Sociology and Social Research – (M.Sc.)

Contents

The first year of the programme comprises course work that is common for all students. The second year offers much room for flexibility and for focusing on students’ individual interests: it is a research year in which students pursue their individual thesis projects, with weekly meetings in research seminars that provide a common context for the students and support them in their thesis projects.

First year

The first year comprises eight courses (7.5 EC per course),four in each of the two semesters (total of 30 EC per semester). There are two types of courses: (1) four courses on social theory and the application of social theory in empirical research in relevant domains (SaSR-1, SaSR-2, SaSR-5, and SaSR-6) and (2) four methods and statistics courses. The methods and statistics courses are divided into two courses (SaSR-3 and SaSR-7) that provide training in state of the art quantitative methods and two research practicals (SaSR-4 and SaSR-8) that focus on the integration of theory formation, empirical research, and statistical modelling. More specifically, each semester starts with three courses that students follow in parallel, namely, two courses on social theory and the application of social theory in empirical research and a methods and statistics course (SaSR-1, SaSR-2, and SaSR-3 in the first semester, SaSR-5, SaSR-6, and SaSR-7 in the second semester). These three courses cover 10 weeks. Subsequently, each semester concludes with a research practical of 4 weeks (SaSR-4 in the first semester, SaSR-8 in the second semester) that focuses on the integration of the three previous courses of the respective semester. This means that statistical models covered in the methods and statistics course of the respective semester are applied in the research domains that have been covered in the courses on social theory and the application of social theory in empirical research of the respective semester, using existing large-scale data-sets.

Second year

The second year is a research year, very much catering to the students’ individual study interests. The focus is on the Master’s thesis (SaSR-12, 30 EC), i.e., on a project of the student’s own choosing. Thesis work is supported by two research seminars in a workshop format that provide guidance through and feedback on all steps involved in thesis research and writing. Research seminar 1 (SaSR-10, 7.5 EC) is taught in the first semester of the second year and focuses on theory and hypotheses for the thesis projects. Research seminar 2 (SaSR-11, 7.5 EC) is taught in the second semester and focuses on analyses, results, and reporting of findings. Furthermore, the second year includes elective courses (SaSR-9, 15 EC). The electives are designed individually for each student with the aim of broadening the student’s expertise in selected fields of sociology and social research. The electives enable students to build up field-specific knowledge, theoretical expertise and statistical expertise in the domain of their master’s thesis project through participation in an international summer school abroad, attending one or two relevant courses from other research master’s programmes, and a brief traineeship.

Accreditation

Accredited by: NVAO in: Netherlands

Funding details

Scholarships / Grants:

Utrecht University:
The Utrecht Excellence Scholarship offers a number of highly talented prospective, non-Dutch students the opportunity to pursue a degree in a selected number of fields at Utrecht University.
For additional information: Website