M.Sc. in Societal Resilience (Research Master)

Curriculum

Become the researcher of the future

A Research Master’s degree in Societal Resilience prepares you to become the researcher of the future – someone who uses the latest in big data methods to analyse and solve tomorrow’s social challenges.

The Societal Resilience Research Master’s programme is deliberately broad. It covers four key themes:

• Diversity and inclusive communities
• Dynamics of interconnectedness
• Care and welfare
• Governance reform

You’ll delve into these four topics using a variety of data analysis methods, such as advanced data mining algorithms, scraping tools to collect data, qualitative and computational text analysis, and online network analysis. At the same time, you’ll develop communication, self-reflection and project management skills to be able to collaborate in multi-disciplinary teams, all of which will be highly valuable in the job market. Each thematic course is co-taught by senior social scientists from different backgrounds – for example, the diversity course is led by a qualitative sociologist and a quantitative social psychologist.

Societal Resilience offers you a unique proposition: while other computational social science programmes focus more on data methodologies, Societal Resilience applies these methods to real-world problems.

The start date of this programme is September 1st.

1st year

The Master's programme

The first year lays the theoretical and methodological groundwork for the Research Master’s programme. You’ll start by looking at the wider scope of societal problems, and the foundations society has built to be resilient to them.

You’ll then choose two of the four Institute of Societal Resilience themes to focus on:

• Diversity and inclusive communities
• Dynamics of interconnectedness
• Care and welfare
• Governance reform.

At the same time, you’ll learn qualitative and quantitative methods of analysing both big and small data.
Towards the end of your first year, you’ll write a research proposal – good practice if you intend to apply for funding for a PhD programme in the future.

2nd year

The Master's programme

In your second year, the focus is on your internship and Master’s thesis.

During the first half of the year, you’ll take an internship – either at a company whose work interests you, or at an academic institution. In the second half of the year, you’ll write your Master’s thesis, which has the potential to be published.