The first phase comprises the first and second semesters of the programme, in which students acquire theoretical and methodological knowledge and are given the opportunity to develop their own focus of their study project. This phase serves above all for scientific reflection and personal focus setting, which should enable students to pursue independent scientific projects.
In the second phase – in the third semester – students carry out a study project. The abstract theoretical and methodological knowledge acquired in the first phase is transformed into concrete empirical questions in a study project. Through the study project, students gain sensitivity for the complexity and diversity of the discipline and for the ethical aspects of anthropological work; they acquire in-depth theoretical and ethnographic knowledge of at least one particular region/field and one subject area (e.g. economic, political, religious, material, museum, visual) anthropology. They learn the methods and independent critical problem-solving skills in various contexts, i.e. in scientific and applied fields.
The final, third phase in the fourth semester serves to allow the student to process the information collected in the study project. Students present their study projects in the joint MA colloquium and complete the writing of their MA theses. In the colloquium, students acquire the ability to present their research results orally and in written form, addressing both an academic and a lay audience. In the MA thesis, the students learn to analyse the concrete empirical data obtained from the study project in order to contribute to further abstract theory as well as to develop problem solving proposals.
In the third semester, students can choose to participate in an internship, a semester abroad or a self-organised study project.