Courses Offered

At the University of Siegen, you can study social sciences as (note that the following links with the exception of the last one lead to pages only available in German):

• as a teacher training course leading to a bachelor or master qualification
  (from the 2010/2011 winter semester onwards, replacing the former state examinations)

• as a B.A. course leading to the following qualifications

Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences
Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences in Europe

• as a post-graduate master course resulting in the following qualifications

Master of Arts in Social Sciences
Master of Arts in Media and Society
Master of Arts “Roads to Democracy(ies)”

Our courses are characterised by their interdisciplinary nature, their basis in research, the broad range of course units on offer, their close links to practice, and their international profile.

Interdisciplinary Nature

All the courses mentioned above are offered as interdisciplinary courses in the fields of Political Science and Sociology. In teacher training for social science, a further important component is economics, however. The interdisciplinary nature of the social science courses doesn’t only encompass political science, sociology and economy. The BA and MA courses in social sciences also include elective units or a certain elective focus. For the BA course, these units include European studies, media studies, and social policy. Students on the MA courses can choose elective units from those offered across the entire university, such as gender studies, history, media studies, philosophy and economics.  

Grounded in Research

The social science courses at Siegen are not just interdisciplinary but also closely related to research. Students directly experience the research questions with which the social sciences are currently being confronted and the methods used to find answers to these questions. This means above all that students receive training for their professional future, whether as university graduates expected to be familiar with recent research or when carrying out social science research themselves. The interdisciplinary nature of the courses at Siegen means that students equally benefit from our university’s respective research branches, including 'Media Studies' or 'Planning and Evaluation of Social Services'. At the same time, students also have a change to get involved in the current research projects being conducted by the teaching staff. This interdisciplinary flavour and the close links to research ensure that the courses offered cover a diverse range of different social science themes and methodologies.

Links to Practice

Links to practice also form an integral part of our courses alongside their interdisciplinary nature, research basis, and the broad spectrum of units offered. At Siegen, links to practice in the context of studying social sciences firstly means receiving practice-oriented training in academic working methods. Alongside the previously mentioned opportunities to get involved in research projects, we also offer comprehensive training in the empirical methods used in social research. This encompasses qualitative and quantitative research methods, which also include a thorough grounding in statistical procedures. Conducting small pieces of independent research forms a fixed part of this training. We give students our full encouragement and support if they would like to connect their thesis with an empirical investigation. If a solid academic grounding is in itself a key qualification for later professional success, the links to practice to be found at Siegen also mean that we actively foster:

• Practical skills in working with texts, media, information technologies, and social science research instruments

• Social skills in dealing with other people, such as empathy, freedom from prejudice, teamwork, communication, critical and conflict resolution skills

• Personal skills such as powers of observation, reasoning, self-management, analytical and logical thinking

• Professionally-related skills via subject specialization and internships (The Siegen Practical Programme, the University of Siegen Coaching Service, PraXiS – The Internship Pool at the University of Siegen).

International Orientation

One final important feature of studying social sciences at Siegen is the international profile of the course. This international profile forms part of the way in which the programs are linked to research. Many of the social science researchers at Siegen conduct their research abroad, whether in Europe or beyond, with intercultural and international comparisons thus playing an important part in teaching. This is at the very heart of the Comparative Social Science courses. This international profile means that the social sciences at Siegen work together with university, academic, and social organisations in Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the USA, and various countries in West Africa in a whole range of different ways. These collaborations benefit all those in the student body interested in studying, carrying out research, or doing an internship abroad. Anyone seeking information about funding in connection with international study placements can find out more from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).