Minimum curriculum requirements for Magister programmes
in SOCIOLOGY

  1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Magister programmes in Sociology last 5 years (10 semesters). The total course load is ca. 3200 hours, including 1320 hours covered by the minimum curriculum requirements and 400 hours allocated for the preparation of a magister thesis. The minimum curriculum requirements comprise only general, basic and major courses which are common to all specialist options within sociology programmes. The basic and major courses included in the minimum requirements may be provided separately or integrated.

  1. PROFILE OF THE GRADUATE

Magister programmes in sociology should provide graduates with sufficiently profound and comprehensive general knowledge of sociology to ensure that he/she is able to practise the profession of sociologist at various posts, and to undertake research and analytical projects of scientific character or for the needs of institutions concerned with the functioning of the society, e.g. enterprises, local governments, public administration, etc. These programmes should also equip graduates with the skills necessary for the teaching of subjects such as social studies and family education (upon completion of a relevant teacher training course regulated by separate legislation) in primary and secondary schools, and for work in various social services.

  1. COURSE GROUPS AND COURSE LOAD

  1. GENERAL COURSES

450 hours

  1. BASIC AND MAJOR COURSES

870 hours

Total:

1320 hours

  1. PRACTICAL PLACEMENT

The minimum duration of a practical placement is 120 hours (4 weeks). Placements may take various forms, including: individual practical placements in relevant administration agencies or social, cultural, educational and business institutions, or participation in scientific camps and field research. Practical placements may also be completed according to mixed arrangements.

  1. COURSES BY GROUP AND MINIMUM COURSE LOAD

  1. GENERAL COURSES

450 hours

  1. Elements of Philosophy

60

  1. Elements of Economics

60

  1. Logic and General Scientific Methodology

60

  1. Computer Workshops

60

  1. Foreign Language

120

  1. Physical Education

60

  1. Course to be chosen by the student (depending on his/her interests, e.g. a course in natural sciences, literature, fundamentals of intellectual property protection or any other course not directly related to the field of study)

 

30

  1. BASIC AND MAJOR COURSES

870 hours

  1. Social Philosophy

30

  1. Introduction to Sociology

60

  1. History of Sociological Thought

60

  1. Contemporary Sociological Theories

30

  1. Methodology of Social Sciences

60

  1. Sociological Research Methods

120

  1. Statistical Methods in Sociology

60

  1. Sociology: Social Microstructures

120

  1. Sociology: Social Macrostructures

120

  1. Social Psychology

60

  1. Social Ethics

60

  1. Cultural Anthropology (may be combined with Introduction to Sociology)

60

  1. Social Demography

30

  1. Contemporary Polish Society

30

  1. CURRICULUM CONTENTS FOR BASIC AND MAJOR COURSES

  1. SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

    2. Main theories of social life. Individual and the society. Concepts of freedom and participation in social life. Pluralistic society and tolerance. Nation and the State. Political communities and religious communities. Ontological and anthropological dimension of culture.

  2. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

    3. Sources of social and sociological knowledge. Concepts of sociology. Sociology and other social sciences. Functions of sociology. Natural, demographic and economic foundations of social life. Natural world and the humanist world (of culture products). Selected problems of social development. Constitutive elements of a social bond.

  3. HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGICAL THOUGHT

    4. Pre-positivist social thought (Renaissance and Enlightenment). Conservatism, liberalism and their theoretical and social roots. Utopian concepts. A. Comte and the positivist approach. Evolutionism. Darwinism in sociology. Psychologism and sociologism. Dispute over the neo-positivist character of sociology (physicalism, mechanicism, formal sociology). Historism. Humanist sociology and its varieties (Dilthey, M. Weber, F. Znaniecki, P. Sorokin). Social pragmatism. Chicago school of ecology.

  4. CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

    5. Structural and functional theory and its varieties. Theory of conflict. Theory of social exchange. Interactionism. Phenomenological sociology. Ethnomethodology. Critical theories. Historical sociology. Postmodernism.

  5. METHODOLOGY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

    6. Formulation of hypotheses and theories. Explanation and prediction. Justification of statements. Paradigms of social research. Selection of indicators. Types of generalisations.

  6. SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS

    7. Methods of sample selection. Principles of a questionnaire. Questionnaire interview. Experiment. Sociometry. Panel research. Analysis of content. Observation. Biographic method. Methods of data analysis.

  7. STATISTICAL METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY

    8. Descriptive statistics. Statistical inference. Statistical tests. Confidence intervals. Analysis of the dynamics of mass phenomena.

  8. SOCIOLOGY: SOCIAL MICROSTRUCTURES

    9. Social personality, socialisation, attitudes. Theories of social group. Structure of the group and its types. Theories of social environment. Theory of reference group. Theory of social integration and disintegration.

  9. SOCIOLOGY: MACROSTRUCTURES

    10. Global society and its structure. Theories of social development, and social movements. Social processes (industrialisation and urbanisation). Culture and its impacts on social life. State, political parties, governance systems. Sociological concepts of the nation. Social classes and strata: theoretical concepts and transformations. Transformations of occupational structure.

  10. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

    11. Man as a subject and object in social relations. Stages in social development of the individual: conformist and non-conformist behaviour. Theory of social perception. Individual needs and social needs: the problem of values and the directing of human activity. Theory of leadership. Forms of social maladjustment; individual and group norms. Criteria of mature personality.

  11. SOCIAL ETHICS

    12. Axiological foundations of social life. Category of ethos. Human dignity and rights. Freedom and responsibility. Equality and equity. Contemporary moral issues: wars, poverty, euthanasia, abortion, addictions, media, etc.

  12. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

    13. Concept and basic theoretical approaches. Man as the creator and consumer of culture. Impacts of culture on social life. Culture as a factor of social integration. Cultural patterns. Primitive cultures. Role of myth, magic, religion. Local, regional, national and mass culture. Dynamics of cultural changes.

  13. SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY

    14. Concept and method of demography. Tools for analysis of the state of population (coefficients, demographic grid). Reproduction of population: measures, models, estimates, forecasts. Migration and its types. Social mobility. Demographic processes, their social determinants and effects. Population policy.

  14. CONTEMPORARY POLISH SOCIETY

Sociological problems of the contemporary Polish society. Various teaching and learning methods are envisaged; in addition to traditional academic lectures, these may include seminars with outstanding representatives of culture, science, arts, journalism, economy and politics.

  1. RECOMMENDATIONS

In addition to the minimum requirements presented above, individual institutions should offer specific sets of specialist courses (e.g. social work, public and local administration, culture animation, regional development, etc.), depending on the needs identified and the teaching staff available in the institution.