Mission Statement and Strategy

The Department of Political Science (IPZ) at the University of Zurich was founded in 1971.
(history of the department)

As of 2026, approximately 140 staff members and around 20 external lecturers are engaged in teaching and research at the IPZ across 21 professorships and research areas.

The IPZ is part of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Zurich. In collaboration with the ETH it forms the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS).
 

Executive Summary: The IPZ stands for excellence in political science research and teaching as well as cooperative collaboration in our diverse, open community. Our research addresses politically and socially relevant issues, is internationally visible and feeds directly into research-oriented, theoretically and methodologically sound teaching. From early on, we nurture the next generation of political scientists with individual support and a commitment to their academic development. By communicating our research results to the broader public, we strive to contribute to the further development of a self-reflective society.
 

Our core values are:

• Excellence: We conduct excellent research and teaching based on rigorous research standards, supported by scientific integrity, ethical behavior and social responsibility.
• Cooperation: We see ourselves as a supportive community with flat hierarchies promoting cooperation between all employees across career levels and subject areas.
• Pluralism: We value diversity as a strength of our department and stand for fairness, tolerance, respect and openness to dissent.
   

These values guide all our activities and translates into

Research practice that

• pursues internationally leading research, addressing important questions with innovative theories and methods.
• values publications in top international journals and with leading academic publishers.
• uses research findings to inform public debates.
• creates and maintains a cooperative research culture both within the department and with other institutions.

Teaching practice that

• provides a broad education of outstanding academic quality, taking into account the breadth and diversity of political science as a discipline in the context of integrated programs with clear profiles.
• values the transfer of research into teaching and to research-based learning.
• offers a strong theoretical and methodological training that fosters students' academic independence and enables them to conduct high-quality research.
• delivers MA and PhD programs that are internationally competitive and research oriented.
• ensures the diversity of our students' professional careers by incorporating practice-oriented skills and experiences into our study programs.

Nurturing the next Generation:

• involving students in research as early as possible, starting with the BA thesis as well as with research assistant opportunities.
• the pursuit of an academic career as the main goal of PhD training and the Postdoc phase, while recognizing and supporting other career goals.
• supporting PhD students and Postdocs in the pursuit of an academic career by offering the best possible framework conditions for academic research and teaching.
• supporting PhD students and Postdocs to publish their work in internationally leading journals and presses.
• the successful training and support of PhD students and Postdocs as the responsibility of the entire department and not only as the task of a single person or chair.

Outreach that

• is valued and committed to making scientific findings and their social relevance visible and understandable beyond academia.
• bears a responsibility to the public at large by providing a scholarly foundation for self-reflection in society and contributes toward its positive development.

Goals, priorities and measures 2026-2031

Excellence in research and teaching as well as cooperation in a diverse, open community are at the heart of our work at the Department of Political Science (IPZ). Based on these values, the IPZ mission statement provides all its members with long-term orientation for our activities.

The mission statement also guides the strategic goals for the period from 2026 to 2031 in seven key areas:

1. Definition and Visibility of the IPZ Identity
2. Scientific Impact
3. Support of the Next Generation
4. Transversal Research Priorities
5. Societal Outreach and Impact
6. Study and Teaching
7. Diversity and Sustainability

To reach our goals, the Department's Board of Directors ensures the implementation of priorities and measures, and reports to the Departmental Council and to the Study Programme Council.
 

Strategic goals, operational priorities and measures in seven areas

1. Definition and Visibility of the IPZ Identity
Three core values guide our activities at the IPZ: excellence, cooperation and pluralism. Based on these values, we foster a departmental culture that drives our daily work and communication in our community and beyond.

Concrete measures include:

• living and promoting our identity as an open, diverse department and making this tangible for our staff and students
• streamlining our communication towards the general public to express our values beyond our departmental community
• implementing the communication strategy to strengthen the IPZ identity and its branding
   

2. Scientific Impact
Research at the IPZ provides high-quality scientific insights into questions of academic and social relevance. We strive to maintain and increase our excellent levels of academic performance and visibility, while adhering to high ethical standards and open-science principles.

Concrete measures include:

• maintaining attractive research conditions
• supporting colleagues, especially our young scientists, in applications for third party funding
• strengthening publication skills in seminars, workshops and other collaborative formats
• ensuring that the IPZ’s future location in Binzmühlestrasse 14 (BIN) provides researchers and administrative staff with the best possible working conditions
   

3. Support of the Next Generation
We promote our next generation of scientists at all qualification levels. The creation of excellent working conditions is one priority to support their research career. We ensure harmonised and fair conditions of employment and consider mentoring as highly important. We value the community spirit at our department as crucial for excellent work in a challenging, agile and international environment.

Concrete measures include:

• strengthening the IPZ community by valuing active participation in our vibrant network
• supporting the collaboration and initiatives of all researchers across chairs, especially in our four Transversal Research Priorities
• continuing the annual perspective talks with all junior academic staff
• instituting an effective onboarding system, emphasising research ethics and open science
   

4. Transversal Research Priorities
IPZ is characterized by an exceptional variety of research themes. With our transversal research priorities, we aim to give visibility to this thematic breadth and strengthen synergies and collaborations across chairs and research groups. The four Transversal Research Priorities are: Democracy Studies, Digitalization, Inequality and Distributive Politics, and International Cooperation and Conflict.

Concrete measures include:

• defining leadership and responsibilities for each of the four Transversal Research Priorities and ensuring they reflect current activities
• actively integrating new colleagues into the Transversal Research Priorities
• organizing the annual “IPZ Research Lectures Series”
   

5. Societal Impact and Outreach
Our expertise and research findings address socially relevant questions, which we strive to convey to the broader public. To make the most efficient use of our resources, our communication focuses on selected communication channels to reach different audiences and stakeholders.

