Social and Cultural Science: Comparative Research on Societies (research)

Have you ever wondered how diversity, solidarity and inequality are connected? Or how to counter radicalisation? How segregation in social networks arises? How organisational processes influence inequality? This programme is the one for you!

Something for you?

• During this Master's programme, you will study topics such as inequality, cohesion and cultural diversity from a comparative societal perspective.
• Dialogue and discussion are central in the many small-group teaching sessions led by inspiring lecturers of the Master’s programme.
• In this Master's programme, you have the opportunity to collaborate with the best scholars of the research institute Radboud Social and Cultural Research.
• A large majority of our graduates start PhD- and other research positions; almost all of our graduates found work shortly after graduating.

This Master's programme teaches you how to perform high-quality cross-cultural comparative research. You'll learn how to translate social problems into empirical research questions and you will be trained in applying diverse theoretical approaches, research designs, data-collections and analyses to get the best possible answer. What's distinctive about the approach of this programme, is that we synthesise theories and methods of different disciplines, like sociology, anthropology, development studies, political science and communication science.

The three tracks of Social and Cultural Science

By choosing one of the tracks below, you will deepen your knowledge in an area that best matches your interests. The tracks have different theoretical and methodological focuses. All students have the possibility to further personalise their programme through elective courses or an (international) internship.

• Comparative Sociological Research. Questions regarding cohesion and inequality; has a focus on cohesion and inequality in Western societies and on quantitative research methods.
• Comparative Anthropological and Development Studies Research. Questions regarding Cultural Diversity and Inequality; focuses on cultural diversity and inequality in non-Western societies and on qualitative research methods.
• Comparative Political Research. Questions regarding political representation, conflict and inequality, focuses on political institutions and actors, in (non-)democracies and on quantitative and qualitative research methods. In this track, you gain insight into how inequalities, social and cultural diversity shape political interests, conflicts and power. Politics is much more than just elections; it’s also about interest groups such as trade unions, grass roots mobilisation, social movements, protests and revolutions. How do social cleavages create conflicting political interests, and how do political actors respond to this? How do institutions enable and constrain political actors, and when do they succeed or fail in creating change? You will learn how to address such questions through rigorous, theory-driven empirical research.