Social sustainability and societal transformations

• What exactly is meant by social sustainability? To what extent should aspects of equal opportunities, democratic development and international power relations be taken into account? How can processes for the Funding of social sustainability be designed?
• What strategies can be used to meet the challenges of technological and demographic change? How can international crises and threats be overcome?
• How can different bodies of knowledge be integrated to solve social challenges?
• How can interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects be realized in the field?
• How can the aforementioned topics be researched empirically?

Think globally, act locally

During your studies, you will deal with these and many other questions from social science sustainability and transformation research. You will acquire the necessary knowledge to initiate change processes in public, civil society, Business Studies and scientific organizations, in politics and administration that contribute to greater social and ecological sustainability and to actively shaping social change.

Science as a basis for intervention

The four-semester Master's degree program allows you to specialize in the social aspects of sustainable development, demographic change, post-growth and sufficiency strategies, governance and transformation theories, ethical and technological issues as well as methods of inter- and transdisciplinary research. You will work on problem aspects as well as intervention and transformation options and acquire skills for critical reflection on social processes.

The degree program integrates various social science concepts such as quality of life, participation, empowerment, diversity, justice, governance and new socio-ecological models of prosperity. The study components include scientific foundations, theoretical approaches and empirical methods as well as the development of your own project on a topic of your choice.

In the complementary subjects, you will attend two courses from study programs at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, for example in the Faculties of Architecture, Design, Computer Science or Business Studies, or at the surrounding universities of Dortmund and Bochum.

In the second and third semesters, you will devote yourself to your own research project, which can already serve as preparation for the Master's thesis. Finally, you will independently write a Master's thesis and present your work in a colloquium.

Master of Arts, application-oriented research at the interface between science and practice

After successfully completing the course, you will be awarded a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree.

• Social dimensions of sustainable development

• Challenges relating to technology-driven and demographic change as well as international problem areas

• Post-growth and sufficiency strategies, ethics

• Methods of inter- and transdisciplinary research

• Theory and application of empirical social research

Those who have a degree in this study program often work in

• project-related activities in transdisciplinary sustainability research / application-oriented research at the interface between science and practice, e.g. in ministries, foundations and scientific institutions
• senior positions and planning bodies in public administration, e.g. in
  social planning, housing and health promotion
• specialist departments in associations, non-governmental organizations and clubs that deal with issues of social sustainability and demographic change
• Business enterprises that aim to implement social sustainability and shape demographic change
• Companies from the green economy and the senior citizens' economy
• various fields of social work, e.g. in elderly and community work, neighborhood management and youth welfare planning
• professional and part-time further and continuing education institutions.

Overall, the broad orientation of the Master's study program offers graduates an open and creative perspective on their career path.

The Master's degree is the basis for a doctorate. Graduates who wish to gain further academic qualifications have the opportunity to study for a doctorate at a university. This is possible via a cooperative doctorate, in which the university of applied sciences is a cooperation partner of a university.