Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster


The University of Münster is the third largest in Germany. Currently, about 39,000 students are enrolled and every year about 5,000 are graduating. It's popularity is no doubt due to the wide range of subjects on offer (over 120), the excellence of the research carried out in many departments, and the high quality of life in the city of Münster. The University has an international dimension also. More than 3,500 foreign students study here, and we have partnership agreements with over 400 academic institutions all over the world. Together with Enschede (Netherlands) and Osnabrück (Germany), Münster forms a university triangle within the area known as "Euregio".

The Westphalian metropolis is sometimes described as a cyclist's paradise. There are a great many cycle lanes, and most students have bicycles. The university's numerous institutes are dotted all over the mediaeval city centre as well as the western districts of Münster. However, although its buildings are all within walking or cycling distance, Münster University is quite different from campus universities in that its activities tend to merge with everyday urban life.

IFPOL - Institute of Political Science


The Institute of Political Science at the University of Muenster, North Rhine-Westphalia, is the third largest Institute in Germany with some 3,000 undergraduates and graduate students. In addition to the traditional course offerings in International Relations, International Political Economy, Comparative Politics, Policy Studies, Political Theory and German Politics, the Institute focuses in its graduate studies on three main areas of research: 1) Governance, Globalization and Europeanization; 2) Civil Society and Democracy, and 3) Transformation and Regionalisation Processes. In October 2005 the Institute created the Graduate School of Politics (GraSP-Münster), which is the first in the country, to attract excellent graduate students and provide an environment for structured learning and offer the opportunity to participate in ongoing research programmes.

Department of Human Geography


  • Focal points of Human Geography:
    • great variety of spatial perceptions and representations
    • processes of socio-economic change
    • reasons for and outcomes of social inequality
    • laying the ground for application in terms of 'managing space'
  • analysis of geopolitical discourses from a perspective based on the concept of Critical Geopolitics as well as Geographical Conflict Research
  • Key projects are:
    • geopolitical conceptions of the world (and 'the enemy')
    • international terrorism (in cooperation with the National Peace Research Foundation)
    • territorial and resource conflicts

ERCIS – European Research Center for Information Systems


The ERCIS – European Research Center for Information Systems – is a network of scientists that conduct cooperative research in the field of integrated information systems development and organizational design. For the first time, core competencies in the discipline of information systems are interrelated with issues in the field of computer science, business administration and specific legal issues within an institutional framework. Thus, a holistic view of information system development and organizational design issues can be ensured.

Due to its outstanding reputation in both research and teaching within the field of information systems and business administration, the University of Münster has been selected by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia to found the European Research Center for Information Systems. Its objective is to undertake joint research projects that span different disciplines and countries, thus fostering research at a level that cannot be achieved by individual go-it-alone projects. The exchange of researchers, such as PhD students, lecturers or (associate) professors, is encouraged and cooperative masters and doctoral programs are also part of the overall objective.

Research Topics

  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
  • process-oriented organizational restructuring
  • realization of future application architectures
  • integration of various technical systems into a holistic architecture

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Projects

Contacts