Admission to MACIS

Who may apply?

You may apply for admission to the MACIS program if you have completed

• a BA, BSc, or an equivalent first degree at a recognized university
• a Swiss Lizenziat/Licence

You can be admitted to the program without any additional prerequisites if

• your first degree (or equivalent) is in one of the following social sciences: economics, political science (including Staatswissenschaften and public administration) or sociology
• your first degree (or equivalent) is in a different field but you have completed substantial course work (at least 20 credit points ECTS) in one of the social sciences listed above

Still unsure of whether you qualify?

If you are not quite sure whether your prior education and existing academic skills are sufficient for entering the MACIS program, we recommend that you read the following books. If you understand most of the contents quite easily, your educational background is probably sufficient.

• Gary Goertz. 2006. Social Science Concepts: A User's Guide. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  You will also find useful exercises based on this book here.
• Bruce Russett, Harvey Starr, David Kinsella. 2006. World Politics: The Menu for Choice. Wadsworth. For teaching materials relating to this book, see here.
• Thomas Bernauer, Detlef Jahn, Patrick Kuhn, Stefanie Walter. 2009. Einführung in die Politikwissenschaft. Baden-Baden: Nomos. (For those of you who read German.)
• Alan Agresti, Barbara Finlay. 2009. Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. Pearson International Edition. Prentice Hall.
• For comparative politics, you have three choices:
  Daniele Caramani. 2008. Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  Rod Hague, Martin Harrop. 2010. Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction. 8th edition. Palgrave Macmillan.
  Mark Irving Lichbach, Alan S. Zuckerman (Eds.). 2009. Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

You can find excerpts from several of these books at Google Books.

What to submit?

Application: In addition to the online application, the following documents must be submitted at the application deadline (please see below for application dates):

• a personal statement of purpose indicating your motivation and goals for the MACIS program
• your curriculum vitae (CV)
• two letters (no online letters accepted) of reference by university professors - at least one of them by a professor from your degree-granting institution
• proof of English proficiency: Non-native speakers who have not obtained their Bachelor degree from a university of one of the following countries: Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, UK or USA need to submit either their Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) or official TOEFL or IELTS test scores. We require a TOEFL score of at least 600 on the paper-based test or 100 on the internet-based test. For the IELTS test we require a score of at least 7.0. Test results may be handed in after the application deadline.
• An official GRE (no GMAT) Score Report is:
  - Mandatory for students who have obtained their Bachelor Diploma not in one of the Bologna countries
  - Voluntary (for more information see here) for students who have obtained their Bachelor Diploma in one of the Bologna countries
• Additional information, e.g., on publications, awards or internships may be submitted on a voluntary basis
• MACIS applicants are NOT required to submit a German language certificate or a letter confirming admittance to an MA program in political science in their home country.

Additional documents are required by the ETH admissions office. For a list, see application (in text click on "required information"). ALL documents should be submitted together with a signed printout of the online application form to the ETH admissions office.

Interested in a Scholarship? For more details, see information on ESOP scholarship or contact our ETH scholarship information office directly.

How we select?

Fulfillment of the formal requirements does not guarantee admission to the program. MACIS students are selected based on competitive evaluation of their submitted application material. 

ETHZ Admission Updates: