Career Prospects

Due to the (often experimental) development and promises of new technologies , as well as of scientific and research endeavours, due to all the experimentation and promises, policymakers, citizens, entrepreneurs, journalists and many other societal actors face problems that require new insights and policies.

One of the characteristics of this research master program is the emphasis it places on creative reflection and innovative research. Graduates with experience in social science research and advanced conceptual reflection have always been in high demand. The excellent research qualifications offered by the program help graduates live up to the expectation that they will be competitive on the national and international job markets for research on and work in the broader (public and/or private) area of the governance and innovation of sciences and technologies.

The master program provides a strong base for careers in these domains in general and in policymaking and management more specifically. Graduates are also ideally qualified to conduct scientific research at academic and commercial research and development institutes. They can furthermore work as consultants. The program aims at educating excellent students qualified to make independent contribution to the interdisciplinary study of the governance and innovation of sciences and technologies, with a strong emphasis on qualitative and mixed-methods research.

From Basic to Applied Research

Our governance and innovation studies build on a sound foundation of both science and technology studies and historical studies. Governance studies in Twente contribute to interactive governance through improved knowledge-in-policy and democratic practices of policy design, implementation, and evaluation. Related themes are forecasting, risk and uncertainty, ambiguity, problem structuring, institutionalization of bias, legitimacy, effectiveness, democratic quality, participation and deliberation, policy networks, and more. Program graduates can and will work in all sorts of public and private agencies engaged in innovation, research and science that take thorough reflection, sound research and democratic participation seriously.

Understanding the dynamics of scientific and technological change is not only an intellectual challenge, but also of great relevance to societal actors and audiences, ranging from scientists and technologists to government agencies, business firms, non-profit organizations, and the general public.

There are no limits to the usage of historical knowledge and skills of revealing long-term structures in a given field. Be it in a Technology Assessment agency, in the governance of innovation in a company, or as a policymaker, it is always crucial to know what historical examples there are for problems and solutions, for promises and fears in a field; historical experiences inform much of what and how we are doing things now and in the future. Of course, interested students are also invited to stay with us and carry out historical studies for academic purposes at the PhD level.

Our study advisor and teaching personnel are glad to assist students in planning their career after the master.

Start page

The master program

Details of the master program

The International Dimension

Specializations

Admission

Further Information