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Studies & Degrees in Political Communication

Political communication studies how governments, parties, institutions and interest groups communicate with citizens and the media, and how that communication shapes public opinion. It sits between communication studies and political science. In Spain it is taught mainly as a master's degree, often combined with corporate or institutional communication, because the same techniques serve a ministry, a campaign and a company's public affairs office.

What students learn

Programmes combine analysis with practical work. From political science comes the study of public opinion, political decision-making and survey data. From communication comes the work the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes for public relations specialists: writing press releases, answering requests from the media, drafting speeches, arranging interviews and evaluating public opinion through social media. Typical subjects are:

  • Communication strategy for parties, institutions and companies
  • Media relations, speechwriting and spokesperson training
  • Public opinion research and the use of survey data
  • Digital and social media communication
  • Negotiation, public affairs and crisis communication
  • Communication in the European Union and other international settings

Most programmes end with work placements and a final project. In the master's degree of the Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC), for example, placements account for 12 of the 60 ECTS credits and the final project (Trabajo Fin de Máster) for another 12.

Qualifications and levels

Bachelor's degree. Political communication is rarely a bachelor's degree of its own. Students usually arrive from a degree in communication, journalism, political science or law. Spanish bachelor's degrees (grados) have 240 ECTS credits; the Grado en Comunicación Corporativa of the Universidad de Navarra, for instance, is an official degree of 240 credits taught over four years in Spanish and English in Pamplona.

Master's degree. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits, and the two Spanish programmes listed on SpainExchange have 60:

  • The Máster Universitario en Comunicación Política y Corporativa (MCPC) of the Universidad de Navarra is an official degree of 60 ECTS credits. It lasts 10 months, is taught on campus in Madrid in Spanish and English, and has 30 places. The university states that it includes two study stays, in Brussels and Washington, compulsory work placements, and a final project in which students act as consultants for a real client.
  • The Máster Universitario en Comunicación Política y Empresarial of UCJC has 60 ECTS credits and lasts one academic year, starting in October. It is taught in Spanish, on campus in Madrid or online. According to UCJC, it gives access to doctoral studies.

Admission. A bachelor's degree or equivalent is required. UCJC states that graduates of education systems outside the European Union can be admitted without having their degree recognised through homologación, provided they show with an official letter that their level of education is equivalent to a bachelor's degree. Its programme is aimed at graduates in fields such as advertising and public relations, political science, law, sociology and psychology.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists three schools for political communication: two in Spain and one in Austria. The Spanish ones are the Universidad de Navarra, whose main campus is in Pamplona and which teaches this master's degree in Madrid, and the Universidad Camilo José Cela, in Villafranca del Castillo near Madrid. The Austrian one is the University of Graz; ask the university which courses in this field it currently offers and in which language.

The Spanish programmes are taught in Spanish, in one case together with English. Political communication depends heavily on writing and speaking, so the language of the programme matters more than in most subjects. Students who plan to work in Latin America or Spain gain from studying in Spanish.

Careers

Graduates work for parties and candidates, parliaments and governments, communication consultancies, companies, NGOs and the media. UCJC lists roles such as communication consultant, account executive, community manager, spokesperson trainer and crisis expert. In government, public relations specialists may be called press secretaries, the BLS notes.

There are no official employment figures for political communication as such. For the nearest occupations in the United States, the BLS counts about 314,500 jobs for public relations specialists in 2025, 11 percent of them in government, and projects 2 percent growth from 2025 to 2035. Political scientists are a much smaller group, with about 6,100 jobs in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Is political communication a bachelor's or a master's degree?

In Spain it is mainly a master's degree. The two Spanish programmes listed here are official master's degrees of 60 ECTS credits that follow a bachelor's degree in communication, political science, law or a related field.

How long does a master's degree in political communication take?

About one academic year. The master's degree at the Universidad de Navarra lasts 10 months and the one at the Universidad Camilo José Cela lasts one academic year.

Can I study political communication online?

Yes. The Universidad Camilo José Cela teaches its master's degree both on campus and online. The master's degree of the Universidad de Navarra is taught on campus in Madrid.

Do I need my foreign degree recognised to be admitted in Spain?

Not always. UCJC states that graduates from outside the European Union can be admitted without homologación if they prove that their studies are equivalent to a bachelor's degree. Ask each university what it requires.