Course content and focus areas
Are you interested in the role of science and technology in everyday life? Would you like to explore why knowledge and expertise are often contested? Are you looking for a master's program that places your research interests at the center?
If so, our research-oriented master's program "Science and Technology Studies" (STS), taught in English, might be the perfect choice for you. STS is an interdisciplinary approach that examines the mutual shaping of science, technology, and society, focusing on the relationships between specialist knowledge, technological development, economy, governance, and contemporary cultures. Our STS program is part of the Social Studies of Science, Technology, and Society and is enriched through collaboration with cultural anthropology, sociology, and human geography. What makes our STS program unique is the consistent ethnographic perspective that characterizes the research conducted by both students and faculty. The program is offered by the Institute for Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology at Goethe University.
Throughout your studies, you will learn to understand science and technology as social and material practices. You will carry out a two-year ethnographic project based on your own research interests. In the first academic year, you will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to turn your research idea into an STS project.
In addition to the mandatory structured research curriculum, where you will conduct your ethnographic research, you can freely choose seminars on topics such as global economies, digital technologies, infrastructures, governance, human-environment relations, biomedicine, and much more.
Read more at https://tinygu.de/STS-MA
Qualifications offered
The master's program is research-oriented. It provides you with state-of-the-art ethnographic research methods and conceptual tools to facilitate your own original fieldwork project.
You will learn to understand the scope of empirical research, as well as its political, theoretical, epistemological, and ethical implications. You will be introduced to a variety of research options and learn to make informed decisions about research strategies and fieldwork settings.
The program prepares students for careers in organizations, government institutions, higher education, corporations, and academic research. Graduates work in fields such as research and development, consulting, policy-making, technology assessment, usability research, knowledge management, media, public relations, and transnational governance. Graduates of the MA program may also pursue a Ph.D. to conduct focused research or develop an academic career. For more information about Ph.D. programs, visit https://tinygu.de/STS-MA.
Program Structure
In the first year, the foundational module "Theoretical Intersections" introduces students from all academic backgrounds to the concept of STS and its contemporary debates. The research curriculum is a series of four modules spanning the duration of the MA program. It offers a unique program of coursework, independent research, and supervision, enabling students to develop their research problem into an in-depth ethnographic study. This curriculum is taught alongside Theoretical Intersections and thematic modules, guiding students through the research-oriented learning process toward the master's thesis. Expect to spend more than half of your weekly workload on your research project. Learn more about the Research Curriculum at https://tinygu.de/STS-MA.
To develop a broad understanding of STS, choose two out of three optional modules on Technologies of Governance, Markets and Cultures, or Economies of Life. For examples of courses offered in these modules, please visit https://tinygu.de/STS-MA.
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