MA Sociology - start of studies WS 2026/27

(As of October 1, 2026)

Dear Prospective Students,

We are delighted by your interest in the new master’s program in Sociology at TU Dresden and would like to provide you with the most important information for the start of the semester in October 2026. This information is updated regularly.

A request to everyone who receives admission and enrolls: Please activate your TU Dresden email address as soon as possible and check it regularly or set up a forwarding, as this is the only way we can reach you! Very important: As soon as you have your TU Dresden account, please log in to the OPAL course management platform. All communication regarding the courses will take place via this platform.

You can find the courses for the Winter Semester 2026/27 on the Digital Semesterplanung platform at this link. Relevant for the first semester are the modules PhF-Soz–MA-IM (Integration Module) and PhF-Soz–MA-FP1 (Research Project 1). According to the study plan, you are required to attend all courses; the only choice you can make is between the bridge courses on qualitative and quantitative methods.

During the first-semester orientation week (before the start of the lecture period, Oct. 5–9, 2026), a welcome brunch is traditionally held to provide information about the start of the program. This will take place on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 11:10 a.m. in Room ABS 06-008 (Institute of Sociology, August-Bebel-Str. 30, 6th floor).
Please register by emailing . The event is organized by students in the master’s program, and the program coordinator and several faculty members will also be in attendance. You can also review information from previous semesters in advance, such as the video lecture introducing the degree program structure. The slides used in that presentation can be found here: Presentation on the Degree Program Structure.

Classes at TU Dresden begin on Monday, October 12, 2026.

Further information:
You can find the scheduled courses for the first semester of the master’s program in the table below.

The courses in the first semester are as follows:

• a weekly lecture series in which the core research areas of the degree program and the Institute of Sociology are presented (including ongoing projects),
• a plenary seminar in which fundamental approaches, topics, and concepts in sociology are read and discussed, taking into account the students’ interests and prior knowledge,
• two bridge courses—one on quantitative methods and one on qualitative methods—of which you must choose one,
• three core seminars on topics from the three major areas of study, two of which you will complete in the winter semester 26/27 and one of which you will continue as a research project in the summer semester 27. The core seminars are assigned to the three major areas of study.

All courses in the first semester are required; students must choose only one of the two bridge courses in qualitative or quantitative methods. The reason for this is to establish a common foundation for further studies for all students, including those coming from other universities and other degree programs. The table below lists the courses for the Winter Semester 26/27 according to the preliminary schedule! You can access the course listings with all details via the link to the Digital Semester Schedule provided above. (DS = double periods, a TUD-specific scheduling system; see the left column for exact times):

Back to the MA in Sociology homepage