Justice and Inequalities: Comparative Cultural Studies / Justicia y desigualdades: Estudios comparativos culturales Justus Liebig University Giessen

"Justicia y desigualdades: Estudios comparativos culturales” is a consecutive interdisciplinary Master’s programme with a cultural studies focus. It is taught entirely in Spanish and on campus (some online sessions are possible) and has an international profile. At the interface of humanities, social sciences and law, it addresses access to justice or overcoming injustices and the reduction of historically persistent intersectional inequalities as global issues for the future.

The programme is directed at students from all over the world, primarily students from Latin America who are interested in its thematic orientation. The highly relevant subject area explores thematic areas such as peace and conflict research, global health, gender studies and development research as well as sustainable development.

Justice and inequalities are analysed from different perspectives in the following fields:

• Representations of justice, social inequalities and human rights violations     
• Social policy (work, education, health, pensions, transport, housing, social rights) and the transformative potential of law in contexts of extreme social inequalities  
• Political economy of development processes, alternative concepts of development and alternatives to development; glottopolitics and social justice, discourses of justice, the role of language in social participation and in the democratisation of access to social resources
• Intersectionality, gender studies and struggles for social justice; democratic participation mechanisms and authoritarian movements; human rights violations and their treatment by transitional justice or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and collective memory processes
• North-South asymmetries and global solidarity
• Extractivism, just energy transition, socio-ecological conflicts and climate justice
• Social, political and cultural determinants of health as well as the interactions between health, equity/justice and sustainable development

The study programme is worth a total of 120 credits (ECTS) and consists of:

• Four compulsory basic modules (Basic Module I: Justice, Fundamentals from a Cultural Studies Perspective, Basic Module II: Social Justice from a Cultural Studies Perspective, Basic Module III: Justice and Human Rights, Module IV: International Justice) amounting to 40 ECTS credits
• Compulsory elective area: two of four modules (North-South Perspectives and Issues of Gender/Intersectionality, Social Justice II, Justice and Human Rights II, International Justice II) amounting to 20 credits
• A compulsory module “Internship” amounting to 20 credits
• The Extracurricular Skills / Employability compulsory elective module, which can be completed either through Extracurricular Skills modules or through modules from the field of Intercultural Communication offered by the Institute of Romance Studies, amounting to 10 credits
• A “Master's thesis” compulsory module amounting to 30 credits

The programme includes a compulsory internship module, which foresees an internship either in Germany or elsewhere, such as in international political organisations, non-governmental and civil society organisations (NGOs), cultural institutions, or private enterprises related to topics like policy-making, development cooperation, (inter-)cultural diplomacy, education and sustainability.

The Centre for Competence Development (ZfbK) and the Career Service at JLU offer assistance in finding a suitable internship.

A recognised Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject equivalent to at least 180 ECTS, such as in Law, Political or Social Sciences, Education, History, Anthropology, Geography, Environmental Sciences, and others is required. The Examination Board may recognise other degrees as equivalent based on a case-by-case assessment.

Spanish skills at level C1 are a mandatory prerequisite for the programme. To view all accepted language certificates, please visit https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/studium/studienangebot/master/justicia.

403 EUR (summer semester 2026, varies slightly with each semester)

The current semester contribution can be found here: https://www.uni-giessen.de/en/org/admin/departments/b/5/studoffice/sc.

Approximately 900 to 1,000 EUR 

If you come to Germany from outside the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), you will be required to present proof of financial resources already when you apply for a study visa. This serves as a guarantee that you can afford the cost of studying in Germany. Currently (as of 1 January 2025), you must prove that you have 992 EUR per month at your disposal, such as through a blocked account, proof of parental income or a recognised scholarship. For further information, please contact the German Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Giessen offers moderate living costs while being close to Frankfurt, a big city. Students can calculate about 400 to 500 EUR on average for rent, 150 to 200 EUR for food, 130 to 140 EUR for German statutory health insurance, and the remainder for leisure, travel, and other expenses.

If you are a student with citizenship in a member state of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you may take up any type of work in Germany under the same conditions as German students.

Students from non-EU countries are allowed to work in Germany for 140 full or 280 half working days per year. This is noted in the (supplementary sheet to your) residence title. Jobs as a student assistant at the university, or jobs with a very close connection to your studies, e. g. at a research institute are usually exempt from this limitation.

JLU students work in several areas besides their studies, such as in services (retail, catering, logistics), in company offices, or in research or administration at the university. German skills are beneficial.

• Partial scholarships for international students at JLU in the closing phase of their degree: Partial scholarships are possible for three to six months and range between 300 to 450 EUR per month. More: https://www.uni-giessen.de/en/international-pages/study/grants/closingphase

• DAAD scholarships for more equity and opportunity: Possible funding duration of one to six months, ranging from 300 to 450 EUR per month for students who face special challenges during their studies (a disability, a chronic illness, a refugee background, single parenting and those caring for close relatives in Germany). More: https://www.uni-giessen.de/en/international-pages/study/grants/equalopportunities

Career Service at the Centre for Competence Development (ZfbK): www.uni-giessen.de/en/faculties/research-centers/zfbk/career_services/

The Career Service at JLU cooperates with the University Team of the Federal Employment Agency in Giessen which offers CV checks, workshops on application writing and conducting job interviews in Germany, as well as individual counselling on finding internships or employment. There are a number of career fairs in the region, such as "Karriere weltweit".

International students can further benefit from a range of free extracurricular courses to improve their skills, such as in public speaking, intercultural competencies, vocal training, academic writing and foreign languages at the Centre for Competence Development (ZfbK).

The cost of accommodation in Giessen ranges between 400 and 500 EUR/month on average. Students usually live in halls of residence provided by the Student Union (Studierendenwerk Giessen) or in shared flats from the private housing market.

Accommodation in the halls of residence is available between 240 and 420 EUR per month. The rooms are fully furnished and equipped with gas, electricity, warm water and internet. Students may apply for a spot in the halls of residence or search for private accommodation, ideally three to four months before starting their studies.

More information via www.uni-giessen.de/en/international-pages/study/around-gi/accommodation/where-to-live-in-giessen

Founded in 1607, Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU), Germany, is a comprehensive university with a longstanding tradition which attracts around 25,000 students. JLU offers the full range of traditional and modern subjects with top-level teaching and research — extending from classical natural sciences, law and economics, social and educational sciences, linguistics and cultural studies to a unique selection of life science subjects such as human and veterinary medicine, agricultural, environmental and nutritional sciences and food chemistry. The leading personae who carried out research and taught at JLU include a number of Nobel Prize winners, such as Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901) and Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Prize in 2004). Since 2006, research at JLU has received continuous funding from the Excellence Initiative schemes and the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal Republic and Federal States.

With around 94,000 inhabitants, Giessen has one of the highest student densities throughout Germany. Four higher education institutions with altogether 40,000 students provide a unique university-town atmosphere. The city offers plenty of leisure options for students, such as canoeing on the Lahn river, walks and picnics in its multiple green areas, cinemas with student concession tickets, the municipal theatre with a programme consisting of plays, opera and ballet as well as swimming pools and sports facilities, and a variety of pubs, restaurants and night life venues. The great thing about Giessen is that it's an easy place to navigate and, when the mood takes you, to escape into the picturesque surrounding countryside or the metropolis of Frankfurt am Main, which is about 60 kilometres away.