This M.Sc. in Comparative Social Change is offered jointly by the Department of Sociology at Trinity and the School of Sociology at University College Dublin to develop students’ knowledge of the main currents of social change today, the social, cultural and economic forces which are driving them and the different forms they take across states.The course has a significant international dimension drawing on the rich and informative experiences of other EU member states, North America, the four Asian Tigers, plus the BRIC countries, particularly Brazil, China and India. In addition, the course provides advanced training in conceptualising, designing and conducting comparative research across countries and the role that this can play in policy development. It provides students with both the theoretical frameworks and practical research skills necessary to understand the processes and pressing issues presented by global social change. It aims to show students how everyday experience and practices are shaped by broader social and economic processes.As the programme is jointly delivered by Trinity’s Department of Sociology and the School of Sociology at UCD, students benefit from a greater range of staff expertise, both in terms of teaching and research supervision, in the areas of comparative research methodologies and social change. Policy-relevant and practice-based components, such as fieldwork projects, have been designed to contribute to the training and employability of the next generation of researchers.Students receive academic training in social change issues, such as gender, education and the labour market, which can be applied to real-world problems. This training has the potential to open career opportunities in fields such as advocacy, the media and communications. Furthermore, policy-relevant and practice-based components, such as fieldwork projects, have been designed to contribute to the training and employability of the next generation of researchers, adding an extra dimension to the M.Sc. programme. Students also learn valuable writing, communication, problem solving and policy assessment skills which can be applied to a wide range of careers and further postgraduate study
