(Deze master wordt in het Engels gegeven)
Why this master
Facilitating and managing societal transitions requires more than expertise in a single field. It requires the ability to experiment, initiate, and transform the status quo, and to do so together with others. The Master Societal Transitions equips you with exactly that. It is transdisciplinary, integrating knowledge from various disciplines including philosophy, ecology, and law, and focuses especially on the socio-economic and institutional dimensions of transitions: the role of power, agency, culture, beliefs, values, and social movements, in areas such as energy, food, care, mobility, and construction.
Since no one can address today’s challenges alone, you will collaborate with peers, teachers, researchers, and societal stakeholders to co-create interventions for a just and sustainable society — moving beyond theory to apply your learning in a real-life context.
Is this the right programme for you?
This master is unique because…
- It is a direct response to the challenges of our time;
- It is transdisciplinary, connecting academic knowledge from transition management, philosophy, law, and sociology with experiential and practical knowledge from working in practice;
- It is transformative, supporting systemic thinking, personal change, and growth — helping you develop an engaged, entrepreneurial, experimental, and reflexive attitude;
- Instead of a traditional thesis, you design and facilitate a real intervention for a sustainability challenge in the graduation project.
Throughout the year you follow different courses and tracks building up to the graduation project. You study theories and methods from various disciplines and learn to approach them in a critically constructive way, while being encouraged to incorporate multiple perspectives and develop your own vision. Course formats include lectures, working and discussion groups, design and experimentation sessions, and field trips.
What the programme entails
The programme includes five mandatory interdisciplinary courses:
- Transition science (focused on understanding system dynamics, actor networks and transition patterns);
- Philosophy (critical reflection, deconstructing and redefining complex concepts such as sustainability);
- Ecological sustainability (impact of behaviour on climate);
- Behavioural science (effects and change of social and economic behaviour and current societal frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals);
- Urban planning (systemic perspective on innovations that aim at urban change and how they are globally connected).
Graduation project
Instead of a traditional thesis, the graduation project challenges you to design your own transition strategy in groups of three to six, related to a self-chosen social (un)sustainable challenge. First, you will research and analyse this challenge, then work together with stakeholders on possible solution directions. Last, you will record your research process and the chosen strategy in a paper and present it to an audience of scientists and practitioners. Curious about past Graduation Projects? See past examples here!
What the master prepares you for
There is no single job waiting at the end of your studies. You can become a transformative leader working across business, government, civil society, community, and research in support of just and sustainable transitions. Depending on your background and interests, you could end up in strategic or entrepreneurial positions — as a policymaker, consultant, sustainability programme manager, researcher, or even a social entrepreneur.