Programme structure

The Honours Certificate consists of two courses, each worth 10 ECTS credits.

• Autumn semester (Module 1): ISSMF4210 ¨C Understanding Key Concepts in Social and Political Life
• Spring semester (Module 2): ISSMF4220 ¨C Corpus-driven Conceptual Datathons

Understanding Key Concepts in Social and Political Life (ISSMF4210):

The course will consist of a series of hybrid (online & face-to-face) research seminars. 

Most lectures for ISSMF4210 will be conducted online in Zoom.

There will be an in-person welcome event for Module 1 at each participating institution. During this event, students will receive more detailed information about the module and its requirements. The first lecture for Module 1 is also scheduled to be held in person at each participating institution.

Students will work towards a presentation to be delivered online to the entire cohort in the last week of the course.  

A minimum of 80 percent attendance is required of all students

Corpus-driven Conceptual Datathons (ISSMF4220):

The course includes 4 online workshops, followed by an intensive, face-to-face student-driven datathon, The datathon will be held locally at each partner university over three days. 

Face-to-face datathon:  Spring 2026

The module incorporates online workshops and student driven activities. The teaching will start with guided workshops and, as the students become familiar with the corpora and the tools, they will continue working in student-driven collaborative sessions. The final session will consist of an in-person, collaborative datathon where students will work together to analyze and interpret the data collected.  

A minimum of 80 percent attendance is required of all students

Diploma and certificate

Successful completion of required courses leads to the following certificate: Honours Certificate in Concepts that matter ¨C Debating Democracy. 

The diploma is issued when you have completed the courses that meet the requirements for the certificate. Read more about diplomas.