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Are you interested in topics in the social sciences that relate to current societal change? Then you are in the right place! A large variety of fundamental questions are analyzed and discussed in the courses and the research produced under the auspices of the faculty.

What is society? How do economic, social, political and cultural developments intertwine? What is democracy? What is the significance of the open-ended evolution of rational thought versus religious ideologies for the social development across Europe and worldwide? What are the consequences and the causes of migration? What is racism? How do societal conflicts emerge? How are they resolved? What is the purpose of cultural practices within a society? What is morality? What is the significance of ethical principles for the actions of a society and of individuals? How do gender issues influence a society? How do religious and cultural practices change over time?

Department 03, Social Sciences and Philosophy, is one of the largest Departments of the Philipps University of Marburg and offers a broad spectrum of courses in the cultural and social sciences. You can choose between four bachelor degree programs, eleven master degree programs and three state-certified teacher training programs. The functioning of societies and their actors, norms and rules, contemporary philosophical foundations, the role of cultures, religions and gender in Europe and in selected world religions, as well as fundamental social and political questions and conflicts from around the world are studied from different disciplinary angles.

In addition to disciplinary master degree programs, students are offered interdisciplinary master degree programs, such as Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Integration and Economic Globalization, International Development Studies, as well as Politics and Economy in the Near and the Middle East. Regional Areas of special interest focused on in courses and research are Europe, Asia (e.g., Kazakhstan, Japan, Indonesia), Africa, Latin America (e.g., Colombia, Brazil), as well as the Near/Middle East and North Africa (MENA Region).

The academic programs are organized under the six professional disciplines: Political Science, Sociology, Philosophy, European Ethnology/Cultural Studies, Study of Religions as well as Cultural and Social Anthropology. The academic spectrum is supplemented by four interdiciplinary research centers: Center for Conflict Studies (ZfK), Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS), Center for Gender Studies and Feminist Future Research and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Religion (ZIR). The research centers are closely linked with the department.