Standard period of study:

6 semesters (3 academic years)

Programme start:

Winter semester

Admission restrictions:

Admission to the programme is restricted.

Sociology (Main Subject):

Scale: 120 credit points (CP)

Minor subject:

Yes, one on a scale of 60 CP (electable minor subjects)

Number of modules (Main Subject):

 9 compulsory modules, 3 compulsory elective modules

Module examination formats:

Term paper
Written test
Oral examination

Language(s) of instruction:

German, English

Programme Director

Prof.'in Dr. Doris Schweitzer

Module Name

Module Contents

CP

Module 1:
Sociology Preparatory Course

Students acquire initial orientation, practical experience and knowledge related to:

• A basic understanding of what social science and sociology are
• The diversity of sociological theories and research and their applications
• The fundamental skills needed for studying
• Social science work techniques

In these courses, students acquire first skills in:

• Distinguishing between different sociological traditions and applying them to current examples
• Differentiating between everyday knowledge and scientific knowledge
• Reading and understanding social science texts and writing their own
• Identifying and using the most important sources of information in the social sciences

Students must produce proof of participation in the lecture and a tutorial on academic work. The module ends with a term paper.

10

Module 2:
Fundamentals of the Social Sciences

Students acquire knowledge about:

• Social history and history of ideas
• Concepts of social thinking
• Generation of sociological knowledge

Students acquire the ability to:

• Analyse texts and contexts
• Classify and critically reflect on key positions
• Present and discuss complex arguments

Students must produce proof of active participation in two undergraduate seminars. The module ends with a written test or a term paper.

10

Module 3:
Fundamentals of Empirical Social Research

• Key fundamental concepts, fundamental problems and quality criteria of empirical social research
• Ethical questions of empirical social research
• Typical phases and elements of the empirical research process
• Methodological and paradigmatic principles of the interpretative/reconstructive and the deductive/statistical tradition of empirical social research
• Fundamentals of sample selection
• The most important data collection methods in empirical social research, especially surveys, text analysis and observation
• The systematic categorisation of standardised, part-standardised or non-standardised data collection methods within the methods portfolio of empirical social research
• An overview of relevant data analysis and evaluation methods, especially in the area of interpretative and reconstructive social research
• Selected classical studies in empirical social research

Students must produce proof of active participation in two undergraduate seminars or lectures. The module ends with a written test or a term paper.

10

Module 4:
Statistics

By completing this module, students acquire fundamental knowledge in the area of descriptive and inferential statistics, especially with regard to:

• Fundamentals of probability theory
• Univariate distribution analysis: measures of position, dispersion and central tendency, as well as graphical representation of distributions
• Methods of bivariate and multivariate statistics: correlational indicators for variables with different scale levels and their interpretation; PRE indicators
• Inferential statistics: hypothesis tests and confidence intervals with different scale levels
• Simple bivariate and multivariate analysis techniques, especially linear regression

Students must produce proof of active participation in an undergraduate seminar or lecture on a scale of four semester hours per week or in two undergraduate seminars or lectures on a scale of two semester hours per week each. The module ends with a written test or a term paper.

10

Module 5:
Sociological Theories

Students acquire knowledge related to:

• The different types and schools of sociological theory formation as well as sub-disciplines of sociology
• The structure and systematics of the distinctions between macro/micro, action/system, individual/society

Students acquire the ability to:

• Explain social phenomena and problems from a theoretical perspective
• Apply sociological concepts and make use of their information content
• Analyse historical and contemporary theoretical texts under consideration of selected questions.

Students must produce proof of active participation in two undergraduate seminars.  The module ends with a written test or a term paper.

 10

Compulsory Electives: From Modules 6 to 10, students choose three. In one of the compulsory elective modules, they attend only one undergraduate seminar. Students choose themselves the module in which they wish to attend only one undergraduate seminar. Students must complete one of the end-of-module examinations as an oral examination (30 minutes). The other two end-of-module examinations in the compulsory electives (Modules 6 to 10) must be completed as a written test or a term paper.

Module 6:
Social Structure and Social Inequality

Students acquire knowledge related to:

• Theories and empirical findings on social inequality
• Important features of the social structure of the Federal Republic of Germany and other societies
• Central dimensions of social policy
• Profession-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods treated in the module

In these courses, students acquire the ability to:

• Describe social inequality
• Deal critically with theories of social inequality research
• Interpret and analyse results from social inequality research
• Recognise subject-related problems
• Develop theory-led questions and work on them independently
• Reflect on the relevance of the topics, concepts and methods in the module for their later career

7 or 13

Module 7:
Culture, Subject, Identity

Students acquire knowledge related to:

• Constitutional theory's justification of the opposition between society and the individual
• Historicity, social conditionality and development of subjectivity, identity and biography
• The function and effect of socialisational interactions and institutions as well as the subjective appropriation of social conditions
• The social conditionality of the socialisation phases in childhood and adolescence
• The significance of interaction in the performative creation and consolidation of social order as well as the connection between language, action and knowledge in its social forms and functions
• The dynamics in the production of social unconsciousness and its functions for stabilising social conditions
• Profession-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods treated in the module

