Individual Research Work

Students understand the importance and methods of critical thinking about a given topic in the humanities and are able to search for relevant research.
Supported by the mentor, the student experiences a holistic process of solving problems specific to the humanities through research; this process covers independent research at all its stages – from planning through implementation and finally to the evaluation of research.

First-year obligatory courses and "Research Work" course

In this course, the student chooses a research topic that draws on the study material covered during prior coursework and that conducts an in-depth investigation of that topic under a mentor's supervision. The student embarks on a guided, but essentially autonomous research process and makes use of the methods and tools as well as the results obtained in this course as preparatory elements or background training for the Masters thesis.

At the end of the course, the student summarises their work in a report that includes an introduction to the topic, the aims as well as the background for the research project, a justification of the methodology used and for the research instruments and tools, an overview of the process of data acquisition and data processing (primary and secondary), a critical review of the literature used, a presentation of the results (which may be partial or preliminary), and a conclusion that takes into account the possibilities of further application or development into a master's thesis.

ability to generate an original research topic in a particular subfield of the humanities on the basis of prior academic experience
knowledge of a general structure and implementation of a research study in a given area of the humanities
ability to conduct independent research in a select subfield in Humanities
ability to estimate the material and infrastructural resources required for conducting a successful research study within a given topic in humanities
ability to search for literature and relevant information for student’s own research project
ability to present the results of the student’s own research project to both specialized and general audiences, with a focus on the connection between science, civil society and other areas
combining tools and methodologies in an autonomous manner that helps the student toward developing their own idea for a master's thesis or other project
critically reflecting on the value of the student’s own competencies and independently planning a strategy for acquiring new competencies derived from (also informal and casual) academic experience

Readings defined and agreed upon by the acting mentor.

Final report with oral presentation

The course is lead by the acting mentor of each individual student