Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences

Study in the field of cultural studies

Studying cultural and social sicences at the Viadrina means interdisciplinary research and teaching in the heart of Europe. The aim of all Bachelor's and Master's programmes is to enable students to discover new perspectives. In the interplay between various academic disciplines in the cultural and social sciences, you will search for answers to fundamental questions about the nature of identity, culture and society as well as how to deal with the multiple transformation processes of our time.

Internationality and multilingualism are key features of all degree programmes at the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences. Therefore, learning foreign languages and a stay abroad at one of our numerous partner universities in Europe or non-European countries are not only possible, but even a mandatory element in some of our degree programmes.

We also attach particular importance to a good learning atmosphere in small classes and to linking research and teaching.

Qualifications and career opportunities

Thanks to the interdisciplinary, international and practice-oriented focus of the programmes, our graduates are well prepared for work in various professional fields in Germany, Europe and the world. In addition to specialist knowledge, they acquire the ability to think in a networked way, quickly analyse new topics, take different perspectives and develop solutions for complex issues.

This profile qualifies our graduates for various professional fields, such as:

Academia
Cultural and project management
Educational work (e.g. political and cultural education)
Journalism, press and public relations
Marketing
NGOs
Political, economic and HR consulting, coaching
Politics and administration

Bachelor Programmes

An internationally oriented bachelor's degree programme with an interdisciplinary study structure consisting of history, linguistics, literature, and comparative social sciences that combines research and teaching.

An interdisciplinary course of study in law, political science, and cultural studies that examines the foundations of the legal and political order of modern states and societies and their international interconnections.

An interdisciplinary bachelor's degree programme in English and German that provides knowledge in the fundamentals of social and cultural sciences and in two of three individually chosen subject areas (EUROPE/S - MEDIA - DIFFERENCE).
If knowledge of the German language is not available at the beginning of the programme, it will be acquired in the course of the programme.

A course of study for those interested in Poland, which requires gradual acquisition of linguistic competence in the Polish language and combines the acquisition of knowledge about Poland, especially Polish literature, history and culture.

Master Programmes

The course problematizes Europe and the modernity emanating from Europe, which since the early modern period have emerged from commonalities as well as from diversity and from conflicts. It not only imparts genuine historical competencies, but also incorporates approaches from literature and art studies as well as philosophy. In a transcultural perspective, exchange processes between different European and non-European cultural constellations are taken into account.

With the (international) track options:

Linguistic Research (Multimodality, Multilingualism).
Intercultural Communication Studies [MICS] (with AMU Poznań)
Multimodality - Discourse - Media (cooperation with Paris 3)

The research-oriented program Language - Media - Society combines a cultural-scientific and cultural-comparative perspective on language and mediality in their social conditionality with a focus on Europe. The course addresses different communication contexts (everyday life, institutions, audio-visual media), communicative and aesthetic practices (oral and written, monomodal and multimodal, analog and digital), forms of discourse (everyday conversation, text, audio-visuality, political and public discourse) and social structures (power relations, affiliations and diversity). The focus is particularly on the use and medialities of different languages and language varieties in Europe.

With the track options:

Literary Cultures of Europe
Philosophy and Cultural Studies (cooperation with Paris 1)

The subject of the programme is Western and Eastern European literature. Basic characteristics are the combination of modern basic languages, literary language mastery, expansion of the literary canon, and a research-focused orientation.

With the international track option:

Sciences sociales et culturelles (Cooperation with Paris 8)

The program focuses on socio-cultural processes of change and differentiation in late modern European societies in an international context. This includes questions of power and exclusion as well as diversity and discrimination.

Interdisciplinary study of the challenges, perspectives, and problems of the culture and history of Eastern Europe in its pan-European context.

From four central areas - culture, politics, law and economics - courses are offered in English, French, Polish and German by the various faculties.

The Master of Digital Entrepreneurship (MoDE) is an interdisciplinary, project-based degree program offered by the European New School of Digital Studies (ENS). The English-language program deals with digitalization from the perspective of law, economics, social sciences and computer science and offers the possibility of a German-Polish double degree. In six module groups, students are taught theoretical and practical methods to develop and reflect on their own entrepreneurial solutions to the challenges of digital transformation in Europe.

Continuing education (4 semesters, qualified practical professional activity of at least one year, fee required).

The course of studies "European Cultural Heritage" presents an overall profile of the knowledge, skills and competences relevant in the protection of cultural property / preservation of historical monuments and in the management of cultural property.

Doctoral studies

At the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences, you have two options to obtain the academic degree "Doctor of Philosophy" (Dr phil): The classical individual doctorate and the International Doctoral Programme in Cultural and Social Sciences.

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