SDAC Program

Here you can find general information on the study program as well as the regularly updated program structures for each upcoming semester.

The Elite Master’s Program “Standards of Decision-Making Across Cultures” (SDAC) is an interdisciplinary study program in cultural studies with a regional focus on Greater China and Maritime Southeast Asia and a thematic focus on decision-making. The program furthermore combines a “Global Studies” approach with general training in intercultural competencies from a decidedly non-Eurocentric transregional perspective.

The SDAC program maintains a strong partnership with CAS-E (the Center for Advanced Studies – Erlangen) and IKGF (the International Consortium for Research in the Humanities “Fate, Freedom and Prognostication”) at FAU.

The program consists of four semesters in a two-year period.  Students must acquire a total of 120 ECTS points. The Master’s thesis is due at the end of the fourth semester. The study plan includes lectures (including SDAC Guest Lecture Series and CAS-E / IKGF Lecture Series), seminars, and tutorials. All courses are held in English.

Degree

Master´s Degree (Master of Arts)

Course Objectives

SDAC is a full time, four semester M.A. program supported by the Elite Network of Bavaria. This non-consecutive Master’s program draws from the fields of social and cultural anthropologies, political science, history, gender studies, economics, sociology, philosophy, and area studies. In SDAC, anthropology is the guiding discipline with ethnography and qualitative research as the main methods, however, all courses are taught in a spirit of multi perspectivity. This way, SDAC familiarizes students with a multiplicity of ways of thinking and developing contextual understandings about decisions, choices, and agency – especially in a (cross-)culturally oriented manner.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to continue academic research or work in an international and intercultural environment where they can apply their cultural sensitivity, international experience, interdisciplinary academic expertise, and communication proficiency – facilitated by the SDAC community.

Application

If you want to apply to SDAC program, please check our application page for detailed information.

Study Abroad

SDAC offers opportunities for studying abroad.
For more information about the abroad semester, please click here.

You can find other relevant information on the FAU Abroad study section in the following link.

FAQs

If you have any questions, please check out our FAQ’s.