Description

The international Master in Sociology and Population Studies is a one-year-and-a-half program that combines the contents of the Master of Research in Sociology and Demography, offered by the UPF, and the Master in Sociology, offered by Tilburg University. Each of these masters carries 60 ECTS. The students enrolled in this double degree can attain the training corresponding to these two masters, jointly worth 120 ECTS, by taking courses worth 90 ECTS. In order to graduate from this double degree, students have to fulfill the course and research requirements of each separate master. They will gain 30 ECTS because the thesis requirements of both programs are combined into one. Hence, students only need 90 ECTS rather than 120 to graduate from the program and obtain the two master degrees. They also do it in a shorter time-in one-and-a-half rather than two academic years.

The first two terms of the first year of registration in the program (from late September to mid-December and from early January to March) are spent in Barcelona at UPF, doing the coursework corresponding to UPF's Master of Research in Sociology and Demography. In April, students move to Tilburg University to spend there the second semester and start working on their thesis.

In their second year, students spend one semester (from late August to mid-December) at Tilburg doing the coursework corresponding to TiU's MSc in Sociology and continue working on their thesis. The thesis must be completed and defended at Tilburg by the end of February.

Course Structure

Details on course and master work are as follows:

Year 1/ trimesters 1 & 2: Coursework and Master's thesis preparation at UPF

40 ECTS of the Master of Research in Sociology and Demography, more specifically:

For detailed information on first year course contents and syllabi click here (see the tab "Courses and syllabi").

Year 1/ semester 2: Coursework at TiU 

20 ECTS of the MSc in Sociology, more specifically:

For detailed information on second semester course contents and syllabi click here.

Year 2/ semester 1: Coursework + Master's Thesis at TiU 

30 ECTS of the MSc in Sociology, more specifically:

For detailed information on second year course contents and syllabi click here.

Students must have gained 40 ECTS in order to proceed to the second year of the Double Degree. Students who fail to pass a course will have the opportunity to resubmit the failed coursework or resit the failed exam in the third term of UPF's academic year (if the course was taken in the first year of the double degree) or in January-February of the second academic year (if the course was taken at TiU). Exact dates will be determined by the coordinators of the double degree program in the corresponding institution.

The MSc thesis will be written under the supervision of a UPF or TiU faculty member. The second reader will automatically be someone at the other institution and will act as a second-grader. The Master's Thesis will be defended at TiU in January of the second academic year.

Requirements

To apply to the program students must:

• hold a university degree (undergraduate and/or graduate) in a -preferably- relevant discipline, e.g. the field of social sciences, law, humanities or health sciences, and have a graduation date no later than 1 September of the year the double degree commences.
• have adequate knowledge of research methods and statistics, as demonstrated by having registered and passed at least one statistical course during their BA studies.
• have demonstrated their English language proficiency (C1 CEFR) by submitting the results of either TOEFL (minimum 577 paper based / 100 internet-based), IELTS (minimum 6.5 overall, no part less than 6.0), or Cambridge Proficiency or Cambridge Advanced (A-B-C). In case a student fulfils all requirements, but has a B2 CEFR level in English, he can start the program under the condition that he follows a compulsory course in English during the first year at UPF.
• provide two relevant and personalized academic reference letters.
• have proven their sufficient motivation through a letter.

Application deadlines

There are four deadlines for applications both for EU/EEA and for non-EU/EEA students along the previous academic year to the start of the double degree. For more information, visit the admissions link.

Non EU/EEA students must be aware that they will need to request a visa for the appropriate time of student residency in each country. Obtaining a visa from one country does not guarantee obtaining a visa from the other.

Maximum number of students

The maximum number of students to enrol in the double degree program will be 10 in each academic year.

Application procedure

Students can apply through either institution. All applications will be looked at by both institutions. If accepted, students will receive one joint admission letter. Double Degree students are not admitted to the separate master programs offered within the double degree, but to the complete joint program only. To graduate, they must pass all the requirements of the double degree program.

Students who wish to apply for admission to the double degree through the UPF need to follow the procedure set up for all students who request admission into the Research Master in Sociology and Demography. In the required letter of motivation for admission, please indicate CLEARLY your interest to apply for the double degree (International Master in Sociology and Population Studies with the University of Tilburg).

To apply for the double degree through the UPF, click here.