Research as a Teen – First-Year Obligatory Undergraduate Research Programme in Political Science

Undergraduate research programs are rather uncommon in Europe. Even more uncommon is an obligatory interdisciplinary undergraduate research in the first year of a study program. At Zeppelin University, researchers from political science are cooperating with other faculties to realise the Humboldtian ideal in the so-called Zeppelin-Project. The paper provides an answer to the question on how research results can be transformed into projects by students of political science. The transformation is guided by a high staff-effort to design new teaching concepts. The challenges the staff, the students and the administration have to face are firstly to find the balance between the conditions determined by the administration and the necessity of self-organisation by the students. Secondly, they must narrow the methodological and epistemological gap between the academic disciplines by institutionalising interdisciplinary teaching and research. To answer the questions above we will evaluate the Zeppelin-Project by analysing written protocols and qualitative interviews.