Migration and Ethnic Studies (MSc)

The Master's programme in Migration and Ethnic Studies is a track of the Master's programme in Sociology. It deals with the different forms, causes and consequences of international migration. It gives particular attention to:

• the impact of globalisation
• the regulation of international migration by authorities at different levels
• the responses of international migrants to the changing opportunity structure

This programme addresses issues of immigrant incorporation, assimilation and diversity in various social fields, including the labour market, education, politics and religion. It discusses the issues confronting Amsterdam and the Netherlands following the murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh and the apparent rise of anti-immigrant sentiment and rigid assimilationist politics.

The programme offers students an interdisciplinary approach to major contemporary concerns regarding migration, using the perspectives from a variety of scientific disciplines. The combination of empirical studies with theoretical reflection provides the intellectual tools and skills that students need to better analyse and deal with the complexities of migration in today's world.

Studying Migration and Ethnic Studies (MSc) at the University of Amsterdam

The changes taking place in contemporary Amsterdam embody many of the issues that are dealt with in the Master of Migration and Ethnic Studies. Many of the programme's lecturers are researchers at the UvA's Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES), an interdisciplinary research institute which examines issues related to migration and integration from a comparative perspective.

The IMES houses a number of internationally respected scholars, whose work revolves around such issues as international mobility, political mobilization and the institutional design of multicultural democracies, public space, labor market participation and entrepeneurship, and life courses and generational change. Graduates of the Master are in an excellent position to apply to IMES's international, English-taught PhD programme.