Concrete measures include:

• further developing a communication strategy of the IPZ, including identifying goals and the best channels and tools for different audiences
• continuing successful formats to promote our outreach (including the Impact Day and Award as well as the IPZmeetsKanti project), cooperation in research and/or teaching with actors like the ZDA and special study formats such as Capstone courses
   

6. Study and Teaching
Based on research-based teaching and learning, we want to provide our students with a comprehensive, state-of-the-art political science education of highest quality at all academic levels (BA, MA, PhD). We strive to be an attractive place to study for both local and global students. We support our students to become independent, competent and responsible experts in various academic and non-academic fields.

Concrete measures include:

• further developing AI in teaching and developing proposals for our curricula in the light of technological transformations and labour market expectations
• highlighting the job market relevance of our study programmes, additionally enhancing our internship programme and alumni programme
• implementing new foundational courses in the PhD programme “Political Science”
• continuous quality management of our programmes, focusing on the alignment of our curricula with labour market expectations, especially with regard to our MA programme
• implementing the revised international student exchange strategy, with a special focus on double degree options at MA level
• strengthening the integration of external instructors into the department through an IPZ Teaching Conference
   

7. Diversity and Sustainability
We strive for a lived culture of diversity and sustainability that supports the brightest minds regardless of background and orientation. We actively promote openness and diversity by addressing structural barriers and disadvantages through our working group on diversity. The IPZ implements the University of Zürich Sustainability Policy across all areas of responsibility.

Concrete measures include:

• regular assessments of diversity metrics across all qualification levels
• ensuring inclusive and bias-aware hiring processes, reflecting the UZH Gender Policy Code of Conduct and align with “best practices” developed by the the IPZ Diversity Group
• integrating diversity and sustainability perspectives into our curricula where appropriate
• prioritising sustainable technology solutions in research and teaching, such as energy-efficient practices

IPZ Impact Award: Cooperation with non-university partners

The IPZ places a high value on public relations. We are committed to making scientific findings and the social relevance of our research visible and understandable beyond the academic communities.

In addition to media work, the most important instrument for this is direct cooperation with non-university actors (stakeholders). The IPZ Impact Award focuses explicitly on this form of outreach.
 

The IPZ Impact Award: Aim, procedure, endowment

The IPZ Impact Award honours cooperation projects with non-university partners. A wide variety of cooperation projects that generate an impact can be proposed, e.g. a classic research cooperation with non-university partners, a special outreach publication, a cooperative conference project, a consultancy or scientific support of a non-university partner, a teaching project, a Capstone, etc. The aim of the IPZ Impact Award is to promote and support the cooperation of non-university partners.

The aim of the IPZ Impact Award is to record and honour all collaborative projects, with an additional award for a particularly promising project. However, all projects are to be recognised at the Institute Conference in November.

A jury consisting of members of the IPZ (staff and students) selects one project each year from the proposals submitted. In addition to a scientific yield, the cooperation project should above all generate a concrete added value of our research for society. The results of the cooperation project should reach their target groups, stimulate innovative types of interactions, processes and discourses or contribute in other ways to solving societal challenges.

The IPZ Impact Award is endowed with CHF 500 and will be awarded at the General Department Assembly in November.
 

Nomination for the IPZ Impact Award

Nomination:  Members of the IPZ can nominate their own projects or those of others. Projects can either be ongoing or have been completed in 2024.
Ongoing projects or projects completed in 2024 that have been nominated last year but did not win the Award can be nominated again.

Selection criteria: scientific quality and originality; return for all partners involved; added value for society.

Deadline: 16.09.2024: (beginning of the autumn semester).

Documents to be submitted: A single document containing the following information:

1. Project title and duration/period
2. Participants on both sides: IPZ (all names) and cooperation partner (organisation, project partner).
3. Short description of the content of the project (max. 300 words)
4. Short description of the cooperation results achieved so far, as well as the added value of the cooperation (max. 300 words)

Members of the selection jury: One member each from the professorial staff, the mid-level faculty, the ATP, the students, as well as external lecturers and/or advanced researchers.

Submission to: sekretariat@ipz.uzh.ch

Nominations last year

1. Daniel KÜBLER, Andri HEIMANN, Robin GUT, Francesco VERI: “Bürgerpanels für mehr Klimaschutz im Kanton Zürich“

2. Raphaela KOTSCH, Katja MICHAELOWA, Axel MICHAELOWA:
   “Designing Effective Regulation for Carbon Markets at the International, National, & Subnational Level”

3. Cindy BISCHOFBERGER, Josephine SMITH, Mario HEDIGER, Julian FERBER, Steven HILL, Karsten DONNAY: “Geschichten der Heimat – Capstone Project”

4. Garret BINDING, Judith SPIRIG, Anja GROB: “Home Economics and Gender Differences in Household Labor”

5. Fabrizio GILARDI, Karsten DONNAY, Maël KUBLI, Natalia UMANSKY: “Stop Hate Speech”

6. Silja HÄUSERMANN, Delia ZOLLINGER, Fabienne EISENRING:
   “UZH Weiterbildung für Lehrer:innen an Maturitätsschulen «National- und Ständeratswahlen“

7. S. HÄUSERMANN, T. ABOU-CHADI, R. BÜRGISSER, M. ENGGIST, R. MITTEREGGER, N. MOSIMANN, D. ZOLLINGER:
   “Wählerschaft und Perspektiven der Sozialdemokratie in der Schweiz“

8. Thomas KURER, Reto BÜRGISSER:
   “White Collar Automation: Digitalization, Labor Market Entry & Political Demands among White Collar Employees in CH”

9. Fabian AIOLFI, Sarah BERKINSHAW, Tabea PALMTAG, Lucas LEEMANN: “Youth Participation”