Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Program and courses Double Degree in Sociology and Population Studies

Study modern societies in both Tilburg and Barcelona and learn how to identify the main forces and challenges faced by key social institutions such as families, schools, neighborhoods, and jobs.

Program structure

This 1.5-year program consists of 90 ECTS:

  • The Master of Research in Sociology and Demography at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (40 ECTS):
    • Module 1:  Socio-demographic analysis (20 ECTS)
    • Research and analytical techniques (10 ECTS)
    • Electives(10 ECTS)
  • One of the sociology tracks at Tilburg University (50 ECTS):
    • Content courses (26 ECTS)
    • Master’s thesis (24 ECTS)

You will spend the first two semesters (October - March) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. The next 1,5 semesters (March - January), you will spend at Tilburg University. At Tilburg University, you can choose one of the Sociology tracks: Politics, Policy and Society in Comparative Perspective, or Health, Wellbeing and Society. By choosing elective courses, you can tailor your study program to your interests and create an individual, unique profile.

Program entry is at the end of August.

Program content

Courses at Universitat Pompeu Fabra

You will follow three socio-demographic analysis courses (20 ECTS), two research and analytical techniques courses (12 ECTS) and two electives (10 ECTS). The year is separated into two semesters. 

You will take the following courses in semester 1 (October - December):

  • Demographic Changes and Social Dynamics
  • Techniques of Statistical Analysis I
  • Research and Data Analysis Seminar
  • Choose one of the following elective courses:
    • Fundamentals of Political and Social Research
    • Determinants of Health Inequalities

You will take the following courses in semester 2 (January - March):

  • Analysis of Social Inequalities
  • Techniques of Statistical Analysis II
  • Family, Gender and Society
  • Choose one of the following elective courses:
    • Migration and Society
    • Qualitative Research Methods
    • Employment Policies and Labour Market

You will find more information about the courses offered by Universitat Pompeu Fabra on their website.

Read more about the courses at Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Courses at Tilburg University - Sociology: Politics, Policy and Society in a Comparative Perspective

At Tilburg University, you will follow four content courses (26 ECTS), and write a Master's thesis (24 ECTS). The second year is separated into three blocks. Note: The year starts with block 4 but it can be regarded as block 1 et cetera. 

You will take the following courses in block 4 (March – June):

  • Politics and Society in Comparative Perspective
    Develop cross-country analyses of politics and societies, particularly focusing on the rise of populistic groups and of populistic rhetoric.
  • Master Seminar Sociology: From Theory to Research
    Throughout the program, you participate in the Master's seminar Sociology, which prepares you for writing your thesis. 

You will take the following courses in block 1 (August – October):

  • Social Movements: Social Media, Democracy and Change
    You get a thorough introduction into the scientific field of social movement research. In a globalizing context and the current network and information society, it has become easier than ever to connect with people, share ideas and mobilize in collective action. In the recent decade we have seen several examples in which local movements spread globally through social media. 

You will take the following courses in block 2 (October – January):

  • Social Policy and Social Risks
    Address social policy and welfare states and discover how various 'welfare regime types' have developed over time in different countries, reflective of different concepts of social solidarity and leading to varied outcomes in terms of economic well-being, stratification patterns, and life-course risks.

You will find a detailed description of the courses and required literature for the track: Politics, Policy and Society in Comparative Perspective in our course catalog.

See full overview of program and courses

Courses at Tilburg University - Health, Wellbeing and Society

At Tilburg University, you will follow four content courses (26 ECTS), and write a Master's thesis (24 ECTS). The second year is separated into three blocks. Note: The year starts with block 4 but it can be regarded as block 1 et cetera. 

You will take the following courses in block 4 (March – June):

  • Health and Policy
    Delve into concept and key theories in health and policy, and illustrate them with practical examples like health and wellbeing in relation to social and economic factors, policy interventions at macro/meso/micro level, illiteracy, education, poverty, housing, (un)employment, or social and physical environment. 
    • You write a paper on a policy intervention and evaluations focusing on an actual health and wellbeing topic. Learn how to build a policy analysis proposal by describing a central problem, using evidence to substantiate and by choosing a suitable (policy) intervention. 
  • Master Seminar Sociology: From Theory to Research
    Throughout the program, you participate in the Master's seminar Sociology, which prepares you for writing your thesis. 

You will take the following courses in block 1 (August – October):

  • Health, Resilience and Sustainability
    You will examine the social inequalities in health in the context of western societies, using the Netherlands as a case study. You will approach the topic from a comparative and multifaceted perspective at a micro, meso- and macro level that is in line with the expertise of the Sociology and Tranzo departments.

  • Master Seminar Sociology: From Theory to Research
    Throughout the program, you participate in the Master's seminar Sociology, which prepares you for writing your thesis. 

You will take the following courses in block 2 (October – January):

  • Social Policy and Social Risks
    You address the topic of social policy and welfare states against the backdrop of global challenges and widespred socio-economic changes. You will learn how various 'welfare regime types' have developed over time in different countries, reflective of different concepts of social solidarity and with various consequences in terms of economic wellbeing, stratification patterns and life-course risks. 

