The master´s programme Labour Policies and Globalisation (LPG) started as a pilot course in Germany in October 2004. The one-year programme takes place at the University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR) and is taught in English.
It constitutes a part of a wider project to promote cooperation between trade unions and the research community and to strengthen the analytical and policy development capacity of trade unions.
The curriculum was jointly developed by universities and trade unions from around the world with a focus on Global Challenges to Labour, International Labour Rights, Processes of Globalisation and Economic Responses to Globalisation.
Below you can find more detailed information about this Master's programme.
The application deadline is currently open.
The didactic concept of the modules within the course Labour Policies and Globalisation is research-oriented learning. This objective strives towards promoting an innovative curriculum by offering modules that focus on student participation.
New knowledge for the subjects will be jointly developed by both academic teaching staff and students. Emphasis is placed on investigating new types of research, new modes of studying, and broadening the interaction between academic fields and trade union practices. Wherever possible, an interdisciplinary approach will be developed that strives to integrate the different cultural backgrounds of the students.
Since all of the students have already obtained a first academic degree, and also due to the fact that they have elaborate knowledge and experience with trade union work or with work in comparable organisations, there is lesser need to introduce them to academic structures. This prior experience challenges the traditional positions of learner and instructor.
The programme helps strengthen the capacity and competence to promote universal respect for basic human rights, workers’ rights, social justice and protection, and for the representation of weak and disadvantaged members of society.
It, therefore, pursues the following learning and teaching objectives:
In achieving these objectives both universities place special emphasis on:
All seminars mentioned here are subject to possible alterations.
The Universities will organise several excursions to trade unions and economic and political institutions in Germany. All excursions will be accompanied by faculty members. Guided Tours will be held in English as well as the talks and discussions.
To learn more about:
Application (via eCampus) with a degree earned in Germany:
Apply from 01.06.2023 – 01.09.2023
Deadline for preliminary assessment for all applicants:
01.04.2023
The preliminary assessment is strongly recommended for all applicants.
Application (via uni assist) with a degree earned outside Germany:
Apply from 01.05.2023 – 15.07.2023
The MA programme addresses young people who have acquired their first degree (Bachelor/Diploma) in Political Sciences, Sociology, Law or Economics and who have a particular interest and work experience in the field of trade unionism and related areas.
Please note that applications for this joint degree programme are processed only by the University of Kassel. The application procedure for the new cohort usually starts in December and applicants interested to study at the programme should send a scanned and merged pdf document of their complete application package to the GLU coordination office in Kassel glu.germany@uni-kassel.de
Applicants who pass the preliminary assessment are asked to proceed further with the formal evaluation of their application documents.
Step-by-step guidelines on the application process
A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to students. The scholarship includes travel costs and a monthly grant to cover living expenses.
Applications for a scholarship can be indicated in the application form. A support letter from a trade union organisation is an application requirement. Please also note that the scholarship is a matching grant. It will only be awarded, if a trade union or another institution is co-sponsoring the programme with 1,500 EUR. The potential co-sponsor has to be indicated on the application form and his/her contribution has to be paid before the start of the programme to the University of Kassel.
Applicants from EU member states can apply for a scholarship from the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (HBS)
The GLU is most grateful to the following institutions for providing scholarships to students and funding for the programme:
The Academic Board of the Programme Labour Policies and Globalisation in Germany consists of Prof. Dr. Lisa Carstensen (Kassel University) and Prof. Dr. Martina Sproll (Berlin School of Economics and Law).
Dr. Anne Lisa Carstensen has been Head of the Department of “Global Political Economy of Work under Consideration of Gender Relations” since September 2022 and Executive Director of the Intitute for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) at the University of Kassel since October 2022.
Lisa Carstensen received her PhD from the University of Osnabrück in 2018 with a thesis on modern slave labor in Brazil. Most recently, she worked at the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS) at the University of Osnabrück, where she researched the relationship between migrant mobilizations and trade unions in Germany.
She is currently researching the role of time in conflicts over labor and migration. Her research focuses on migration and labor, trade unions, intersectionality, and global networks of production and reproduction. At the University of Kassel, she will, among other things, direct the master’s program in Labor Policies and Globalization and contribute to the establishment of the Kassel Institute for Sustainability.
Contact:
Martina Sproll is a Professor of Social Sciences (Structural change and the Welfare State in international perspectives), at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin). She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Labour University.
Her research focuses on Transnational Production and Labour, Digitalisation, Gender Relations, Social (intersectional) Inequalities, Political Economy and Sociology of Latin America and Europe.
Link to publications: https://www.hwr-berlin.de/en/hwr-berlin/about-us/contacts-from-a-to-z/696-martina-sproll/
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Martina Sproll
HWR Berlin/ Berlin School of Economics and Law
Campus Schöneberg
Building B, Room B 2.46
Badensche Straße 50-51
10825 Berlin Germany
The programme was re-certified by an officially authorised accreditation agency in October 2008
For further information, please contact:
Aleksandra Draganic
Program Coordinator, University of Kassel
Visitor‘s address and express package delivery:
Kleine Rosenstr. 3, D-34117 Kassel
Phone: +49 (0) 561 804 7789