Profile
The master’s degree programme ‘Social Science Sustainability Research’ is a consecutive master’s degree programme offered at the Institute of Political Science and Sociology. The German and English-language master’s programme is aimed at students who wish to expand their knowledge of the social sciences with a focus on the multi-layered and complex topic of sustainability research with interdisciplinary research approaches.
The four-semester master’s programme takes up the social science orientation of sustainability research and combines political science and sociological research perspectives of the IPS with reference to current social and political developments. As a research-oriented degree programme leading to a Master of Arts (M.A.), students can study the research field of sustainability in an interdisciplinary manner and expand their skills in the field of sustainability with regard to scientific, social and cultural issues, problem areas and policy deficits.
You will deal with issues of Sustainability Research, Comparative Politics, International Relations and European Studies, Political Theory, Sociological Theory, Applied Sociology and Methods of Qualitative Empirical Social Research, and Quantitative Method of Empirical Social Research
Social Science Sustainability Studies
Students are given an overview of existing social science research approaches in the fields of political science and sociology with a focus on interdisciplinary climate and sustainability research. This is often orientated towards the Sustainable Development Goals formulated by the United Nations, such as the fight against poverty, gender equality, quality education, health and well-being. In addition, the research area teaches students the ability to structure fundamental questions and fields of research and to relate them to one another and to reflect on the importance of subject-related and interdisciplinary work. |
General Sociology
Courses in this area deal with sociological approaches towards theories of international social comparison, which are discussed under keywords such as “Varieties of Capitalism” or “Multiple Modernities”. These approaches are also precursors to relatively recent considerations on a sociology of globalization phenomena and the constitution of a world society.
Methods of Quantitative Empirical Social Research
The area of quantitative methods covers the entire research process from the theoretical derivation of hypotheses, the selection of a suitable research design, data collection, recording and analysis through to the interpretation and clear presentation of the results. Students also learn how to use statistical programs such as Stata.
Comparative Political Science
Comparative political science modules focus on three key topics: Students will discuss the relevance of neo-institutionalist approaches for political science analysis, the development and classification of specific policy fields and more recent approaches to democracy research.
International Relations and European Studies
The field of “International Relations and European Studies” examines phenomena of intra- and extra-European as well as cross-border politics. In addition, students gain in-depth knowledge of the methods and theories of research in international relations and European integration, the current and future challenges of the European integration process, the shaping of global governance and dealing with the challenges of the new, multipolar world order.
Special Sociology and Qualitative Methods of Empirical Social Research
In this area, students examine media and their modes of action: From a sociological point of view, what can be understood by a medium? What formative power do media develop? How do their effects become empirically visible? As a preferred object of analysis, practices of the public and the private - but also the media infrastructures themselves - are discussed and illuminated. |
Political Theory
The field of political theory examines the basic structures of constitutional democracy and the Nation State in Western societies as well as their socio-economic and cultural preconditions. It also analyses transformations of Nation States and the normative aspects of the transnational order in times of globalization.
Teaching projects: Some examples from previous semesters
The SowiNa programme offers students in-depth insights into the challenges and opportunities arising from the complex dynamics of sustainability transformations in a variety of teaching, learning and exchange formats. In interactive seminars, digital and analogue methods and forms of examination are used to reflect on current issues in social science sustainability research in an empirical, practical and research-oriented manner. Results from teaching projects are presented below.
