Double Degree in Political Science: Annika Volz

Outside the door, chalkboards advertise wine, croque monsieur and a bluegrass band that is scheduled to play in the coming days. On this evening, however, you don't hear any music coming from the small swing bar in Fontainebleau, a small town near Paris. Around 15 young people, some with German accents, are discussing nuclear power, renewable energy and peak oil. As so often, the Club Politique de Fontainebleau meets in the small café, this time on the topic of the energy crisis. The initiative was founded by students of the Institut d'Études politiques de Fontainebleau (IEP).

The university location is still young. The campus was only opened last year. It belongs to the Université Paris-Est Créteil. Annika Volz is one of the first students to study political science there. The semester abroad is part of her German-French Double Degree in International Political Science, which she is completing at Leuphana: "I come from near Stuttgart. I was often in France with my parents and also focused on French at school. The exchange between countries is important to me," she says.

In previous years, the students of the political science department still studied directly on the campus of the Université Paris-Est Créteil. Annika Volz likes Fontainebleau better, however, because it is more cosy: "I felt like I was in a film about the French way of life. I was constantly meeting friends, we discussed similarities and differences, studied for university or chatted over a café crème."

After graduating from high school, it was clear to Annika Volz that she would like to study international relations - but not only in theory. "I was looking for a study programme with an integrated semester abroad." Leuphana convinced her with its good support and proximity to Hamburg: "I then moved from southern Germany to the north and haven't regretted it," says the student.

The German-French Political Science programme enables students to take an in-depth academic look at the challenges of modern politics in the age of globalisation, transnational security threats and anti-democratic tendencies. Students complete the first and second semesters at Leuphana College and initially acquire interdisciplinary and subject-specific basics in the Leuphana Semester and continue their studies from the second semester onwards with the Major Political Science in conjunction with the Minor Comparative Economic Law. Students spend two semesters on the Fontainebleau campus of the Université Paris-Est Créteil. The programme is completed with a double degree.

For Annika Volz, the degrees from a German and French university are the big plus of the Political Science programme at Leuphana: "A semester abroad is always a fantastic experience. But with the double degree, even more professional doors can open later." Annika Volz reports on the high value of a political science degree in France: "Because I studied at the IEP, I will soon be one of the graduates of a very good university in France in the field of political science." The student can imagine herself working in France or in French-speaking countries later on, for example with the EU or an NGO dealing with European issues.

With her studies at the IEP, Annika Volz enriched her linguistic and intercultural skills. "Together with my fellow student Damla Uzun, we started a German language café in the Swing Bar. The French students thought it was great."

In May, it was au revoir and goodbye. Her friends from the Club Politique de Fontainebleau and the IEP met for brunch one last time before Annika Volz left for Germany: "But it wasn't just my farewell, it was the farewell to a year full of shared moments: from birthday parties to study sessions, from controversial discussions and exciting guests at the Club Politique, from cooking evenings and visits to Paris. Despite differences in character and culture, we have grown together into a family. I will never forget this time."

But the story is not over yet: the French students from the Université Paris-Est Créteil are also part of the Double Degree programme. They will come to Leuphana in autumn.