Sociology KU Leuven

Overview

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The Master of Sociology  offers three specialisations with each its own study programme. Choose the specialisation you are interested in and read more about programme and application.  

Culture and Society offers a programme in cultural sociology. It learns you to study the cultural shaping of issues such as social inequalities, political conflicts, controversies about ethnic identities and contestations of the authority of science. 

QASS offers a programme in the responsible collection and analysis of quantitative data bodies. It teaches how these data can be used to understand today’s social, cultural, and political issues.

Solidarity and Social Risks in Europe offers a programme in the organization of solidarity in Europe. It addresses the new social risks and challenges that have emerged across European welfare states in the past decades.

Programme structure

• Truncus communis: every student chooses two out of three courses that provide advanced training in social research skills. The options include a course on quantitative methods ('From Problem to Analysis'), on qualitative methods ('Advanced Qualitative Methods'), and on theory use in social-scientific research ('Sociological Theory in Action').
• Specialisation: students choose one specialisation including the master’s thesis. The master’s thesis is the written report about the research project the student has independently conducted under close supervision of one of the programme’s staff members, all of whom are experienced researchers.
• Electives: students finalize their personal program by adding one or two electives so that their total study load amounts to at least 60 ECTS credits. These electives can either be selected from the two specialisations in the programme that have not been chosen, or from a sizable list of English-language master courses in fields like cultural anthropology, economics, law, media studies, and many more.