Sociology (B.A.)

Content of the degree programme
Sociology is the study of society. It examines social structures that characterise the actions of individuals and make human coexistence possible. Sociology is primarily concerned with modern societies. Using a variety of empirical methods, sociology studies the interplay of economic, political and cultural orders, modern forms of social inequality and the conflicts associated therewith.

Description of the degree programme
The six-semester, German language bachelor's degree programme offers you a degree that qualifies you for a profession by combining a sounded introduction to sociological theory with sophisticated training in methods of empirical social research and advanced, research-related subjects.

Sociology at Göttingen University concentrates on the international comparative analysis of modern societies, with the following research foci defining the Institute’s character:
• The Department of “Employment - Knowledge - Social Structure” (Prof. Dr. Karin Kurz) deals with the labour markets and economic structures of capitalist societies as well as with education, labour force participation and social inequalities over the course of life.
• Wars and countries, welfare states and social policy are the focus of the second Department of “Political Sociology and Social Policy” (Prof. Dr. Ilona Ostner und Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Knöbl)
• The third Department of "Cultural Sociology" (Prof. Dr. Claudia Diehl und Prof. Dr. Matthias Koenig) examines the dynamics of religious community and ethnic identity formation, migration and gender relations.
Since April 2011, the sociologist Prof. Andrea D. Buhrmann has been researching and teaching the “Sociology of Gender Relations” at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The main emphasis of her work is placed on the latest developments in women's and gender research, the modern working and employment circumstances and their impacts on gender relations and the issue of women and leadership positions.

There is a close affiliation with the Center of Methods in Social Sciences, which offers research and teaching in qualitative and quantitative methods of empirical social research. In the field of industrial and economic sociology, the Institute of Sociology also collaborates with the university-affiliated Sociological Research Institute (SOFI) and, in the field of cultural sociology, with the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.

Degree programme structure
Areas of competency outside sociology
Alongside the specialised study of sociology, a second subject also has to be studied as an area of competency other than sociology, for example, economics and law, gender studies or political science. A complete overview can be found here.

Area of professionalisation
The area of professionalisation consists of the optional area and the key competencies.

Optional area
The Bachelor's degree programme imparts core competencies beyond subject-specific facts to give students a successful start to a professional career or for admission to a Master's degree programme.

Area of key competencies
After completing your studies, you will face high professional standards as a graduate in working life. Alongside sound knowledge in their scientific or academic field, university graduates should possess cross-disciplinary qualifications relating to their chosen profession (key competencies): These key competencies form the cornerstone of a goal-oriented curriculum and lay the foundation for sustainable success in a working career.
Key competences can be acquired through internships and by means of meaningful supplementary qualifying courses adapted to your individual education profiles, or by directly engaging in professionally relevant coursework.
The key competencies can be selected from the catalogue of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the module handbook of the University of Göttingen.

Potential professional fields
As a graduate in sociology, you can work in a large number of job areas, including:

• As scientists and researchers at public and private-sector research organisations
• As lecturers or docents at higher education and continuing educational institutions
• As advisors, consultants, speakers and presenters in the practice sector as freelancers, in public-sector administration, at commercial enterprises, for political parties, associations or churches and non-profit organisations
• In urban and regional planning
• In development work
• In human resource management
• In journalism, in the old and new media and for art and cultural organisations

More information about the degree programme
Admission: Admission to the bachelor's degree programme in Sociology is restricted.
Language: German