Social and Cultural Science: Comparative Research on Societies (research)

Entry requirements

A completed Bachelor's degree in Social and Cultural Science or closely related area

In order to get admission to this Master's you will need a completed Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, Development Studies, Communication Science or another social science.

Proficiency in English

In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English.This requirement has been satisfied when the student meets the conditions, listed on our website.

Selection and placement process

For additional infomration on the admission process, please visit our website.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The Social and Cultural Science: Comparative Research on Societies (research) Master's focuses on making new discoveries that will contribute to a better understanding of the historical, social political and cultural processes that shape societies. Along with theoretical insights, this programme focuses on developing research skills. This programme teaches students how to perform high-quality comparative research. You will gain a better understanding about issues such as inequality, cohesion and modernisation in both Western and non-Western societies. You’ll learn how to translate social problems into empirical research questions and understand the diverse theoretical approaches, research designs, data collections and analyses you need to get the answers you are looking for.

What will you learn?

• Gain a better understanding about common social issues
• Learn how to apply cross-cultural comparative analysis
• Get valuable experience designing, conducting and presenting your own research

Something for you?

· You will study topics such as inequality, polarisation, political power and cultural diversity from a comparative societal perspective.

· Dialogue and discussion are central in the many small-group teaching sessions led by inspiring lecturers.

· You have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers of the research institute Radboud Social and Cultural Research.

· You can personalise the programme to best match your research interests by choosing one of the three tracks and elective courses or by opting for an (international) internship.

· A large majority of our graduates gain PhD- and other research positions; almost all of our graduates found work shortly after graduating.

Career prospects

Many graduates from this programme pursue PhD or other research positions. Graduates can also find work in a variety of positions:

• Scientific or societal researcher
• Policy maker
• Communications advisor
• Journalist

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Information for international students

Application deadlines

Non-EU/EEA students

• The deadline for non-EU/EEA students who wish to apply for a scholarship is 31 January prior to the September intake. For the requirements and selection procedure for scholarships, please check our scholarship overview.
• The deadline for those not applying for a scholarship is 1 April for non-EU/EEA nationals for the September 2026 intake. You can apply for the September 2026 intake from 1 October 2025.

EU/EEA students

• The application deadline for EU/EEA students with housing assistance for the September 2026 intake is 1 May, and the deadline without housing assistance is 1 July. You can apply from 1 October onward for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The application deadlines for Master’s starting in February are 1 November for non-EU/EEA citizens and 1 December for EU/EEA citizens.

Fees and funding

Radboud University offers 3 different scholarships that are open to prospective Master's students from non-EU/EEA countries and who want to follow an English-taught Master's programme.

Radboud Scholarship Programme

The Radboud Scholarship Programme offers talented, highly motivated, non-EU/EEA students with outstanding study results the opportunity to be awarded a partial scholarship for an English-taught Master’s programme.

NL Scholarship (for prospective students)

The NL Scholarship (formerly known as Holland Scholarship) is a partial scholarship for non-EU/EEA students who want to do their Master’s in the Netherlands.

Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships

The Fulbright Commission, sponsored by Radboud University, is offering scholarships for talented American students to study at Radboud University.