July 1950 and granted it the status of an "institutionally independent institution at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)" in October 1970.

To this day, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy finds its legal basis in its own Hochschulgesetz, with academic degrees formally awarded by a sponsoring university. Since February 1981, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy has had the status of a corporation under public law.

Realignment with a technological focus

In 2013, the Bavarian State Parliament initiated a reform process at the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy. This entailed a change in the law, as a result of which the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy moved from Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität München to the sponsorship of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as a political science institution in December 2014. The teaching and research concept was expanded by integrating technology and natural sciences into the political dialogue. In this context, particular importance is attached to policy-shaping technologies, above all digital innovations and future technologies.

Stabilization of research, teaching and social dialog.

To build up the core area of political science at the Technical University of Munich, the Bavarian State Parliament approved new professorships, which began their work in March 2016. The Bachelor's program in Political Science started in the winter semester 2016/17 and the Master's program in Politics & Technology in the winter semester 2017/2018. 

In July 2016, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy moved into its new premises in the Brienner Forum at Königsplatz. In the following years, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy was equipped with additional professorships, further strengthening research, teaching and social dialogue at the interface of politics and technology.