Registration for courses usually takes place prior to the semester start via Portal². Master's students can freely choose from all compulsory lectures and exercise courses as well as all elective seminars. Participation in each of the courses offered as part of the master's program in Sociology is guaranteed.

Portal²

Each semester, you need to register online for those examinations you would like to take at the end of the lecture period. You will need to do so within a period defined by Student Services.
Please note: The exam registration period falls within the lecture period, which means that you cannot register for your examinations via the Student Services’ campus management system before the lecture period starts. Each semester, the periods during which you can register for exams will be published on the Student Services’ website.
Online registration is done via Portal².

A research internship is an integral part of the master's program. To obtain the required 6 ECTS credits, you must either:

• complete a six-week internship at a social science research institution (academic or non-academic) or
• attend a two-week summer school with an empirical focus on the social sciences.

In case you work as a research assistant for one of the professors at the Department of Sociology or in a related field, your work may be recognized as an internship as well.

Every student in the master's program in Sociology must write a report: guidelines for the internship report.

For more information on this topic or if you have general questions about the internship or the summer school, please contact our Internship Office.

It is possible to spend a semester abroad and still complete your degree program within the standard period of study. In fact, we encourage you to go abroad during your studies.

If you would like to have the courses and examinations you take at a university abroad recognized, please contact the program managers/departmental exchange coordinators before leaving. They will discuss the courses you plan to select with you. A Learning Agreement is required to make sure the credits you obtain abroad are recognized.

You can apply for leave of absence during your studies citing a valid reason (section 61 subsection 1 of the Act on Higher Education of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (LHG)). A valid reason for being granted an academic leave of absence is for example:

• an internship,
• a semester abroad
• maternity leave / parental leave / parenting, or
• health issues.

The application must be filed before the semester it corresponds to begins. Further information can be obtained from Student Services.

It is assumed that you will complete your master’s thesis during your fourth semester. The thesis is written in the format of a research article suitable for submission to an academic journal in social sciences.

You have to register your thesis via the registration form and hand it in at the Student Service. Please also have a look at the examination regulation, section 18–19. You need to have obtained at least 70 ECTS in order to register your thesis. Please find more information about the procedure and formal structure of the master’s thesis in the Master Thesis Guidelines.  

Besides writing your master’s thesis, you will also attend a colloquium. In addition, you will participate at the Master's Forum Day, a simulated conference, where you have to present the topic of the thesis of one of your fellow students. 

The University of Mannheim wants to support you in preparing and planning your career. As part of the pilot project STEP by STEP, we offer workshops and information events to prepare you for your entry into the German labor market.

STEP by STEP

Structured doctoral programs

The center for Doctoral Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences (CDSS)  offers doctoral programs in Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology in close collaboration with the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim.

Students interested in pursuing a doctoral degree at the CDSS have the opportunity to apply for the 'CDSS Associate Member Program' in the first year of their master's program.

Doctoral studies at a chair 

In addition to the structured doctoral program offered by the CDSS the School of Social Sciences also provides students with the opportunity to acquire a doctoral degree under the supervision of a member of the School.

The Center for Doctoral Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences (CDSS) ad­ministers doctoral programs in Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology in close collaboration with the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim.

CDSS

For doctoral studies at a chair of the School of Social Sciences (outside a structured program), please contact: