Studies and teaching

The new international Bachelor's degree programme "Diversity, Ethics, and Religions" at Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, offers an interdisciplinary study programme that deals with the challenges of living together in a changing and complex world. Enrolment is now open. The Bachelor's programme is admission-free and starts on 14 October at the beginning of the winter semester 2024/25. The language of instruction is English.

The programme focuses on social diversity and reflects on religion and diversity as well as ethics in historical contexts and philosophical-theological discourses. It responds to the urgent need to study Islamic, Jewish and other religious traditions comprehensively and to penetrate their complex argumentative nature and historical development.

By combining diversity-oriented philosophical, theological, historical, cultural and religious studies, the degree programme offers a historically grounded approach to understanding religious traditions from a global perspective.

How Religious Traditions Interact With Each Other

In the new Bachelor’s degree "Diversity, Ethics, and Religions" students will learn how religion as a significant force shapes human intellectual endeavor and socio-political realities and more specifically address how religious traditions interact with each other and also assess how they deal with different ideas both from within and from outside.

This discussion opens up different historical, theological, and philosophical reflections, and therefore this program shall pay great attention to how differences are negotiated in various historical contexts. The students will form critical and informed views about religions, diversity, and ethics and develop the right tools to deal with different opinions to avoid misconceptions and build new perspectives about living together in a global context.

Contents of the Bachelor's Degree Programme

• The first semester opens up with a focus on how to understand religion from historical, theological, cultural, and philosophical perspectives.

• In the second semester, students shall move to intensely engage with both philosophical and theological questions related to ethics its challenges both in historical and modern global contexts.

• In the third semester, students will engage closely with the issue of diversity to foster both a conceptual and concrete understanding through learning and participation in a diversity initiative at the local level.

• In the fifth semester, students will focus on studying society, politics, and cultural society, where they will have the possibility to apply what they have learned about the past to inform their views on contemporary issues.

• The final sixth semester will be allocated to writing the Research thesis.

The backbone of the program is the Oxbridge tutorials which are inspired by the Oxford and Cambridge supervision system and will provide students with individual sessions to interact with their teachers to help them navigate class material and sharpen their writing skills in English. In the course of their studies, students will also have the opportunity to learn relevant languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Latin or European languages of their choice.

Wide Range of Professions

There are many professional fields in which graduates can utilise their intercultural skills, their theoretical knowledge of ethics and religions and their communication skills. Here are some possible professional fields and career paths:

1. Journalism: graduates can work in a variety of editorial environments, including radio, television or in press and communications departments, where they can report and analyse issues of ethics, religion and cultural diversity.

2. Political consulting: graduates can act as consultants on political issues, especially in the field of ethics, religious values and diversity – for associations, foundations or political parties.

3. Education: graduates find employment opportunities in formal and non-formal education by offering workshops and programmes on values and diversity in pluralistic contexts, both for young people and adults.

4. Interreligious dialogue: graduates can lead interfaith programmes and initiatives, whether in communities or religious institutions such as synagogues, mosques or churches, to promote understanding and cooperation.

5. Cultural and event management: graduates can organise cultural events and festivals, develop awareness concepts and lead teams dealing with cultural diversity and ethics, both in municipal cultural institutions and in companies.

6. Public service: within municipal cultural administrations, graduates can develop and implement diversity programmes and take on diversity promotion and mediation tasks.

7. Academic career: universities and research institutes offer opportunities for those who wish to pursue an academic career. An advanced Master's programme and a doctorate in areas such as diversity studies, public ethics, philosophy, religious studies or political science can be an advantage here.

The versatility of these professional fields reflects the increasing relevance of diversity, ethics and religion in a globalised society and offers graduates the opportunity to play an active role in shaping and promoting these values in various areas of society.

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Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Prof. Dr. Frederek Musall and Dana Daymand, Jewish and Religious Studies, University of Würzburg, T +49 931 31-85047 or +49 931 31-86042, der.hw@uni-wuerzburg.de

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Weitere Informationen:
https://www.hw.uni-wuerzburg.de/jp-ia/ba-in-diversity-ethics-and-religions/ Website „Diversity, Ethics, and Religions”