Master Sociology: Social Research
Insights and Data Skills for a complex World
This website is currently being revised for the 2025 application process until expected December.
If you would like to find out more about the specific details of the master's programme Sociology: Social Research, please click here.
If you are interested in the Double Master’s Programme Demography and Social Inequality in cooperation with University of Groningen, your application must be submitted by 15 May.
Application information
Application deadline
From April until 15 June, you can apply online via the campus management system KLIPS. No documents need to be submitted by post.
- All subject and language requirements must be met by the application deadline.
- All documents must be provided in either German or English and submitted by the application deadline.
- Documents submitted after the application deadline will not be accepted.
Subject-related requirements
In order to fulfil the admission criteria for Sociology: Social Research and take part in the selection procedure, you must demonstrate the following points:
| Completed bachelor's degree | Completed Bachelor's degree programme that corresponds to the subject of the selected Master's degree programme. If you have not completed your bachelor's degree, you must have earned at least 80% of the credit points and have completed the outstanding courses by September 30 at the latest. The subject-related and language admission requirements as well as the minimum grade must be fulfilled at the time of application. | |
| Bachelor's grade | at least 2.7 (German grade) | |
Subject-related requirements specifications on the allocation of courses to the subject areas |
PDF of personal subject-related admission criteria (see application documents) | |
Language requirements
Accepted proofs of English language skills B2: | Accepted for an application for the semester abroad: | |
|---|---|---|
TOEFL1 (highly recommended for those who intend to spend a semester abroad) | 72 ibt TOEFL iBT® Home Edition and TOEFL iBT® Paper Edition are accepted in addition to the regular test | Information on the accepted language certificates can be found here. When applying for a semester abroad, the valid language certificate must be available at the application deadline for the semester abroad. |
| IELTS Academic1 | 5.5 Accepted in addition to the regular test: IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online | |
| Cambridge2 | B2 First (FCE), | |
| Bachelor's degree2 |
(Please submit a proof that your Bachelor's degree programme was completed 100 % in English: e.g. Diploma Supplement or an official letter from the university clearly confirming this). | |
| Master's degree2 | Master's degree totally taught in English | |
| Native2 | has to be verified by school certificates | |
| German school leaving certificate2 (e.g. Abiturzeugnis) | After the end of class 11 (G8) or class 12 (G9) at least 5 points in German grading system must be demonstrated. If the higher education entrance qualification was obtained at Rudolf Steiner schools (Waldorf school), the grade at the end of the last class with at least 5 points will be considered. | not accepted |
School leaving certificate from a member state of the European Union2 | The school leaving certificate explicitly states English language proficiency at level B2 in a separate sentence. Only the grade is not sufficient. | not accepted |
| International/ European Baccalaureat2 | accepted | not accepted |
1 validity for two years 2 unlimited validity
Application documents
The following documents must be uploaded to KLIPS as originals or as authenticated documents in German or in English. | ||
| Bachelor's certificate or proof that 80 % have been succesfully completed | mandatory | If you have not finished your bachelor studies but have passed at least 80% of the examinations (at least 144 credits in a bachelor degree carrying 180 ECTS credits), you can apply by submitting a confirmation of all credits earned so far, along with a provisional average grade computed and certified by your examination office. Please note that the remaining credits must be earned by 30 September. |
| Transcript of records | mandatory | List of all taken modules and courses, including grades and credits, along with a provisional average grade computed and certified by your examination office. |
| Transcript of semester abroad | optional | Only if examinations passed abroad should be considered for the admission criteria as well. |
Subject-related admission criteria See PDF file in "subject-related requirements" | mandatory | Enter the courses you have successfully completed so far during your bachelor's degree programme in the PDF document. List only courses that you have completed at the time of application. |
| School leaving certificate | mandatory for applicants with a German bachelor's degree / optional for applicants with a foreign bachelor's degree | A-levels, High school diploma etc. (please submit all pages of the school leaving certificate) |
| Course catalogue | mandatory | Official description of the content of all taken bachelor courses. Course catalogue or PDF-file with link to course description at the website of the bachelor's university. |
| Proof of German language skills | mandatory for Health Economics and Information Systems* | Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements". This is not necessary for applicants who have obtained a university degree (e.g. Bachelor) or the university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur) in German language. |
| Proof of English language skills | mandatory | Please note the accepted proofs of language under "Language requirements". |
mandatory for applicants with a bachelor's degree obtained outside Germany | Request a preliminary review documentation (VPD) issued for the University of Cologne from uni-assist. You can have your documents checked by uni-assist all year round, the VPD is not tied to an application semester. Read the request procedure carefully and follow the country-specific information. Experience shows that the processing time is 8 weeks. Please make sure to request a VPD at uni-assist well in advance of the application deadline in KLIPS. After you have received the VPD, create an online application in KLIPS. | |
Selection procedure
If the number of applicants meeting the admission criteria exceeds the number of places available for the programme, a selection procedure will be carried out to rank the applicants. The procedure is based on the grade earned in the bachelor’s degree.
Admission results
The table below shows the admission results for Sociology: Social Research over the past two years; the result of any move-up proceudre is shown in brackets. On the basis of the "Ordinance on the Allocation of Study Places in North Rhine-Westphalia" (Verordnung über die Vergabe von Studienplätzen in Nordrhein-Westfalen), admission is based on two quotas. You can find more information on this in our FAQs at point 3.5 "Is there a separate admission quota for non-EU/EEA citizens?".
All applications that took part in the selection procedure and achieved the minimum grade for the respective year were admitted.
| Admission process | Applications from EU/EEA countries, school or university degree from EU/EEA countries or spouse from EU/EEA countries | Applications from non-EU/EEA countries |
| 2023 | 1,9 (2) | 1,2 (1,3 - chosen by lot) |
| 2024 | 1,9 - chosen by lot | 1,1 |
Chosen by lot means that not all applicants with the same score/grade could be granted admission. It was chosen by lot among all applicants with this score.
Fees & financing
Application
If you have obtained your bachelor's degree outside Germany, please note the handling fees for uni-assist.
Study
There is only a social fee for studying at University of Cologne of approx. 320 € per semester including ticket for public transport. There are no tuition fees when studying abroad, but costs for rent, living expenses and learning materials must be paid by the student.
You can find information on financing your studies here.