The Department of Political Science and Public Administration is one of the most powerful and modern (according to quantitative and qualitative parameters) structural units of UzhhorodNationalUniversity. The Department was created in January 2013, but it has a long history. By 1994 it had the status of the University-wide Department, but then it was attached to the Faculty of History. The staff provided the teaching courses in Political Science and Sociology for all Faculties of the University and Special Courses in Political Science for students-historians.

In June 1998 the Department received a license for training students in Political Science area.

In June 2002 the group of 18 students successfully defended their theses in specialty “Political Science” and for the first time in our region they got a degree – “Bachelor of Political Science”. The next year the graduates obtained the qualification degree of “Specialist”.

In 2004 the first group of master-analysts began to work in the political and educational spheres of the region.

The first set of the students of Distance Learning Department was enrolled to the Educational Institution the same year.

The growing demand for professional managers in the Transcarpathian region led to the fact that in July 2013 the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine gave the Department a license to train Masters of Public Administration. However, the need for training of Political Scientists who have had deep knowledge and skills in the political development of regions, ethnic relations, Local Government caused the establishment of the following specialties: “Political Regionalism”, “Ethnic Policy” and “Public Policy and Management”.

Nowadays the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of Uzhhorod National University provides training courses for the students in the following specialties: “Political Science” (0403) and “Public Administration” (1501) at four educational levels:

• “Bachelor” – the period of study 4 years (8 semesters), the qualification degree “Bachelor of Political Science” (6.030104);
• “Specialist” - the period of study 1 year (2 semesters), the qualification degree “Political Scientist, Lecturer” (7.03010401);
• “Master” - the period of study 1 year (2 semesters), the qualification degree “Master of Political Science” (8.03010401);
• “Master” - the period of study 1 year (3 semesters), the qualification degree “Master of the State Administration” (8.15010002)

The graduates with specialty “Political Science” can become the employees of State Executive Bodies and Local Authorities, Officials of political parties, Assistant Deputy, consultants, heads of Departments of Advertising and Public Relations, political commentators in the media or lecturers of Social and Political Sciences at universities and colleges.

The scientific and pedagogical work at the Political Science and Public Administration Department is carried out by the staff of 29 people, the majority of whom are Doctors and Candidates of Political Sciences, Public Administration, History and Philosophy.

Candidate of Philosophical Sciences V. Bodnar, PhD. N. Vegesh and Candidate of Political Sciences Y. Ostapets were the Heads of the Department in different years. Since January 2013 the Department of Political Science and Public Administration has been headed by the Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor M. Lendiel.

The Department of Political Science and Public Administration has significant achievements in the field of scientific activity, including the scientific researches in the area of topics “Transformation processes in Ukraine and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe” and “Electoral, political, cultural ethnic and national problems of Ukraine and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.” As the result a great amount of Master’s and Doctor’s Theses, scientific articles, monographs and text-books have been written. The Postgraduate Department (full-time and correspondence) operates in specialty “Political Institutions and Processes” (23.00.02), so the majority of the 10 Theses for the degree of “Candidate in Political Science” have been devoted to the research topics mentioned above.

The staff of the Department is actively involved in the work of the research centers, including the Research Institute of Regional and Political Research Institute of Central Europe.

The Department (one of few in Ukraine) has got its own library with over two thousand books of foreign and domestic authors in different areas of social and political sphere of knowledge: History of Political Thought, General Theory of Politics, Comparative Politics, Political Sociology, etc. A mini PublishingCenter operates on the basis of the Faculty of Social Sciences. More than 50 monographs and textbooks, educational materials and programs have been published for the needs of teachers and students.

The Department actively collaborates with the scientists from neighboring countries within the framework of the signed bilateral agreements, including the Faculty of Education of Szeged University named after Dyula Yuhas and Pedagogical Institute of Nyíregyháza (Hungary), the Faculty of Philosophy of University of Kosice named after P.Shafaryk (Slovak Republic), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, the University of Cluj-Napoca  named after Babes-Boyayi and the Museum of History of Satu Mare (Romania).