Students acquire the ability to:

• Identify the common and divisive features of different approaches and present them in a differentiated way
• Compare various factual claims and theories in the subject area and assess their empirical content in a critical and reflexive manner
• Systematise, structure and present research results and theoretical contexts
• Reflect on the relevance of the topics, concepts and methods in the module for their later career

7 or 13

Module 8: Economics and Technology – Work and Organisation

Students acquire knowledge related to:

• The social principles of markets and their coordination
• Capitalism theories
• The correlation between class and social inequality
• Forms and regulation of social work and changes to it
• Structure and dynamics of organisations
• The social embedding of the capitalist economy and the modus operandi of economic entities in a global context
• Analysis of sociotechnical systems
• Interconnections of organisations, groups and personality structures
• The relationship between production and reproduction, methods of labour and technology research as well as organisational analysis
• Methods of innovation and entrepreneurship research as well as the comparative institutional analysis of markets, economic systems and economic cultures
• Profession-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods treated in the module

Students acquire the ability to:

• Compare and analyse the structure and dynamics of various types of work and organisation
• Reflect on class as a structural category in its relationship to other structural categories
• Understand and explore the genesis and transformation of techniques and technologies
• Understand the institutional embedding of companies and markets
• Comprehend the correlation between work and identity and understand the significance of work and profession for social localisation
• Understand and reflect critically on the dynamics of economic life in a global context
• Recognise complex differential structures in social order
• Reflect on economic structures and processes from the perspective of social inequalities
• Test methods from economic, organisational and technical sociology and sociology of work
• Present work and research results clearly
• Reflect on the relevance of the topics, concepts and methods in the module for their later career

7 or 13

Module 9:
Gender, Migration, Knowledge Production

Students acquire initial orientation and knowledge related to:

• The various theories in the specialised fields listed above and their history
• The analysis of the social construction of gender and sexuality
• The analysis of the social production of migration
• The analysis of the manifest and latent forms of social categorisation as well as their implications for the processes of social privilege and disadvantage
• The identification of forms of social production of difference(s) and their social negotiation
• The identification of the interactions between various dimensions of difference (e.g. between “gender" and “ethnicity")
• The analysis of the production, circulation and appropriation of (scientific) knowledge
• Profession-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods treated in the module

Students acquire the ability to:

• Read and understand key scientific texts from the theoretical fields listed above
• Compare and critically analyse important theories
• Develop and work on theory-led questions
• Compile various types of text (summaries, essays, term papers, etc.)
• Reflect on the relevance of the topics, concepts and methods in the module for their later career

7 or 13

Module 10:
Advanced Methods

By completing this module, students acquire advanced knowledge in the methods of empirical social research, especially with regard to:

• Detailed conceptual and practical application-oriented knowledge of important data collection methods in empirical social research, in particular surveys, text analysis and observation
• Important data analysis and evaluation methods, such as content analysis, analysis of narrative data, hermeneutic methods, classification and regression analysis methods in social science statistics
• Common computer-aided techniques and application software used in interpretative/reconstructive and quantitative/statistical social research
• Important data sources and institutions in empirical social research
• Practical application-oriented knowledge of specific data collection and data analysis methods within the framework of an undergraduate seminar with a research training character
• Profession-related aspects of the topics, concepts and methods treated in the module

Students acquire the ability to reflect on the relevance of the topics, concepts and methods in the module for their later career.

7 or 13

Compulsory Modules

Module 11:
Specialisation

Students deepen their thematic, methodological or theoretical knowledge in one of the five compulsory electives, or alternatively they choose courses from one of the faculty's overall research priorities.

In this module, teaching can be particularly research-oriented, which sharpens graduates' academic profile. The advanced courses serve to guide students in terms of content in preparation for their bachelor's dissertation.

Students acquire the ability to:

• Focus and work on specific topics
• Start their own research processes and reflect on their position alongside others in the research field

Students must produce proof of active participation in a seminar or colloquium.

8

Module 12:
Internship

Students familiarise themselves with professional fields and test the respective knowledge and skills they have acquired during their studies. They acquire skills and competences relevant to professional practice as well as knowledge about the practical requirements in the chosen field.

An internship is a training-oriented attendance phase in a practical field, which is reflected in the Internship Report. Duration: At least 270 hours.

9

Completion of Studies

Module 13:

Dissertation Colloquium

Students undertake the following:

• Plan the completion of their studies and prepare for their dissertation
• Focus on a narrowly defined sociological problem
• Develop their research question

Students acquire the ability to:

• Conceptualise and reflect on a research process in its main stages
• Present their research convincingly

Students must produce proof of active participation in a colloquium. The module ends with a presentation and oral discussion of the dissertation.

8

Module 14:
Final Module

Students compose their dissertation on a narrowly defined sociological problem of their own choice.

Processing time: 9 weeks