MA Sociology - start of studies WS 2025/26

(as of 29.4.2025)

Dear prospective students, dear future students,

We are delighted that you are interested in the new Master's degree program in Sociology at TU Dresden and would like to provide you with the most important information for the start of the semester in October 2025. This information will be updated on an ongoing basis.

A request to all those who receive admission and enrol: Activate your TU Dresden e-mail address early on and check it regularly or set up a forwarding service, as this is the only way we can reach you! Very important: As soon as you have your TU Dresden account, please log in to the OPAL study platform. All communication in the courses is handled via this platform. You will find the entry link for teaching in WS 25/26 in September via this link.

In the first semester week (before the start of the lecture period) there is traditionally a welcome brunch with information about the start of studies (6.10. to 10.10.2025).
Please register by e-mail to . The meeting will be organized by students from the Master's program, the program coordinator and some lecturers will also be present. You can also view information from previous semesters in advance, such as the video lecture on the introduction to the program structure. You can find the slides used there here: Presentation on the structure of the degree program.

The courses start at TU Dresden on Monday, 13.10.2025.

Further information:
You can find the planned courses for the first semester of the Master's program in the table below. This is the planning from the previous winter semester 24/25, i.e. the times, topics and lecturers will probably be different. However, the teaching in WS 25/26 will basically be similar. As soon as the course planning has been finalized, the courses will be announced here. The courses in the first semester are as follows:

• a weekly lecture series in which the main study areas of the degree program and the core research areas at the Institute of Sociology are presented (also from ongoing projects),
• a plenary seminar in which basic approaches, topics and concepts of sociology are read and discussed, taking into account the interests and knowledge levels of the students,
• two bridge courses on quantitative and qualitative methods, one of which must be chosen,
• three core seminars on topics from the three main areas of study, two of which you will complete in winter semester 25/26 and one of which you will continue as a research project in summer semester 25. The core seminars are assigned to the three specializations.

All courses in the first semester are compulsory; you only have to choose between the two bridge courses in qualitative or quantitative methods. The reason for this is to lay a common foundation for further studies for all students, including those coming from other universities and other degree programs. The table below only contains the courses of the past winter semester 2024/25 and is for orientation purposes only, the times will be different! (DS = double periods, a TUD-specific time regime, see left column for exact times):

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