The permanent teaching staff has extensive experience in comparative research in the leading international projects. During the classes, they discuss their cutting-edge studies and share their experience as researchers. Students benefit greatly from networking with experts and their advice on term papers and master’s thesis. The programe’s international and Russian teaching staff brings about a global atmosphere of learning, which is highly demanding as well as participatory.

The programme’s students gain international experience by using manifold opportunities, such as:

• conducting international comparative research during their project activities in Russia or abroad
• going abroad for study exchange

• studying with peers from all over the world, especially from developing countries and CIS.

The programme is focused on obtaining a high-quality skill set for academic research through:

• rigorous methods education for a broad range of research topics. This gives the necessary skills and experience for enrollment into PhD schools in the future
• participation of students in the Ronald F. Inglehart Laboratory for Comparative Social Research and other international labs and research centers at HSE
• participation in international collaborative research and networks from the first semester.

The obtained methodological and analytical skill set is in strong demand at the Russian and global labor market in: universities, governmental and commercial research centers, think tanks, consulting, and in analytical units of international organizations.

The programme is welcoming BA graduates in Sociology, Political Science, History, Demography, Ethnography, Psychology, having adequate competences in data analysis methods. The representatives from other scientific fields are also invited as we embrace diversity and synergy.

In accordance with the Federal Educational Standard for the 39.04.01 Sociology specialization, students shall acquire the following competencies:

• to independently master new research methods
• to conduct research in an international environment
• to identify socially significant problems and propose solutions based on relevant scientific theories, concepts, approaches and social technologies and on this basis forecast social phenomena and processes
• to process and interpret social, demographic, economic and other relevant empirical information using the explanatory capabilities of modern sociological theory
• to manage projects in the field of public opinion research, organization of marketing services, and social expertise of management decisions in various areas
• to spread sociological knowledge and to advise employees of management bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations when dealing with social issues.

Graduates of the programme will be prepared for the following professional tasks (defined by the Federal Educational Standard for the 39.04.01 Sociology specialization):

• scientific and research-related tasks
• social-technological tasks
• analytical tasks
• expert and consulting tasks.

The first year of the program focuses on students’ acquiring in-depth and applied knowledge for data analysis, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Simultaneously, students are gaining skills in comparative sociology and obtain the opportunity for more in-depth examination of topics for independent study and analysis based on their interests, such as social networks, inequality, migration processes, care and bodily practices, and mass communication. At the end of the first year, students defend their term papers.

The second year involves fewer courses and more emphasis on scientific research and practical work. Our students participate in projects conducted by both Russian and international scientific and research centers. During project preparation, students collect and analyze data for their master's theses under the guidance of specialists, including those from partner departments within HSE, such as the Ronald F. Inglehart Laboratory for Comparative Social Research.

This degree programme of HSE University is adapted for students with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. Special assistive technology and teaching aids are used for collective and individual learning of students with SEN and disabilities. The specific adaptive features of the programme are listed in each subject's full syllabus and are available to students through the online Learning Management System.

All documents of the degree programme are stored electronically on this website. Curricula, calendar plans, and syllabi are developed and approved electronically in corporate information systems. Their current versions are automatically published on the website of the degree programme. Up-to-date teaching and learning guides, assessment tools, and other relevant documents are stored on the website of the degree programme in accordance with the local regulatory acts of HSE University.

I hereby confirm that the degree programme documents posted on this website are fully up-to-date.

Vice Rector Sergey Yu. Roshchin

Summary of Degree Programme 'Comparative Social Research'