The Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Global Development offers supervision of doctoral theses in sociology on a variety of topics. There is a broad expertise of methods to supervise research. The research of the doctorates at the Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Global Development may be basic research or use-inspired research. Supervision is provided individually or as part of a doctoral programme.
For sociology, the doctoral programme Social Problems and Social Welfare (PROWEL) is offered in English in collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel. The Programme Doctoral Romand en Sociologie (PDRS) is funded by the Conférence Universitaire de Suisse Occidentale (CUSO), and takes place in French. Within the framework of the doctoral programme PROWEL, methodological and work-related content is offered. Secondly, the doctoral students regularly present their work. They receive comments and feedback from international experts, professors and their colleagues. They also have the opportunity to network nationally and internationally. Doctoral students are motivated and supported to present their results at national and international conferences.

The content, methods and language of the doctoral thesis are agreed upon with the supervising professor or the supervising private docent.

Professors who are eligible to supervise theses

• Prof. Andreas Hadjar

Areas of specialisation:
– Inequalities along the axes of social origin, gender, migration
– Social structures in comparison: educational systems, welfare state regimes
– Education and status acquisition, life chances
– Subjective well-being
– Values, attitudes, political participation
– Youth: socialisation, violence, delinquency
– Quantitative methods, mixed-method designs, qualitative methods, longitudinal analyses, comparative methods/multilevel analyses

Supervision of theses in German and English.

• Prof. Ingela Naumann

Areas of specialisation:
– International and comparative welfare state analysis (welfare regimes, gender regimes, social care regimes, historical development of welfare systems)
– Early childhood education and care, work/life reconciliation
– Gender and socio-economic inequalities
– Childhood and society
– Religion and social policy
– Multi-level governance, regional/local policy developments
– Comparative and qualitative methods; discourse analysis, historical institutionalism
– Applied social policy, public engagement and knowledge exchange

Supervision of theses in German and English.