Comparative Social Change (M.Sc.)

Program Overview

The M.Sc. in Comparative Social Change is a one-year program that equips students with the knowledge and skills to understand global social change. It offers a significant international dimension, drawing on experiences from various countries. The program provides advanced training in comparative research and its role in policy development, preparing students for careers in research, advocacy, and other fields.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The M.Sc. in Comparative Social Change is a one-year full-time program that provides students with the knowledge and skills to understand the processes and pressing issues presented by global social change. The program has a significant international dimension, drawing on the experiences of other EU member states, North America, the four Asian Tigers, and the BRIC countries. It also provides advanced training in conceptualizing, designing, and conducting comparative research across countries and the role that this can play in policy development.

Objectives:

• To provide students with the theoretical frameworks and practical research skills necessary to understand the processes and pressing issues presented by global social change.
• To show students how everyday experience and practices are shaped by broader social and economic processes.
• To contribute to the training and employability of the next generation of researchers.

Outline:

Core Modules:

• Globalisation and Social Change: India, China, Brazil
• Introduction to Comparative Social Change: Concepts and Cases
• Research Methods

Elective Modules:

• The Migration Challenge
• Comparative Educational Perspectives
• Economic Globalisation and Social Change
• Gender and Social Change in a Comparative Context
• Comparing Healthcare Systems
• Migration, Labour and Conflict
• Nationalism and Social Change
• Religion in Comparative Perspective
• Sociological Thinking in the Digital Age

Teaching:

The program is jointly delivered by Trinity's Department of Sociology and the School of Sociology at UCD, so students benefit from a greater range of staff expertise, both in terms of teaching and research supervision, in the areas of comparative research methodologies and social change. Policy-relevant and practice-based components, such as fieldwork projects, have been designed to contribute to the training and employability of the next generation of researchers.

Careers:

Students receive academic training in social change issues, such as gender, education, and the labor market, which can be applied to real-world problems. This training has the potential to open career opportunities in fields such as advocacy, the media, and communications. Furthermore, policy-relevant and practice-based components, such as fieldwork projects, have been designed to contribute to the training and employability of the next generation of researchers, adding an extra dimension to the M.Sc. program. Students also learn valuable writing, communication, problem-solving, and policy assessment skills which can be applied to a wide range of careers and further postgraduate study.

Other:

• The program is worth 90 ECTS, while the Postgraduate Diploma carries 60 ECTS (exit point only).
• Students who have exited with a Postgraduate Diploma may apply to submit subsequently for the corresponding Masters degree.
• The program is jointly delivered by Trinity's Department of Sociology and the School of Sociology at UCD.