You will find a detailed description of the courses and required literature for the track: Health, Wellbeing and Society in our course catalog.

See full overview of program and courses

Master’s thesis

You start your Master’s thesis by writing your Individual Research Proposal (IRP) with feedback from the thesis supervisor. This proposal will be presented within the framework of the Master Seminar Sociology in block 4.

  • You can choose your own research topic.
  • You will write your Master's thesis under the supervision of a UPF or Tilburg University faculty member. Your second reader will be someone from the other institution, who will act as a second grader.
  • Preferably, a Master’s thesis has a strong connection to the departmental research program
  • Defend your Master’s thesis at Tilburg University in the second semester of the second academic year.
  • In case you do an Extended Master's program, it is preferable (but not mandatory) to connect your thesis to your internship.
  • You can either write a thesis with an empirical theoretical accent, or do a sociological analysis of a social or practical problem and existing interventions, leading to relevant policy conclusions.
  • You will participate in the Master's Seminar Sociology course, which prepares you for writing your thesis.

Thesis topics (examples from the track PPSiCP): 

  • Discrimination of minorities in the labor market  
  • Is judicial legitimacy declining, and why? 
  • Health apps and psychological constraints 
  • School dropout among ethnic minorities 
  • Social contacts and feelings of trust 
  • Religiosity and civic morality in the Netherlands 
  • Analysis of European values 

Thesis topics (examples from the track HWS): 

  • Does internet use play a role in explaining differences in the social gradient in health in Europe? 
  • Involvement of the alcohol industry in policy: what are the effects on alcohol consumption?  
  • What does a healthy community look like?  
  • Do lifestyle programs and interventions for the general population broaden the health gap between rich and poor? 
  • Can informal care decrease costs and increase quality of life?  
  • Do neighborhood quality and cohesion have an impact on older adults’ levels of physical activity? 

Watch a trial lecture


Please note: programs are subject to change. We advise you to look up the current program in OSIRIS Student at the start of the year.


Do you want to know more about this Master’s program?

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Extend your Master's with an internship

You have the opportunity to extend your Master's program by half a year, in which you do an internship (30 ECTS), in Dutch or English. During the internship, you will dedicate half your time to research activities in the organization, and half your time researching and writing your Master's thesis. After completing the internship, you will receive a professional certificate in addition to your MSc. 

Generally, you can do Extended Master's if you are hired by the partner organization. You can either do your Extended Master's program at one of the Academic Collaborative Centers at Tranzo, or at one of the partner organizations of the Extended Master's program.

Admission and application Extended Master's

You can only apply for the Extended Master's once you have started with one of the Master's tracks of the Master's program in Sociology (Health, Wellbeing and Society, or Sociology: Politics, Policy and Society in Comparative Perspective). 

At the start of the Master’s track, you will get more information about the Extended Master’s program in a track-specific meeting. In this meeting, you will be informed on the application procedure, application deadline, possible partner organizations, and the structure of the program and internship. 

Partner organizations for Sociology: Politics, Policy and Society in Comparative Perspective

Partner organizations:

  • Municipality of Tilburg (Research department)
  • AO Consult (Labor training consultancy)
  • Movisie (National Knowledge and Advisory Institute for Social Development)
  • Mulier (Institute for the promotion of social scientific knowledge development and policy effectiveness in the field of sports)
  • Nivel (Dutch institute for health services research)
  • PON (Social-Cultural planning bureau for Brabant)
  • ROA (The Research Centre for education and the labor market, Maastricht) 
  • SCP (Social and cultural planning bureau) 
  • Oberon (Research and advisory bureau for the education and welfare sector, Utrecht)
  • OI (Education Inspection)
  • Inspectie SZW (Social intelligence and onvestigation service, ministry of social affairs and employment) 
  • CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) 
  • Municipality Helmond (Research and statistics department)  
  • Municipality Breda (Research and information department) 
  • Verweij Jonker Instituut 
  • European Values Study, Tilburg University 
Partner organizations for Health, Wellbeing and Society

Partner organizations

You can either do your Extended Master at one of the Academic Collaborative Centers at Tranzo, or at one of the partner organizations. The program provides the Health, Wellbeing and Society Extended Master students with a list of assignments and projects within the ACC partnerorganizations (for Tranzo) to choose from. You are not expected to contact our ACC's directly. 

Academic Collaborative Centers:Partner organizations in Health and Wellbeing:

Short overview of the Double Degree in Sociology and Population Studies

  • Get two full Master’s degrees by combining two related subject areas with different approaches.
    • The program at Universitat Pompeu Fabra focuses on sociological and demographical research.
    • The sociology tracks at Tilburg University focus on translating social problems into sociological research to evaluate current policies and derive new policies
  • Graduate both as Master of Research in Sociology and Demography at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Master of Science in Sociology at Tilburg University.
  • Get the ultimate international experience by studying in both Spain and the Netherlands.
  • Get interactive, small-scale education with individual thesis supervision and tailor your program to your interests to create an individual, unique profile.
  • You have the opportunity to enhance your skills and gain relevant work experience by doing an Extended Master's program. During this additional semester you do a half-year internship

Interested in the Double degree in Sociology and Population Studies?

Check your eligibility and the deadlines for application