About the Profession

The present-day market of empirical sociology is growing very fast. There is no other social and humanitarian science which enjoys  such a grand-scale and diversified sphere of application. Each company, each serious project are in need of research, every social programme requires sociological support. Sociologists always have a choice. Some sociologists build their career in marketing or HR, others work for international projects, some are employed at universities and research centres, others – in the media, and still others suceed in politics. Some sociologists enter on a business career, others pursue an academic career, and still others go into politics or devote themselves to a specific social problem, still remaining sociologists.

Educational Process

The curriculum of our Master's degree programme  brings together theoretical, methodological and applied aspects. A good sociologist should combine and constructively integrate different layers of social knowledge without retreating before the intricacies of thought of "high-browed theoriticians" such as E. Durkheim, M. Weber and T. Parsons, he should be able to calculate statistical factors, to use SPSS and to talk with different people as an interviewer or focus group moderator. All in one person! Therefore, nowadays sociological education can be nothing but integrated and multilevel.

Disciplines

"Contemporary Methods of Sociological Research", "Contemporary Sociological Theories", "Philosophy and Methodology of Social Sciences", "Measurement in Sociological Research", "Analysis of Sociological Data", "Qualitative Methods in Sociology: History and Methodology", "Narrative Analysis in Sociology", "Psycho-semantic Methods in Sociological Research", "Sampling Method in Sociological Research", "Interpretative Tradition in Contemporary Sociology", "Representation of Society in Classical and Contemporary Sociological Concepts", " Research Seminar", etc.

Practical training

Our Master's programmes are both research-oriented  and practice-oriented. The theme of almost every Master's thesis involves conducting an individual case study. In the second year of their study students are engaged in practical training, teaching practice and predegree practice.

Practical training is not limited to university laboratories. Our constant partners are the leading sociological research centres of Russia, including the Russian Public Opinion Research  Centre (VCIOM), "TNS Gallup Media", "ROMIR Monitoring Standard", the International Institute for Marketing and Social Research GfK-Russia, etc. While students do their practical training they often establish contacts with their future employers.