
CAREER PROSPECTS
When life gives you HPS+ make it your future
Alumni of HPS+ have the option to qualify for either an employment within the university, particularly in science and research, or outside the university.
Academic career
For students interested in an academic career their MA degree enables them to enroll in a PhD programme. HPS+ alumni are characterized by their interdisciplinary understanding and their competence in combining philosophical-systematic and historical methods. Alumni qualify in PhD programmes in the field of History & Philosophy of Science and in Culture and Social Studies of Science which are widespread especially in the international academic area (such as the USA, UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia).
Outside the university
Employment outside the university can be found in a wide range of fields. Alumni of HPS+ will have the chance to work in leading positions as they are able to capture previously unknown and complex contexts and to gain quickly new knowledge. Because of their interdisciplinary qualification they have the possibility to position themselves competently within different disciplinary contexts. Moreover, they are able to consolidate integratively different perspectives on topics and problems.
In a nutshell
Alumni of this programme can be characterized, on the one hand, by their ability to understand and classify science-oriented circumstances in a reflective manner. On the other hand, they know how to handle analytic approaches and representations of the Humanities and Social Studies. With this combination they can act as "bridge-builder" between the Humanities and Sciences. Based on the subject of the study - the historical-systematic reflexion of science - HPS+ alumni qualify for professional fields in which the collaboration of Sciences and the Humanities is needed and in which the occupation and the reflexion of the consequences of scientific knowledge in culture and society play a central role.
Possible fields of employment are science management (e.g. at universities), the promotion of knowledge (e.g. at foundations and public trusts and institutions), science communication (e.g. at publishing houses and journals), science mediation (e.g. at museums) but also inscience-political consultancy and consultancy in ethical issues of science as well as in public relations departments of companies specialised in technology and natural sciences.
Alumni have developed competences how to handle previously unknown, complex questions. They are able to address these questions from different perspectives, to evaluate them under ethical aspects and they are in the position to acquire on their own the therefore needed knowledge and skills.