Master in Societal Transitions
Rotterdam, Netherlands
MA
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 19,950 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for EEA students | 010625 - for non-EEA students
** for non-EEA students | EUR 14,400 - for EEA students
Key Summary
What does this study entail?
Whether in energy, food, mobility, healthcare, or finance, the institutional, technological, and social systems we have historically developed are not sustainable and need to transform in ways we cannot predict or control. In academia, we call this ‘societal transitions’. A societal transition is “a process of structural, non-linear systemic change in a dominant societal regime that takes place over a period of decades (Rotmans et al, 2001; Grin et al, 2010).
Facilitating and managing societal transitions requires us to experiment, initiate and transform the status quo. We need to acquire skills and knowledge that transcend disciplinary boundaries and enable us to synthesise and draw connections between multiple perspectives.
The MA in Societal Transitions equips you with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand, interpret and work on complex societal transitions. It is transdisciplinary, integrating knowledge from various disciplines – including philosophy, ecology, and law - and practice. Herein, it focuses especially on the socio-economic and institutional dimensions of societal transitions: the role of power, agency, culture, beliefs, values and social movements, in areas such as energy, food, care, mobility and construction.
The master provides you with the knowledge needed to embrace complex, systemic, persistent (un)sustainability issues. Since no one can address today’s challenges alone, you will collaborate with other professionals (peers, teachers, researchers and societal stakeholders) and co-create interventions for a just and sustainable society. Hereby, you will move beyond theory and apply your learnings in a real-life context.
Is this the right programme for you?
- It is a direct response to the challenges of our time.
- It is transdisciplinary, connecting academic knowledge from a range of disciplines – including transition management, philosophy, law and sociology – with the experiential and practical knowledge of (working in) practice.
- It is transformative, supporting systemic thinking, personal change, and growth. It helps you develop an engaged, entrepreneurial, experimental, and reflexive attitude.
- The programme offers you the opportunity to design and facilitate an intervention for a sustainability challenge in the graduation project, instead of writing a traditional thesis.
- Studying Societal Transitions in Rotterdam means living in a dynamic city that is an inspiration and a city lab for your studies.
Does this sound appealing to you? Then the Master Societal Transitions might be a great fit for you!
What the Programme Entails
- 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)
Whether in energy, food, mobility, healthcare, or finance – to ensure a just and sustainable future for all, we must transform every global and local system in the coming decade. Facilitating and managing these transitions requires us to experiment, initiate and transform the status quo.
This programme equips you with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand, interpret and work on complex societal transitions. It is transdisciplinary, integrating knowledge from various disciplines and practices.
That’s why you don’t need to be a philosophy graduate to study societal transitions. This programme is open to students from all backgrounds.
There are various grants, scholarships and loans available to help you cover your tuition fees. A concise list of these can be found on the university’s Financial Aid webpage. Another list can be found on the Study in NL portal, and the Scholars 4 Dev portal contains a list that is especially relevant to students from the Global South. The following sources are particularly noteworthy for applicants to the Research Master's in Philosophy and Economics:
- Erasmus University offers the NL Scholarship, the EUR Excellence Scholarship, the Erasmus Trustfonds Scholarship and the L-EARN for Impact Scholarship.
- The Dutch government offers various sources of funding that can be found through the studyinnl website. Students from EU/EEA countries may also be eligible for a partial refund of their tuition fees via DUO.
In addition:
- Some businesses may agree to sponsor you.
- Your local government may agree to sponsor you.
Reflection and Leadership Tracks
Parallel to the core and elective courses, you will follow a reflection course and a (personal) leadership course. During the personal leadership training, you will learn to understand your own role within societal transitions, communicate about them, and become an active leader for change. During the reflection sessions, you will critically assess your experiences.
Electives and Specialisations
During this programme, you will also choose relevant electives from master's programmes of collaborating EUR schools, such as: Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB), Erasmus School of History, Culture, and Communication (ESHCC), Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management (ESHPM) and International Institute of Social Studies (ISS). An overview of the possible electives is provided at the beginning of the academic year, as courses vary between academic years.
Specialisations
As of the academic year 2024-2025, this programme offers the possibility to use your elective spaces to specialise in one of two specific transition domains and later complete the Graduation Project on a topic within the same domain.
Energy Transition Specialisation
Composed of three courses, the Energy Transition specialisation invites students to explore the multifaceted aspects of transitioning to sustainable energy systems. Amidst current challenges related to climate and global politics, the need for a rapid Energy Transition has never been more obvious. At the same time, it is essential to ensure that this transition happens fairly – both on a local and global level. The specialisation offers engaging lectures, practical simulations, case-based assignments, and visits to companies and communities. This ensures an immersive, transformative, entrepreneurial, and reflective learning experience for all students.
Urban Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change Specialisation
Hosted by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), the Urban Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change specialisation offers students the possibility to take a deep dive into how cities can adapt to climate change and enhance environmental resilience. This one course is divided into seven modules, starting with an introduction and the problem statement, covering the layers of land, water, and atmosphere, and ending with sustainable transitions, synthesis, and advisory assignment. More information on this programme can be found hereOpens external.
Graduation project
In the graduation project, you are challenged to design your own transition strategy, 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.
Block 1
- Navigating Sustainability Transitions
- Transition thinking
Block 2
- Transformative methods
- Urban (un)sustainability
Block 3
- Philosophical toolkit for societal transitions
- Elective space
Block 4
- Graduation project
Continuing throughout the year
- Reflection track
- Leadership development track
This programme trains you to become a leader who can interpret transition dynamics and intervene to influence the speed and direction of transition processes. More specifically, it teaches you to:
- understand, analyse and frame diverse transition contexts (think);
- collaborate with various stakeholders and facilitate difficult conversations in a constructive manner (connect);
- dare to experiment, initiate, and transform current situations (act);
- learn quickly, adapt, and shape social experimentation as a social learning process (reflect).
This master's educates you for a position, rather than a specific job. You will become a transformative leader who works across business, government, civil society, community, and research in support of just, societal and sustainable transitions.
Depending on your bachelor's education and interests, you could end up working in strategic or entrepreneurial positions, helping to shape change. This could be in a public organisation, as a policymaker or strategic advisor, or in a private company, as a consultant or sustainability programme manager. The emphasis on personal skills and social entrepreneurship in the programme will also prepare you to take adventurous routes, such as becoming a social entrepreneur yourself.
Throughout the year, you will follow different courses and tracks, building up to the graduation project. You will study theories and methods from various disciplines and learn to approach these 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.