Knowledge and Society, Master of Arts

Important general information

• This is a consecutive Master's degree programme. This means that in order to be able to enrol for the programme, one must have achieved at least 40 ECTS in philosophy in previous studies.
• If you might arrive late in your first semester because of lengthy visa procedures, etc., please check out the information on Late Arrivals below.

Information Events

• Knowledge and Society Semester Opening Event: October 13, 2026, 13:00-14:00 (CET), SR 4.202, in-person only (no registration needed); for all our students of the study track.

• Knowledge and Society Information Event (Online): March 10, 2027, 09:00-10:00 (CET). This event is particularly for new students of our study track “Knowledge and Society”. General information about the program is provided, and participants have the opportunity to ask their questions. The event takes place before the end of the enrollment phase for courses of the coming term, so students can use it as an opportunity to also clarify their study-specific queries. If you want to join this event, you can register for it here. The link to the Zoom meeting will be sent to registered participants about an hour before the start of the event.

Study program description

The Master programme Knowledge and Society focuses on philosophical issues concerning the social, political, and technological context of knowledge acquisition and transmission. It combines rigorous academic training in analytic philosophy (epistemology) and experience with important areas in which the philosophy of knowledge intersects with other topics of societal concern, including (but not limited to) testimony, disagreement, implicit biases, resistance to evidence, science communication, trust, epistemic authority, feminist epistemology, epistemic injustice, epistemic bubbles and echo chambers, relativism, fake news, group knowledge and ignorance, propaganda and polarisation. It enables the next generation of humanities graduates to develop and transmit knowledge of key epistemological themes as they take up careers in academia, media, education, heritage, government and non-governmental organisations, and the private sector.

The study programme equips students with the skills to identify and individuate epistemological issues as they arise in real-world settings. It focuses on developing the ability to analyse collective knowledge generation processes and acquiring skills to recognize and evaluate the social mechanisms of knowledge transfer. Additionally, the programme teaches the ability to explore the role of knowledge in policy-making and gaining a critical understanding of social threats to knowledge. Students will master various epistemological approaches, tools, and theories for studying social, political, and technological phenomena. This includes acquiring the capability to analyse and discuss Western and non-Western philosophical sources, critically interpret them, and develop skills in studying the history of epistemology and its interdependence with other philosophical fields such as the philosophy of science, metaphysics, and moral philosophy. Furthermore, students learn to appreciate the diversity of perspectives, cultural expressions, social formations, and practices related to epistemology, and understand and critically reflect upon these phenomena using state-of-the-art epistemological tools and methods.

Structure

The Master's programme comprises seven subject modules. Three basic modules concern topics of epistemology. Two specialisation modules deepen these studies. And two advanced modules prepare the students for writing a final thesis based on cutting edge research:

• Basic Modules: In the modules BM1 "Foundations of Epistemology" and BM2 "Applied Epistemology", exemplary systematic topics and issues of theoretical philosophy with a focus on fundamental and applied questions from epistemology are studied in depth in a research-oriented manner. In module BM3 "Traditions in Epistemology", students acquire knowledge of selected epistemological traditions.
• Specialisation Modules: Knowledge and science are deeply connected. The focus area "Knowledge, Science, Society” in the modules SM1 and SM2 explores this connection in systematic terms and in recourse to the societal and historical conditions of knowledge and science.
• Advanced Modules: The advanced modules AM1 and AM2 are designed as research modules. They tie in with the studies of the specialisation areas (SM1 and SM2) and serve the preparation, structuring and intellectual concretisation of one's own research with the aim of writing a final thesis that is situated at the height of current research debates.

Exemplary Study Plan

Term-Related Module Overview

Important documents at a glance

More information can be found in the module handbook.

More information about subject-specific orders. 

Prerequisites

Those who have obtained a Bachelor's degree or a comparable degree in philosophy can be admitted to the Master's programme in philosophy. After a case-by-case examination, Bachelor's graduates and graduates with a comparable degree in related subjects can also be admitted, provided that at least 40 relevant CPs have been acquired in the preceding study programme or that the corresponding achievements have been reached. The decision on admission is made by the admissions committee. In addition, proof of English language skills at the level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) is required.

Application

• Information about applying for the Master's programme

Late Arrival

If you might arrive late in your first semester because of lengthy visa procedures, etc., please take the following into account:

• Your admission to the programme remains valid whether or not you enrol in courses in the first semester. In this respect, it would be no problem if you only start attending courses from the second semester onwards.
• Some of our students face the problem that they do not arrive in Cologne until later in the semester, for example due to lengthy visa procedures. Whether it is still possible to enrol for courses at a later stage depends, in principle, on whether the course lecturers will still allow you to enrol and fulfil the course requirements. In general, it is not advisable to join a course after missing more than three sessions. As course requirements are determined individually by the lecturers, you should contact the lecturers of the courses you are interested in to discuss the possibility of joining at a later stage, as well as any make-up work that may be needed in the meantime. Our courses are in-person and do not allow for online participation. You can find our course catalogue in our campus management system KLIPS2.
• If you are unable to arrive in time to attend courses in the semester you applied for, you may wish to consider enrolling in the subsequent semester instead. Please note, however, that your admission to the programme will not automatically remain valid, and you would need to submit a new application for the subsequent semester. Nevertheless, if your application was successful in past, it is very likely that it would also be successful for the subsequent semester. If you require a late arrival letter to help with the visa application and/or to organise the start of your studies, please feel free to contact our Office for International Affairs and International Students: <international-masters-students(at)verw.uni-koeln(dot)de>.
• Useful information for a potentially needed visa application can be found here.
   

Support

• Managing Director of the Department of Philosophy
• Student Counselling of the Dean's Office (for interdisciplinary and examination-related questions)
• Central Student Counselling Service