Are you interested in working in the fields of society and politics, political parties, administration, foundations, associations, international organisations, business or science, or do you want to do a doctorate in the social sciences? Then our Master’s programme “Social Sciences” is the right choice for you. In the course of the full-time study programme over four semesters, you will acquire all the necessary expertise to independently analyse central questions and problems of change in society, politics and the public sphere. You will be able to develop, apply and critically evaluate concepts, theories and research results with the help of scientific methods. Furthermore, you will learn how to systematically work on projects dealing with specific scientific or application-oriented questions in cooperation with project partners and to present your findings in writing in a scientific way. Accordingly, you will be qualified to work as a scientifically and methodologically versed expert and manager in a broad spectrum of the labour market and to participate in scientific research projects as well as to pursue independent research within the framework of a doctorate.
Structure of the programme
The study programme is divided into three areas: social sciences, the inter- and transdisciplinary area and a third one, which represents the area of interdisciplinary specialisation.
A total of 36 credits are acquired in the area of social sciences. Of these, 18 credits are allotted to two compulsory modules, and a further 18 credits are obtained in the chosen area of specialisation (political science, sociology or communication science). In this area of specialisation, two core modules must be taken, each with two related courses and a total workload of 18 credits.
In the rea of inter- and transdisciplinary research practice, the required 27 credits can be acquired by completing two modules. In addition to the project module worth 18 CP, you will take the inter- and transdisciplinary bridge module in the first year of study.
The interdisciplinary specialisation “Society, Environment and Technology in Transition” comprises 27 credits. You can freely choose the modules in this area, but modules with related content are recommended.
In total, you will complete 4 modules from the social sciences, 2 inter- and transdisciplinary modules and 4 to 6 modules from the area of “Society, Environment and Technology in Transition”. On average, 10 to 12 modules are taken. In the last semester of the degree programme, you will write your Master’s thesis over a period of six months, equivalent to a workload of 30 credits.
Specialised fields of study
In the specialisation in sociology, you will develop the ability to apply concepts, theories and methods of analysing social change as well as central structures and processes in society, population, economy and environment in different professional fields of practice. You will gain knowledge of the analysis, evaluation and design of work and organisational change. You will acquire theoretical and methodological knowledge and skills for the analysis and evaluation of structures and mechanisms of social inequality as well as forms of mobility in different aspects of life.
In the specialisation in political science, you will get to know new concepts of coordinating government, market and society and how to apply them to problems in national and international politics. You will be able to work out and evaluate structures, functions, tasks and interests of governmental and non-governmental organisations and to analyse and evaluate from different perspectives how they are connected to national and international social issues . You will deal with current concepts of research on cooperation, compliance and global governance.
If you specialise in communication science, you will learn how to apply concepts, theories and methods from communication science to problems of changing forms of communication of individual people and the society. You will get an overview of central research in communication science on new media and scientific communication and learn how to evaluate it. This will enable you to apply them to other problem areas.
