The Economy, Environment, Politics major confronts students with real-world challenges at the intersections between the economy, the environment, politics, and society and addresses them from several perspectives.

Therefore, students need to know the theories and methods of different disciplines in order to combine and apply them for carrying out analyses and developing solutions. For this reason, the major includes courses on quantitative and qualitative methods as well as a research workshop, which introduces students to systematic thinking, research, data collection, and writing about real-world problems that do not have a single, clear-cut way of solving them (i.e., it’s not immediately apparent which kinds of theories, methods, data, etc. are most effective).

The basic knowledge needed for the quantitative methods course, which also includes statistics, is already taught in the CBK. First and foremost, however, quantitative methods explain when, how, and why statistical methods are useful in practice – and how to apply them to real-world questions. Qualitative research methods work with language, observation, and in-depth case studies. These data are not expressed in numbers but are analyzed with a view to the meanings and connections that people construct for themselves.

All specializations offered are listed and described here. This page also provides a selection of complementary subjects.

Graduates of this major are in demand in all fields and contexts where the goal is to shape a sustainable economy: The overall conditions for this transition are laid down by government ministries and international institutions. In the education sector and at NPOs, ideas are developed and plans are drawn up for their implementation. The general conditions are put into practice by companies and institutions of public administration. In all these areas, qualified analysts, specialists, and experts are needed to bring people and ideas together for designing sustainable solutions.