The Carlos III-Juan March Institute of Social Sciences offers a two-year official master degree taught entirely in English. The Master is equivalent to 120 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System).
Master Degree in Social Sciences
The objective is to provide rigorous training, both substantive and methodological, which allows the student to perform comparative, historical and quantitative research in key areas of Political Science, Sociology and Economic History.
While the first year is interdisciplinary and common for all students, in the second year students can choose one of the three fields mentioned above.
The Master is demanding and requires high levels of student motivation. The teaching staff comprise researchers and professors from IC3JM and the Carlos III University of Madrid, as well as visiting professors (expert academics who are specifically invited to teach a course on the Master).
Students will have the opportunity to participate in the intellectual life of the IC3JM, including weekly seminars, international academic meetings and specialized methodological courses.
The IC3JM has a strong international reputation as a leading research institution in Europe.
The Master focuses on comparative and historical approaches, as well as the application of the most advanced research techniques, with the aim of teaching students to integrate theoretical hypotheses and empirical data in their research.
Objectives and areas of the Master
The objective of the Master is to enable students to do high level research on key topics of the Social Sciences.
The Master in Social Sciences provides advanced and interdisciplinary training in the Social Sciences, with a strong focus on methodological aspects and quantitative techniques, so that students acquire the necessary skills to develop a research design, formulate hypotheses and analyze data.
The Master covers three areas: Political Science, Sociology and Economic History. During the first year, all courses are compulsory, with two different blocks. One block comprises, substantive courses in sociological analysis, social stratification, comparative politics, economic history and political economy; while the other block focuses on methodological courses (statistics, game theory and research design). During the second year, there are additional methodological courses and students can also choose between three specialization pathways (Political Science, Sociology, Economic History).
Students
This Master is aimed at students who are interested in obtaining a PhD or those who want to receive rigorous postgraduate training in the Social Sciences. Students from all over the world are welcome.
In case of high demand, priority will be given to students with a degree in Social Sciences (Political Science, Sociology, Economics, History, Anthropology) or Law.
Due to the technical requirements of the Master, students, before starting their courses in September of the first year, take courses in methods, basic mathematics (calculation) and statistics (knowledge of the R program). Students who can demonstrate previous knowledge of these subjects are exempt from them.
As this is a very recent MA program, information is not yet available on professional opportunities. However, it should be noted that the Master in Social Sciences offered by the IC3JM is inspired by the equivalent MA that was taught from 1987 to 2007 at the Center for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences of the Juan March Institute. The main difference is that previously the Master was only offered to Spanish students. Some of the best Spanish social scientists of his generation were trained on this postgraduate course, including: Pablo Beramendi (Duke University), Luis de la Calle (CIDE, Mexico), Víctor Lapuente (University of Gothenburg), Covadonga Meseguer (London School of Economics) and Javier Polavieja (Carlos III University of Madrid).
Carlos III University of Madrid is a young institution, created in 1989. It is one of Spain’s leading universities, with almost 20,000 students and an outstanding international profile.
On the international ranking of the 50 most prestigious universities that were stablished less than 50 years, the Carlos III Univesity appears at number 33.
In terms of the Social Sciences, the Carlos III University of Madrid offers degrees in Economics, Sociology, Political Science and International Studies, as well as a number of postgraduate studies. The University has an internationally renowned Department of Social Sciences and various research institutes, including the IC3JM.
The Master sessions will be held at Getafe Campus.
