October 2008

Research master's "Sociology and Social Research" at the Department of Sociology/ICS, Utrecht University

The Department of Sociology and the Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS) at Utrecht University offer a two-year research master's program "Sociology and Social Research" that is completely taught in English. The research master's program has a clear profile, offering structured and systematic training in theoretically and methodologically advanced research in sociology and the social sciences in general. Special features of the program include:

- A strong focus on the integration of social theory, empirical research, and methods of data-analysis.

- In various courses, students gain extensive hands on experience in social science data analysis.

- Students gain hands on experience in writing a publishable research article in English: the master's thesis that completes the program is written in the format of a publishable research article. In fact, many students do indeed submit their thesis or a revised and adapted version of their thesis to a journal and quite some of these submissions are accepted for publication. Meanwhile, research articles that have developed from master's theses of the program have appeared in or are accepted for publication in journals like Social Networks, Journal of Marriage and the Family, European Union Politics, and others. Also, students regularly present their master's thesis at international conferences outside the Netherlands.

The quality of the program can be infered, among other things, from numerous and consistently very favorable external evaluations of research and teaching in Sociology at Utrecht University and the ICS. Students in the program benefit from intensive supervision. Instructors involved in teaching the program and supervising students inlude prominent researcher from the Department of Sociology and the ICS such as Vincent Buskens, Henk Flap, Tanja van der Lippe, Ineke Maas, Anne-Rigt Poortman, Werner Raub, Rene Torenvlied, Frank van Tubergen, Beate Volker, Jeroen Weesie, and others. Students likewise benefit from much interaction and collaboration in a relatively small group of peers. Drop out rates of students from the program are very low and almost all students entering the program do complete it in due time within two years. The profile of the program ensures that the labor market position of alumni is excellent: students who have completed the program are very successful in acquiring subsequent positions as PhD students at the ICS or elsewhere in and outside the Netherlands, as researchers in institutes and organizations outside the university system, as trainees, etc.

The target group of students consists of promising students with a Bachelor's degree or an equivalent period of at least three years of undergraduate study and qualifications that justify the expectation of successful completion of the program in due time. This includes students with a BA Sociology or Social Sciences, broadly conceived and including Economics, Political Sciences, Public Administration, Demography, and (Social) Psychology.

Students from outside the Netherlands are explicitly encouraged to apply and can easily follow the program since it is taught in English. About 30-50% of the students are students from outside the Netherlands, up to now including students from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, various countries in Central and Eastern Europe as well as students from, e.g., India and Taiwan. Admission to the program is selective. "Sociology and Social Research" is one of Utrecht University's Prestige master's programs and thus benefits from special funds of Utrecht University. Some teaching and research assistantships are available for talented applicants. Also, funding is available for participation in summer schools outside the Netherlands (for example, Essex, Ljubljana, and Ann Arbor).

Each year, a new group of students enters the program. We are currently searching for talented candidates for the academic year 2009/2010. Courses for this group will start on September 1, 2009.

The deadlines for applications for the academic year 2009/2010 are December 1, 2008 (early bird deadline) and March 1, 2009. The number of new students per year is usually limited to 15-20. A relatively large group of 22 students started the program recently, on September 1, 2008. Many of these students had used the early bird deadline in 2007. Assuming that the number and quality of applications for the academic year 2009/2010 is similar to the number and quality of applications for the academic year 2008/2009 it makes sense to use the upcoming early bird deadline December 1, 2008, since this may enhance chances of admission.

Detailed information on the program - such as courses taught and an overview of projects for master's thesis projects - is available at

www.uu.nl/sasr

and

www.fss.uu.nl/graduateschool

Please use

gradschool@fss.uu.nl

for any enquiries about the program and about admission procedures.

Werner Raub Coordinator research master's program "Sociology and Social Research"

Werner Raub | Department of Sociology / ICS | Utrecht University | Heidelberglaan 2 | 3584 CS Utrecht | Netherlands | phone +31 - (0)30 - 253 47 38 | phone secretary +31 - (0)30 - 253 21 01 | w.raub@uu.nl | www.fss.uu.nl/soc/raub | www.fss.uu.nl/soc/iscore | Sociology and Social Research www.uu.nl/sasr