Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. However, to be considered for a specific semester, please submit your application no later than the 1^st of March – to start in April and the 1^st of September – to start in October. You will be informed about the result within three weeks. Once admitted, you will receive an admission letter and you will have up to six months to secure enough funding and start attending the courses.

The admission requirements are:

• Three-year (at least) university degree in a relevant field, combined with some working experience in the field of electoral policy and administration or related areas. Students expecting to graduate within a period of three months from the application are also eligible.
• (2) Fluency in English – at least at level C1 (please refer to: CEFR for Languages, CoE, www.coe.int/lang-CEFR ).

The online Master in Electoral Policy and Administration, as well as individual modules, are accredited in the same way as on-campus courses. There are no differences between the qualifications you will gain online and those delivered on-campus, and strict quality assurance procedures are adhered to for our online master programme and individual modules. On completion of the Master’s Programme, you will be awarded a Master’s Degree from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. If you decide to purchase and attend individual modules you will receive a Certificate of Completion and the respective academic credits for each module. Qualifications will be released only to those who will have settled the tuition costs and have passed the exams as requested.

A certificate is not compulsory, but it would be very much appreciated and we encourage to attach it to the online application. Please be aware that in order to attend the courses you must be fluent in English and the required level is at least C1 (please refer to: CEFR for Languages, CoE, www.coe.int/ lang-CEFR). Please consider also that all modules will be taught in English and you will be required to take exams and to write a final thesis of 15,000-20,000 words in English.

The length of the master programme is about one year:

Eight months – Online component

Three months – Preparation of the thesis

Up to three weeks – Optional residential component in Pisa, Italy

The optional residential component will take place twice a year, in autumn and in spring, to give you the possibility to discuss your thesis in front of an academic panel and to participate to events organized ad hoc, such as workshops and seminars. The optional residential component will be offered with a minimum of ten participants. Please note that you also have the possibility to discuss your thesis via online means, such as Zoom.

To give students enough flexibility, you will have up to two years to complete the master programme.

Individual modules correspond to two to four academic credits. Please consider that an academic credit corresponds to 15 to 20 hours of study and if you choose to purchase and attend individual modules, each of them shall be completed in six months.

The master programme is composed of 19 modules and each module corresponds to two to four academic credits. Please consider that an academic credit corresponds to 15 to 20 hours of study.

The length of the master programme is one year, however, in order to give you enough flexibility, you will have up to two years to complete the master programme. 

You can access the platform anytime, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Through online learning you will be able to study anywhere where there is an internet connection, when it is more convenient for you.

The online Master programme in Electoral Policy and Administration is of equal value to on-campus programmes in terms of entry criteria and overall workload. The only difference is in the way the course is delivered.

As an online learning student, you will:

earn an internationally recognised Master Degree

be able to study anywhere that has an internet connection

have the flexibility to study when it’s most convenient for you

be taught by academics working at the leading edge of your field

become part of a rich and varied online community

have access to University support services

earn up to 67 ECTS-credits (European Credit Transfer System)

UNITAR and Scuola Sant’Anna adopt an approach that relies on experiential and collaborative learning, allowing participants to share knowledge and experiences and contribute dynamically to the learning process. This approach focuses on the learning needs, interest, and expectations of the participants to ensure the relevance and retention of content and puts particular emphasis on the active participation of learners through practice-oriented learning activities (both during the online and residential components).

While delivering the modules, lecturers, assistants, and coordinators will devote particular attention to enduring interactivity, participation, links with practical examples and real experiences.

With specific reference to the online component, modules are designed to foster synergies between theory and practice. Taking advantage of the opportunities of technology-enhanced learning, the learning materials are presented through various means, such as text, graphs, images, and video material, which contribute to better retention and to enhance the learning process.

To create collective knowledge and to facilitate interaction and experience sharing among participants, working groups and discussion forums are organized. The working groups are a recurring feature of the Programme as they are used to carry out different learning activities. 

At the end of each module there will be a final exam with different modalities (ex. multiple choice exams, essays, open questions, interviews, etc.)

Yes, you always have the possibility to contact lecturers and other students directly. You will have the possibility to ask your questions on the platform and you will receive an answer in a very short time. Also, during the master programme, several “live” activities will be organised, such as live webinars, group works and simulations in a virtual classroom.

You will have access to the Scuola Sant’Anna online library to consult e-journals and the database from distance, career counselling and job search or internship assistance. You will also be able to communicate directly with lecturers, coordinators, and other students, and you will be assisted by a tutor throughout the entire master programme.

All of our courses require a basic competency with computers. However, we do not expect you to know how to use the online platform before you start, and full orientation will be given before the course commences. Many of our students have never studied online before, and being motivated, self-disciplined and an independent learner are key skills.

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

Division for Peace

Avenue de la Paix 7 bis, CH 1202, 2 Geneva, Switzerland

E-mail: mepa@unitar.org