The programme in Comparative Organisation and Labour Studies covers the sociological and interdisciplinary understanding of employment relations, the organisation of work processes and the position of labour in the wider society.

The programme has two distinctive features:

• a strong focus on comparative analysis of issues concerning labour and organisation
• and a special emphasis on processes of integration and convergence in world markets of both employment relations and organiszational policies.

The programme offers a sociological approach to the study of modern capitalism by investigating cross-national differences of the institutional framework of market economies. It contributes to an understanding of the changing world of labour market institutions ranging from work-place practice, andover union-employer bargaining to national welfare states and European social policies. Such institutions are fundamental to the wealth, power and patterns of inequality in the global economy. The programme also explores the institutional, cultural, social, and historical determinants of economic behaviour by looking at issues such as the regulations and norms in the labour market, informal norms in firms, and the effect of institutional path dependency on social capital, trust and networks.

Comparative Organisation and Labour Studies students:

• obtain knowledge of institutional and behavioural patterns and variations, internationalisation and integration processes in labour markets, organisations and industrial relations; 
• gain experience in the use of modern techniques of social and economic research and statistics used in the field of labour and organisation studies and social policy research;
• develop the ability to integrate theories and concepts from different disciplines in a multi-disciplinary, comparative and analytical approach of research and policy problems;
• train the ability to conduct and evaluate research, and to participate professionally in multi-disciplinary and international research and policy-analysis teams, both in academic and non-academic settings.

The programme is part of the European Master in Labour Studies Network (MEST) that allows a selection of students who perform well during the first semester to spend their second semester abroad at one of the partner institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain or Italy.

For students interested in this field of study, we also offer a two-year Research Master’s.

Comparative Organisation and Labour Studies at the University of Amsterdam

This Master's programme is offered by the Graduate School of Social Sciences in close cooperation with the Amsterdam Institute for Labour Studies (AIAS). It combines the international, intellectually stimulating learning environment of the GSSS, where students from over 60 countries come to study, with the renowned expertise of the AIAS in the interdisciplinary fields of economy, sociology, law, psychology and occupational health. The cosmopolitan and multicultural city of Amsterdam contributes greatly to the unique and stimulating setting of this Master's programme.