Preparatory Course Master of Science in Sociology

The preparatory programme focuses on the domain-specific knowledge and skills. You already graduated from an academic program, so you master the general academic scientific competences. The courses in the preparatory programme help you prepare for the master programme. The preparatory programme does not lead to an academic bachelor degree. It is a programme necessary to follow to gain access to a specific master.

Preparatory Course
Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
English
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About the programme
Programme summary
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Postgraduate studies

What

The Master of Science in Sociology is an innovative English-taught programme at Ghent University, based on three cornerstones: an advanced scientific approach to contemporary societal problems, sociological research, and internationalisation. What are the social conditions that constitute the fundamental causes of health and illness? How can higher education institutions become more accessible? How are power and responsibilities formally and informally distributed within organisations? This programme addresses these and other contemporary social problems. Students acquire a strong academic approach that allows them to critically address such topics. Sociological imagination is the ability to connect the things that happen to people (such as their success in education, their relationship with their parents and their well-being) to social characteristics (the way schools are organized, the divorce rate, the degree of social inequality). To have this sociological imagination, a person must pull away from the situation and think from an alternative point of view. We expect prior knowledge for students to start this program, particularly the basics of sociological theories and thinking and basics in quantitative and qualitative methods and research methodology. Students who lack this prior knowledge can be allowed to take the preparatory program to the Master in Sociology. The full preparatory program is a one-year bridging program that gives access to the Master program, but does not result in a Bachelor’s diploma. Most of the courses in the preparatory program are taught in Ghent, but some courses (Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to SPC Methodology) are taught at the VUB in Brussels. To take these courses, students should register as guest students at the VUB.

For whom

The admission requirements depend on your prior education (type of degree, country of issue etc.).

Labour Market

Sociology graduates are in great demand for their combination of thorough insights in society, research expertise, communication and project management skills. Ghent University Sociology graduates start an academic career (as PhD students or research fellows) or work in ngos, governmental organisations (on themes such as health prevention and radicalisation) and research departments (such as market research). The programme prepares you for work on scholarly projects in academia, governmental organisations or research institutes. You will be able to research social phenomena such as social inequity, gender differences, quality of labour, democratisation of higher education, migration or health and risk behaviour. Our programme also prepares students for future careers as policy advisors or project managers in human resources, journalism or education.