Degree programme Sociology (Master) accredited

Important information

Please note that not all information is translated. Please refer to the german version for missing information.

Admission requirements

Prerequisite:
• a university degree in the field of Sociology or a related social or cultural study course, imparting fundamental knowledge in sociological theory and methods of the empirical social research including statistics, as well as
• knowledge of English (B 2) and knowledge of a seconds foreign language (B 1). Notes to the required language skills

German language requirements

International applicants and German applicants with foreign school leaving certificate please find information here: language requirements.

Application hints and tips

If, at the time of the application, proof of the first degree that qualifies for a profession cannot yet be provided, applicants will be considered if 80% of the achievable points of the university degree can be proven by a certificate of the university of origin (Examining Office), on the basis of a completed module exam, assignment paper or colloquium. For Master study programmes with restricted admission (TU-NC), the certificate shall also include a provisional average mark, calculated on the basis of academic achievements already completed.

General information for the degree programme

The course is aimed at everyone who is looking for a deepening, broadening and empirical foundation of their sociology knowledge after a Bachelor's degree in sociology or related subjects (whether in Dresden or elsewhere).

The aim of the Master's study programme in Sociology is that its graduates have advanced scientific expertise in sociology and are able to recognise complex sociological questions and problems with scientific methods, analyse them through appropriate, critical methods, according to the state of current expert discussions, find possible solutions and evaluate them.

During the Master's programme students acquire competences for the treatment of complex and changing tasks and problem-related issues applying sociological expertise. They furthermore obtain specialist and generalising professional and conceptual skills, which qualify for research-oriented activities in universities and in non-university research institutions and can be introduced into research-related activities in many fields of practice in state and non-governmental institutions, business, associations and media.

In order to carry out research- and application-oriented tasks, the graduates are in a position to identify and classify social and cultural developments in a competent way and to develop strategies for dealing with them and to assess alternative solutions.

With the successful completion of the Master's study programme, the prerequisites for successful participation in relevant doctoral studies are established.

Study contents

The study programme is consecutive, the course is spread over four semesters. It is divided into a sociological core area (60 ECTS) and a profile area (30 ECTS). Within the sociological core area (1st and 2nd semester) students extend, deepen and specialise their expertise acquired in the Bachelor's programme, they accomplish among other things a two semester research project.

Within the core area three study specialisations are offered:
• „Cultures of modernity“
• „Social inequality “
• „Interaction and communication “.
These specialisation can be studied either to the same extent (option general studies), or you concentrate on one of the focuses (option deepening studies). The fourth semester is for the preparation of the Master's thesis (30 ECTS).

In order to facilitate the change from other places of study and related studies, a joint study programmes, a common curriculum is planned for all students in the first semester. In this semester, you will also gain an insight into the three main areas of study: In addition to a lecture series, you will attend three research seminars from the focuses, one of which will be your research project in the second semester. The choice of the study option as well as the focus of the study will be taken at the end of the first semester.
The profile area (3rd semester) has sociological and interdisciplinary contents and can also include a vocational internship. Alternatively, the third semester can also be used as a mobility window for studies abroad.