Master of Science in Sociology: Contemporary Social Problems

Social Problems: How Do They Arise? And How Do You Solve Them?

What is the “right” amount of policing? Can we sustain our healthcare system with a shrinking, aging population? Under which conditions is it acceptable to enact censorship on social media? These are the type of questions we will tackle in the Master's program Sociology: Contemporary Social Problems.

While we will never be able to provide you with a definitive answer to any of these questions, we will help you build an academic and professional toolkit that will help you critically and skillfully tackle these questions in your future career as a sociologist. You will acquire this toolkit by following in-depth theory and policy courses in the first half of the program and by conducting your thesis research within an organization as part of your internship in the second half of the program.

The Experts of Tomorrow

As society becomes more complex, the demand for experts continues to expand. In the one-year Master’s program Sociology: Contemporary Social Problems, you will be trained to become an expert on one important social theme. You choose one contemporary issue in which you will specialize:

• Criminology and Safety
• Internet, Social Media and Networks
• Essentials of Care

You will design your own track, in which you will delve deeper into contemporary social problems in your chosen field. You will learn about the core (policy) issues in your field of choice and will immerse yourself in state-of-the-art research in this field. The track is composed of two sociology courses and one social science elective. Upon completing the track you will be able to tackle social problems within your chosen field from a multidisciplinary perspective.

From theory to practice

In this program, you will learn to translate theory into practice. While the first half of the program focuses on providing you with all the sociological tools you will need in order to tackle complex (policy) problems, during the second half of the program you will be utilizing these tools in a professional setting as part of your internship and graduation period. During your internship, you will use scientific knowledge to research a concrete policy and provide advice for a company, an NGO, or a governmental institution. You will also convey your research results to a wider audience both in written and verbal form.

As a Master's student, you will benefit from contact with our research staff and exposure to the research done at the Sociology department.

In the renowned 'Keuzegids Masters 2021', Sociology: Contemporary Social Problems received the highest score out of all eight MA programs in the field of Sociology in the Netherlands.

Focus on a social theme

The Master's program Contemporary Social Problems is unique in that it offers you the opportunity to become an expert on one of three contemporary social themes:

• Criminology and Safety
• Internet, Social Media and Networks
• Essentials of Care

You will take courses on this theme, complete a work placement and write a Master’s thesis. This will enable you to acquire sector-specific knowledge that helps you become an expert in your area of specialization.

Multidisciplinarity

As an expert, it's crucial to learn to analyze a complex social issue from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The sociological core of the program can be rounded out with knowledge from other disciplines, such as psychology or geography. This multidisciplinarity enables you to better analyze the complexity of social issues.

Practice-oriented

In this Master’s program, the theory and current practice of complex problems are closely interconnected with the internship opportunities, internship follow-up days, and guest lectures by experts in the professional field. You will also learn about the practical application of scientific knowledge. You will be qualified to work in the private (business) sector as well as the (semi) public sector.

Tracks

Within this program you can choose between three tracks:

• Essentials of Care
• Criminology and Safety
• Internet, Social Media & Networks

Each track includes 3 components:

• The core sociological track course.
• A track elective from another discipline.
• A choice between one of the two other core sociological track courses.

Essentials of Care

In this track, you will develop an understanding of current changes in healthcare systems in the Western world. The last decades have been marked by a strong increase in demand for healthcare due to demographic changes (such as reduced fertility and increased life expectancy), which have had a great influence on healthcare costs. Western governments have been trying to respond to these changes by introducing various policy measures such as the privatization of healthcare and decentralization. In this course, we will take a look at such policy transitions and their implications for various stakeholders.

Criminology and Safety

In the Criminology and Safety track, you develop your understanding of issues surrounding crime and criminal justice policy responses. You will acquire knowledge about the causes of crime in different environments, the impact on public safety, and the effectiveness of policy solutions. Attention will be paid to both old and ‘new’ forms of crime that have emerged from new technologies and means of communication. You will examine the patterns and explanations of crimes that occur within the local neighborhood environment, crimes that occur in the virtual world, and crimes that occur across borders.

In this track, we will address a number of questions concerning crime and safety. These will not only be focused on serious crime, but also on types of deviant or anti-social behavior such as graffiti, group drinking in public, or loitering youth.

Internet, Social Media & Networks

This track provides insight into theories and research relating to the internet, social media, and networks. Many of these themes can be analyzed meaningfully from the perspective of social network analysis. The track aims at delivering professionals who can provide a much-needed interface between (Big-) data analysts on the one hand and policymakers and other stakeholders on the other hand. Ideally, they will be able to translate social problems and policy issues related to online processes into relevant research questions that can be studied with digital data, and conversely, they are able to interpret and apply results from data analysis to relevant social contexts, and to provide policy recommendations based on this research.

Labor Market

There is a significant focus on your transition to the labor market. You will meet experts working for relevant organizations in the professional field. We will help you find an internship so that you can gain practical work experience. The practical skills you acquire will be very useful during your internship and in your future career: you will learn more about conducting interviews, communications, time management, and designing policy advice.

Where do Sociologists work after graduation?

• Organization consultancy firms | HR | Business: 32%
• Ministries | Municipalities | Government: 27%
• Education | Culture | Urban renewal: 11%
• Healthcare | Welfare | Youth care: 8%
• Research and science: 7%
• NGOs and INGOs: 5%
• Marketing | Advertising: 2%
• Other: 9%

Professional Career

This Master’s program prepares you for a career as an academic professional in different work fields:

• Education, Culture & Urban Regeneration
• Ministries, Municipalities & Government
• Healthcare, Welfare & Youth Welfare
• Research, Marketing
• Journalism & Media
• Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s)
• International Organisations
• Social Entrepreneurs

As an academic professional, you will be an expert in your chosen domain. You will be able to think interdisciplinarily and translate social science theory into practice.

Graduates are working in positions in the private, semi-public, or public sector such as:

• Consultant at Berenschot
• Editor at NOS News
• Researcher at the Social and Cultural Planning Office
• Trainee with the Dutch Government
• Political party staff member
• Researcher at the Education Inspectorate
• Public affairs staff member at Zorgverzekeraars Nederland, the Association of Dutch Healthcare Insurers
• Data consultant at Ynformed
• Manager Arbeid Opleidingen Consult
• Strategic Advisor

Academic Career

An academic career is not an immediately obvious choice. However, several graduates of the program are working as Ph.D. candidates at a university.