The Institute of Sociology (IfS) is part of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences (WISO) at the University of Bern. The IfS consists of four professorships, a Professorship for Sustainable Society (Prof. Dr. Wojtek Przepiorka), a Professorship for Social Structure Analysis (Prof. Dr. Ben Jann), a Professorship for Methods of Empirical Social Research (Prof. Dr. Axel Franzen) and an Assistant Professorship for Social Change and Inequality (Prof. Dr. Benita Combet). Around 50 academic staff work in research and teaching at the IfS.
The IfS focuses on political sociology, economic sociology, cultural sociology, environmental sociology, sociological theory, research on social networks and social capital, research on education, the labor market, and inequality, as well as methods of empirical social research. Since 2014, the SNSF infrastructure project Transitions from Education to Employment (TREE) has been based at the IfS. Furthermore, the institute is closely affiliated with the Interfaculty Centre for Educational Research (ICER), which was founded in 2018.
The sociology program at the University of Bern is structured as follows. During the first three years (Bachelor’s level), the program is part of a general introductory program in the social sciences. All disciplines within the WISO Faculty contribute to the Bachelor’s program (180 ECTS credits). The Bachelor’s program is taught in German and concludes with the degree Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences. Building on this, students may continue with the Research Master in Sociology and Communication (90 ECTS credits). The Master’s program is taught entirely in English and offered by the IfS in collaboration with the Institute for Communication and Media Studies Bern (IKMB). The Master’s program lasts for three semesters and concludes with the degree Master of Science in Sociology and Communication.
As part of defined research projects, doctoral positions are regularly offered and filled through a competitive selection process. The doctoral program is designed to provide further training for social scientists. Doctoral positions are publicly advertised and announced on the IfS website.
