Master’s programme (2 years)

Social Analysis

Bodø, Levanger

See study plan Structure/topics

Programme description

Climate change, the aging population, digitalisation and a new security policy landscape. This is just a small selection of the challenges that characterize our time. How can we understand a society that is constantly changing? How can we navigate in a knowledge society that is characterized by an abundance of information, and where it becomes increasingly challenging to sort out incorrect information and ensure a good knowledge base to make the right decisions? How do we manage a work life characterized by constant transformation and an accelerating pace of change? The Master's programme in Social Analysis gives you the professional skills and the analytical tools you and our society need to meet tomorrow's challenges.

Career opportunities

The study program offers broad insight into social science theory and methodology, so that the candidates qualify for variety of professional careers in the public, private and voluntary sectors, as well as further research education. The candidates are trained for analyzing societal changes and a wide range of issues relating to work-, associational-, and everyday life.

Lectures in the Master in Social Analysis (part time) are seminar based and will be given in shorter physical teaching sessions at the Bodø and Levanger campuses. Physical seminars will be combined with digital teaching methods. Together, this will constitute a study program adjusted to students who combine studies and ordinary work.

View general admission and documentation requirements

Admission guidelines for Master´s Program in Social Analysis:

Norwegian language qualification
Bachelor degree of 3 years' duration (180 ECTS), equivalent to a Norwegian Bachelor degree
The applicant must have prior knowledge of social science research methods or a historical method equivalent to 10 credits (e.g. ME118S Introduction to social science methodology, ME123S Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Social Science, HI122S Historical theory and methodology, or equivalent). Ex.phil and ex.fac are not considered as research methods.
- If this requirement is met by other courses, the method must be adequately documented within the application deadline. The applicant must then upload course descriptions and reading lists in the application for the course(s) to be assessed.
The applicant must have passed exams of at least 80 ECTS credits in social sciences.In which the grade requirement is C on a wighted average.
- For applicants with a professional education, the grade average is calculated on the entire bachelor's degree. Improvements in grades may be included in the weighted average. Relevant additional education can be included in the grade average.

If there are more qualified applicants than the number of study places, the applicants are ranked on the following basis: Weighted average grades are calculated for the courses included in the calculation basis (with any improvements). Applicants with a foreign education are assessed individually. In addition, the ranking regulations at Nord University rules apply, see The Regulations to Studies and Examinations at Nord University, §4-4.

The structure of the master's degree in social analysis facilitates exchange in the fourth semester of the part-time program (mobility window). In this semester, all students choose a combination of optional courses, which will lower the threshold for traveling on foreign exchange.

The following educational institutions may be relevant for exchange:

University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) - Canada

Wageningen University – Netherlands

University of Iceland – Island

Roskilde University (RUC) - Denmark

Successful completion of this master's degree program qualifies candidates to apply for admission to the PhD program in Sociology at Nord University. Admission to the PhD program will normally require a Master´s degree with an average mark of B or better.

Knowledge:

The canditate…

has advanced interdisciplinary knowledge of approaches in social sciences to studying processes of societal change
has specialized insight into a self-chosen and delimited field within social sciences.
has specialized and up-to-date knowledge of research methods within international social sciences, including digital methodology.
can apply theory from social sciences to gain new insights within a wide range of disciplines and societal issues, such as sustainable social development, digitalization, inequality, and democratization.
has a critical awareness of how different forms of knowledge production, nationally and internationally, shape the understanding of societal processes, and can identify connections between science, knowledge production and policy development.

Skills:

The Candidate…

can navigate and apply national and international scholarly literature, analyze and critically reflect upon different types of source material, and sort and apply these to develop and communicate professional reasoning in both research and practical problem solving.
can analyze and critically reflect on existing international social science theories, methods, and interpretations, and apply these for practical problem solving across disciplines and sectors.
can apply approaches from social sciences to the critical analysis of societal processes and structures, both in a national and international context.
can develop researchable research questions, choose appropriate research methods, and carry-out an independent social science related research or development project in accordance with current ethical standards.

Competence:

The candidate…

can understand and analyze ethical issues and dilemmas in social science research and development work.
can work systematically and interdisciplinary to understand, prepare and evaluate measures to meet contemporary national and international societal challenges, for example related to digitalization, democracy, inequality, and sustainability.
is trained in knowledge transfer and has considerable flexibility competence
can communicate about social science issues, analyses, and conclusions across disciplinary boundaries.
can contribute to innovation processes through interdisciplinarity and holistic thinking.

There are no tuition fees.

In addition to the semester fee and expenses for course literature, students must cover any travel expences in relation to teaching sessions in Bodø and Levanger.

It is expected that the student has a laptop at his or her disposal.