Tepe studied political science, public law, and economic policy in Münster and received his PhD in 2008 from the Freie Universität Berlin. After research stays including those as visiting scholar at Stanford and Yale, Tepe was an assistant professor for positive political theory and most recently professor for the political system of Germany at the University of Oldenburg. He researches the determining factors for voting and decision-making behavior in politics and administration and has served as Vice President of the German Political Science Association (GPSA) since 2021.