MA Political Science (MPS) is one of the longest-running master's programmes in IGNOU's School of Social Sciences. Its learners include graduates from every stream, school teachers, government employees and many UPSC, state PSC and UGC-NET aspirants, for whom the syllabus overlaps closely with what they already study. This guide explains how the programme is organised, what the first-year and second-year courses cover, and how to approach the term-end exam and the assignments.
Programme at a glance
- Programme code: MPS
- Duration: minimum 2 years, maximum 4 years
- Medium: English and Hindi
- Eligibility: a bachelor's degree or a higher degree in any discipline from a recognised university
- Credits: 64 in all – 32 credits of compulsory courses in the first year and 32 credits of optional courses in the second year
- Assessment: assignments and the term-end exam; no project or dissertation is listed for the programme
First year: the four compulsory courses
Every MPS learner studies the same four core courses in the first year, and each of them carries 8 credits.
- MPS 001 – Political Theory
- MPS 002 – International Relations: Theory and Problems
- MPS 003 – India: Democracy and Development
- MPS 004 – Comparative Politics: Issues and Trends
MPS 003 usually feels the most familiar to Indian learners, because it deals with the working of Indian democracy. Comparative Politics often takes longest to settle into, since it asks you to think about political processes across several countries at once.
Second year: choosing your optional courses
In the second year you make up 32 credits from optional courses. The MPSE courses listed for the programme are:
- MPSE 001 – India and the World
- MPSE 002 – State and Society in Latin America
- MPSE 003 – Western Political Thought (From Plato to Marx)
- MPSE 004 – Social and Political Thought in Modern India
- MPSE 005 – State and Society in Africa
- MPSE 006 – Peace and Conflict Studies
- MPSE 007 – Social Movements and Politics in India
- MPSE 008 – State Politics in India
- MPSE 009 – Canada: Politics and Society
- MPSE 011 – European Union in World Affairs
- MPSE 012 – State and Society in Australia
- MPSE 013 – Australia's Foreign Policy
The programme page also lists a few courses from other disciplines, such as MED 002 Sustainable Development: Issues and Challenges and MED 008 Globalisation and Environment. Many of the MPSE courses carry 4 credits, so the second year means more papers than the first. Check the programme guide for the exact number and combination you must select.
Choose with your goal in mind. If you are preparing for civil services or NET, Western Political Thought, Social and Political Thought in Modern India, India and the World and State Politics in India connect directly with those syllabi. The area-study papers on Latin America, Africa, Canada, Australia and the European Union are narrower in scope, but fewer outside books are available for them, so you will depend more on the IGNOU blocks.
The course list above follows IGNOU's official MPS programme page and recent assignment booklets. IGNOU may revise courses from one session to the next, so confirm the latest details on ignou.ac.in before you register.
How the term-end exam works
The term-end examination (TEE) is held in June and December. MPS papers are descriptive: you are asked to explain a concept, compare two thinkers or approaches, or critically assess a trend. Your final result combines assignment marks with TEE marks, and both components have to be cleared separately, so a good assignment score cannot cover a weak paper.
Certain kinds of questions return in most sessions. In Political Theory, expect questions on concepts such as liberty, equality, justice and democracy. In International Relations, theoretical approaches and their application to current problems are common. In MPS 003, questions often relate constitutional ideas to the actual working of Indian politics. Reading the MPS previous year solved papers from several sessions side by side is the quickest way to see which topics are asked repeatedly and how examiners phrase them.
Preparation tips
Political science answers are judged on clarity of argument more than on length.
- Keep a short note of each thinker with their main idea and key work. Questions on Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Gandhi or Ambedkar are much easier when this is ready.
- Pay attention to the instruction word. "Discuss" needs a balanced explanation, while "critically examine" needs strengths, limitations and your own conclusion.
- Support theory with Indian examples – a constitutional amendment, a Supreme Court judgment or a social movement – wherever the question allows it.
- Write in one medium throughout. If you registered in Hindi medium, prepare your notes and practise answers in Hindi from the start.
A note on assignments
Each course has one assignment of 100 marks. In recent booklets, both the MPS and MPSE assignments have ten questions in two sections. You answer five, with at least two from each section. The longer questions need about 500 words, while the second section mostly asks for short notes of about 250 words each. Assignments must be submitted to your study centre within the stated time to be eligible for the term-end exam, so collect and keep your receipt.
Write your submission in your own words. A solved assignment is most useful as a model of structure and length before you begin your own.
Study material from Helpbooks
Our MPS solved assignments, previous year papers and important-question sets are written in the style and length that IGNOU evaluators expect. You can see everything for this programme in our MPS collection. All material is sent as a PDF on WhatsApp.
For a free sample or any query, WhatsApp 8800002552.