This one-year, research-focused Master's is taught in English and offers a wide-ranging, comparative approach to slavery and slavery-like phenomena across different periods and regions. The course is explicitly interdisciplinary, integrating text-based scholarship, studies of material culture, and social-scientific methods so you can investigate the legal, cultural, economic, and lived dimensions of dependency and unfree labour.
The structure is designed to let you develop a distinctive, specialised research profile within a short timeframe: the degree is completed over two semesters and emphasizes independent research and close supervisory contact. Students benefit from engagement with cutting-edge work at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies and the Cluster of Excellence "Beyond Slavery and Freedom" (BCDSS), including research around the recently articulated concept of “strong asymmetrical dependency.”
You will study in an international and intercultural research environment with supervision from internationally recognised scholars, and the programme provides intensive student support to help you reach an excellent qualification level within the single-year format.
The programme is built from five modules in total: four compulsory modules and one compulsory elective. The first semester centers on an introduction to slavery and related forms of strong asymmetrical dependencies, combining historical and typological classification with deeper theoretical and methodological training. Across the following core modules, the course takes an interdisciplinary approach by situating slavery within transcultural comparisons and engaging with contemporary research debates in slavery and dependency studies.
Module four is devoted to preparing the Master's thesis (the thesis itself is scheduled for the end of the semester in which this module takes place). This preparation includes selecting an appropriate topic and sources, formulating research questions, conducting targeted literature searches, revisiting research methods and practices, and presenting and discussing the project in a Master's colloquium. In addition to these modules, the programme integrates practical training in academic writing in English and courses on “doing research,” ensuring candidates acquire the practical skills required to complete a successful MA thesis.
Learning outcomes include a solid grounding in the history and typologies of slavery and dependency, competence in relevant theoretical frameworks and research methods, the ability to carry out transcultural and comparative analyses, and experience in designing, presenting and defending a sustained research project. The built-in academic writing and research-practice components strengthen your ability to produce publishable-quality scholarship in English and to move on to further research or professionally focused work that requires strong analytical and source-based skills.
Requirements (key components)
Applicants should hold a four-year Bachelor's degree (240 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification earned in Germany or abroad in one of the listed subject areas or a closely related field. The program expects academic preparation in disciplines that engage with history, cultures, languages, religions, law, or social sciences.
You must also meet the programme’s minimum grade requirement for your first higher-education degree qualifying you for employment. If your diploma uses a different grading system or terminology, be prepared to provide documentation that allows the university to assess equivalence.
Winter Semester (International)
15 August 2026
Winter Semester (EU/EEA)
15 August 2026
The programme is explicitly research-oriented and prepares graduates for further academic qualifications (e.g., PhD programmes) and research positions in universities and research institutes. Students acquire advanced skills in historical and comparative source analysis, interdisciplinary methodologies, and academic writing that are directly transferable to scholarly careers.
Outside academia, graduates are well placed for roles in museums, archives, cultural heritage institutions, public history, cultural policy, NGOs and international organisations where expertise in slavery studies, historical dependencies and critical source-based research is required. The programme's interdisciplinary training and language competencies also support careers in education, curatorial work, heritage management and related cultural sectors.
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