Scientific Competencies at BIGSSS
The integration of most major social-science disciplines into one school is a key asset of BIGSSS. Our scientific umbrella theme is “Changing Patterns of Social and Political Integration“. In each of BIGSSS' Thematic Fields this theme is being examined from a particular perspective.
While a specialized curriculum is dedicated to each of these research fields and fellows should demonstrate special interest in one of the areas, BIGSSS encourages its doctoral students to be curious about the research carried out in all Thematic Fields and to let their own work be challenged by an interdisciplinary community of scholars. In combination, these perspectives yield a panoramic view of the changing patterns of social and political integration in contemporary societies. BIGSSS' three Thematic Fields are:
- Field A: “Global Governance and Regional Integration“
- Field B: “Welfare State, Inequality and Quality of Life“
- Field C: “Changing Lives in Changing Socio-Cultural Contexts“
The basis for teaching and research in BIGSSS' three Thematic Fields is its emphasis on social-science methods. The BIGSSS Methods Center covers a broad spectrum from quantitative to qualitative methods and combinations thereof.