Master of Arts in Development Studies Online

The MA in Development Studies has a specific focus on development studies and issues around global justice.

It aims at professionalizing those already working in develop­ment or others for whom an e-learning program seems more fitting. It offers a solid academic base in the field of development studies.

Students learn about relevant theories that are nec­essary to critically reflect on current practices in the field of development aid. Practical competencies are furthered through courses such as project planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Academic competencies in research methods and writing skills enable a continuation in a scientific career.

Stemming from the diversity of the student body, the specific worth of the program lies in the oppor­tunity to literally assess international issues through virtual co-learning with students from across the globe.

Lecturers

Dr. Kwaku Arhin-Sam -  Director | Friedensau Institute for Evaluation

Kwaku Arhin-Sam is a postdoctoral researcher with an interest in intervention evaluation, international migration and migration governance, integration, and belonging politics. He is currently heading the Friedensau Institute for Evaluation and sees himself as a bridge between academics and practice. He has taught, researched, and worked in Ghana, Germany, Nigeria, