Masters Degrees in Political Sociology, Netherlands

What is the meaning of citizenship in modern culture? What is the value of democracy? What does today's sociopolitical atmosphere mean for the future of liberty itself? Given the current international backdrop of cultural conflicts, political strife and radical new technologies, a thorough understanding of such issues is more urgently needed than ever. In the master's programme in Politics and Society, you will gain insight into how culture has become a source of concern and conflict in the national and international political arenas. You will also explore the different professional roles a student of politics and society can play in political organisations, in the media or in think tanks.

You can choose to follow this programme completely in English or completely in Dutch.

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The research-intensive master’s in European Studies is an interdisciplinary programme that combines political science and international relations with history and sociology. Research plays a primary role from the outset, with research projects integrated into each core module. You will gain in-depth training in methods such as quantitative and qualitative techniques, comparative methods and discourse analysis. You will also develop skills in designing research, writing research proposals, publishing your work and applying for funding and research positions. For the elective component, you can choose to take specialised courses, complete a research internship or do an exchange abroad. The master’s programme culminates with a thesis and the development of a PhD research proposal.

In this programme, you will:
- Learn to critically analyse and discuss challenges facing the EU
- Gain experience working in a multidisciplinary, international academic environment
- Receive in-depth training in conducting high-quality research
- Focus on designing, implementing and publishing your own research

A future in research

The overall objective of this programme is to equip graduates for high-level research careers in and outside academia. Thanks to the networks and activities of the research staff at Maastricht University, you will enjoy unique access to researchers at other universities, policymakers at EU institutions and member state administrations, Brussels-based interest groups, think tanks and other actors. Students in this programme also take active part in the Politics and Culture in Europe research programme, which is one of the largest research groups in European Studies.

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The master’s programme in Globalisation & Development Studies is a social science programme that focuses on how globalisation trends affect and interconnect different areas of the globe while marginalising others and how they produce diverse ‘local’ responses. While acknowledging the roles of the state and the market, you will examine the processes of globalisation and development ‘from the ground up’. You will look at how they are experienced in the everyday lives of families, indigenous communities, migrant diasporas, grassroots organisations and NGOs.

This programme builds on 20 years of globalisation and development teaching at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It has a pronounced global and transnational orientation: from the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, to emancipation and empowerment, hybrid identities, transnational social and political formations, and new possibilities for transforming society. You will develop a sound knowledge basis in the concepts, theories and issues relating to globalisation and development. Using Problem-Based Learning (PBL), which is very well suited for Globalisation and Development Studies, your learning is problem-driven and theory-driven and requires students to be active rather than passive.

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Are you a socially conscious, critical thinker? Are you interested in politics and technology? And does the connection between innovation and society intrigue you? Then the master’s European Studies on Society, Sciences and Technology (ESST) might be what you are looking for. As an ESST student, you will investigate the relationship between science, technology, and society, from a cultural, political, economic, and historical point of view.

This programme is offered together with 15 partner universities across Europe. You will spend your first semester taking courses at Maastricht University. During the second semester, you will select a specialisation and write your thesis either at Maastricht University or at one of the programme’s partner universities abroad.

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At first sight, the arts and sciences appear to be worlds apart. While sciences draw on strict procedures, the arts seem to be exempted from such rules. Yet both practices are governed by conventions - such as a consistent focus on innovation - that help to explain their cultural impact.

Moreover, the arts, science and technology mix and mingle in interesting ways. The arts provide scientists with metaphors to describe their work. The sciences are objects of cultural critique in the arts. The arts continuously incorporate new technologies. And both the arts and sciences “imagine” our culture’s future. That is why it is so important to study the contributions of the arts, science and technology to modern culture. And it is why we study all of these in one programme. CAST has roots in the internationally known field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and is at the same time uniquely embedded in empirical cultural research.

Perfect preparation for a research position

The Research Master in Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology is a selective, intense, and highly reputed programme. The programme is designed to give you the best possible preparation for a professional research position. During your master’s, you will therefore not only study theories from history, sociology, philosophy, the arts and the qualitative social sciences, but you will also follow a number of courses that specifically focus on research methods such as qualitative interviewing, conceptual analysis, archival research, ethnographic observations and rhetorical, narrative and discourse analysis. Most importantly, you will actually learn to work with these methods by writing review papers, research papers and proposals. You will work closely with faculty research staff on their projects and gain a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at how academic research is actually done.

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How can we understand the EU’s response to the financial crisis or to the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia? How do we account for the EU’s reaction to the refugee crisis provoked by conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa? What is Europe’s peacekeeping role and capacity? The master's programme in European Studies trains you to answer these complex questions. Because you cannot study Europe from just one angle, the programme examines global developments and multi-level governance in a broader context, combining political science, history, international relations, economics and cultural studies.

This student-centred, interdisciplinary programme is among the largest, and certainly the most international, in Europe and has an excellent reputation. You will study the internal and external dimensions of European policy, governance and administration. The focus is on the underlying issues of power and influence, governance and culture within the European milieu and between Europe and the wider world.

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The master Art, Literature and Society addresses contemporary debates in literature, art, religion, philosophy and culture. The key term here is interdisciplinarity: you learn to approach debates not as a philosopher, student of literature, sociologist or art historian, but rather as a student of culture who can combine different approaches from all of these various disciplines.

You will use interdisciplinary insights to debate issues such as:

- The critique of nationalism in recent German literature
- The humanities in academia
- Architecture and politics
- Fascism and modernism
- Darwinian aesthetics
- Are we our brain?
- The role of art in the future of democracy

The debates and discussions you will have during the programme, as well as the lectures and skills trainings, will help you:

- Develop broad insights into current issues in art and literature that are of national and international importance
- Gain experience engaging in impassioned debates and tackling a range of contemporary controversies
- Learn to infuse your academic practice with an element of personality, just as an artist would with a painting

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