Since the 1989 major curriculum revision of the undergraduate program, the Department of Political Science and International Relations (DPSIR) has introduced significant changes in the program.  Once again the Department is undertaking a major curriculum development program to respond to contemporary changes at national, regional and international levels. The current curriculum revision process at the DPSIR is multi-pronged in that the Department is not only changing the undergraduate program but also developing a new MA program in Comparative Politics and a new PhD program in Political Science. The changes in the current programs and curricula and the development of new programs and curricula are in line with changes in education policy and the focus within the University.

 

The task of developing the undergraduate curriculum was assigned to the curriculum review committee of the DPSIR. The committee after holding a series of meetings identified pressing needs and gaps in the curriculum and principles that should guide the process of curriculum revision. The committee also attempted to collect information, though informally about the needs and interests of different stakeholders, and to the extent possible, has incorporated their suggestions and comments into the new curriculum. The series of country-wide curriculum development conferences, consultations at the College of Social Sciences level, and with newly established political science and international relations programs at Wollega, Diredawa and Axum universities, have provided useful inputs incorporated into this curriculum. It is also worth mentioning that the workshop on Contemporary Issues in the Social Sciences held on May 17, 2008, hosted by the College of the Social Sciences at Addis Ababa University has raised a number of important issues that served as inputs for the new curriculum. For instance, the participants during the Workshop mentioned that the previous curricula at the College level have not incorporated issues such as gender. The incapacity of the existing curriculum in the provision of adequate research skills to the graduates was considered as one of the major problems of the previous program which the new curriculum needs to address. Accordingly, the rationales and justifications for the new curriculum of the BA degree program in Political Science and International Relations are summarized as follow:

 

• The Department of Political Science and International Relations (DPSIR ) of the Addis Ababa University believes its curriculum in undergraduate program in Political Science and International Relations should evolve in such a way that it should keep pace with the newest advances and developments in this field of study. The dynamic nature of the discipline necessitated the incorporation into the curriculum a number of new courses on emerging and cross-cutting issues that have come to occupy central place in the field of political science and international relations. Consequently, new courses on the politics of gender & identity, governance & human rights, comparative federalism, democracy and media politics, etc; are incorporated into this document.

 

• The DPSIR also believes that the developmental needs of the country and the interests of potential and current employers should play a critical role in curriculum development in the field of study. The assessment of needs pointed towards the identification of the ways and means of overcoming the shortcomings of the existing curriculum, and ultimately in the fulfillment of the requirements of the new graduate profile of the program.  The current program is observed to have some limitations in methodology training, in writing and communication skills. This necessitated the designing of new course which enables students develop research, writing, and communication skills.  This makes the new curriculum more capable and relevant in that it is tailored to fulfilling the needs of the country and employers, by building the required level of skills of the trainees which meets the intellectual and professional competencies in the field of political science and international relations. The needs of employers of graduates in the field of study would be assured by ensuring that students in this program are equipped with the necessary skills and tools that would go a long way in helping them to compete in the labor market at the national and the global level.

 

• Enhancing a multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary learning could have been assured through the incorporation of basic general education, supportive and/or minor courses spanning across the disciplines. However, due to the new requirements, minor options and supportive courses have been excluded whilst a few general education courses are incorporated into this curriculum.

 

Overall, the most recent developments in the field, the need for curriculum tailored to meeting the developmental needs of the country, the needs and the interest of various stakeholders, and the requirements of the new graduate profile which demands more skills training and professional capacity building needs, are the basis for the changes in the curriculum.