The Munich School of Politics and Public Policy is an autonomous institution hosted by the Technical University of Munich. It has the legal status of a public body.
Founding
The Munich School of Politics and Public Policy was founded during the period of upheaval that followed the end of World War II. Prompted by the US military government, and with the participation of constitutional law lecturer Prof. Hans Nawiasky, a decision was made in fall 1948 to set up an institution with the primary goal of teaching the principles of democracy. The discipline of “political science”, already well-established in the US, would serve as the school’s model. On July 14, 1950 the “Hochschule für Politische Wissenschaften” was founded – as a corporation under private law.
During the first two decades of the school’s existence, its management was faced with the far-reaching decision as to whether to continue as an autonomous institution or whether to become affiliated with the University of Munich. The emergence of similar institutions, such as the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing (1957), the Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science in Munich (1958), as well as the increasing involvement of political parties and the two main religious bodies in the area of political education intensified the deliberations over the future structure of the school.
Germany’s first Higher Education Act
On October 27, 1970, the Bavarian Parliament enacted the “Law governing the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy”. This gave the school the status of an “institutionally autonomous institution at the University of Munich”. This made the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy the only institution of higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany whose legal basis is a higher education act unique to that institution. Moreover, the law was also the first higher education act in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Public body status
In a law dated February 16, 1981, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy was given the legal status of a public body. The main advantage for students was the opportunity to earn a full academic qualification and potentially carry on to complete a PhD. In 2007, the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy introduced its own PhD program, which awards the title of “Doctor scientiarum politicarum” (Dr. sc. pol.).
Reform process
The Bavarian Parliament instigated the reform process that is currently underway in October 2013. In July 2014, it decided to make the Technical University of Munich (TUM) the new host university for the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy. This landmark decision opens up new opportunities to develop the discipline of political science by incorporating insights from TUM’s excellent work in the social sciences, the natural sciences and engineering.
The law governing the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy was enacted in early December 2014, and the Constitution in January 2015.
Please see the press release published on the TUM website for more information.