World in hand

Master's specialisation | Joint programme optionalCapital, Labour and Extraction

In this specialisation we explore the key challenges produced by contemporary capitalism: stagnant economic growth; rising debt; geographical inequalities; housing, labour, and resource scarcity; and climate crisis. We ask whether these challenges are endemic to capitalism? How do they unevenly impact different peoples and places? And how can we best tackle them and build more just economies?

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Something for you?

  • You will gain fundamental insight into the causes of some fundamental challenges impacting economies around the world – stagnant growth, housing and labour shortages, rising inequalities, and climate change – as well as how they impact people and places in dramatically different ways.
  • You will learn how these challenges can be addressed through different avenues: radical policy interventions, alternative business practices, grassroots initiatives and activism, and transformative re-imagining of society. 
  • You will have fundamental discussions about capitalism, sustainability, extractivism, globalization, modernization, coloniality, technology, care and labour. 
  • You will put these insights into practice through an excursion, and through your internship and Master’s thesis. 
Why study this programme?

Admission requirements

Do you want to know if you can be admitted? Read more about the admission requirements of this programme.

Admission and application
The programme helps you understand all the different social dynamics that exist in the world we live in, how these dynamics interact and how they shape our society.
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What will you learn

In our one-year master's programme the first semester has a strong knowledge and theory gaining orientation, whereby guest lectures, in-class interaction, assignments and excursions provide an opportunity to also apply theoretical lenses to empirical cases. 

The second semester is primarily devoted to your master's thesis research. Your thesis is conducted as part of an internship experience with a relevant organization in the field, and in most cases will call for extensive fieldwork to collect new and relevant data. 

Study programme

Future career opportunities

This specialisation hands you the scientific insights and practical skills for a professional career in jobs such as:

  • Policy advisor in local or national government
  • Position in local and international organizations tackling issues of labour rights, economic justice, local and regional development, and inequality.
  • Consultant advising business on how to promote ethical, just, and sustainable practices.
  • Our mission is also to nurture engaged citizens who drive social change through activism and critical thinking. 

Career prospects

Research

To indicate the type of research in this specialisation, a few examples:

  • What forms of care are emerging to sustain marginalized life around the world, and how do these forms of care question narrowly economistic understandings of labour?
  • How do processes of renewable energy transition reproduce neo-colonial relations between places?
  • How do climate change mitigation policies and discourses on sustainability create conflicts over land and natural resources?
  • How can alternative business practices be used to promote inclusive local economic development?

Questions about this programme?

Do you have a question about this programme? We're happy to help. Please contact us, ask a student or check out our information activities.

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Tuitions & grants

If you are going to follow this Master's programme, you will pay an annual tuition fee. There are different tuition rates. The amount depends on your personal situation.

Tuition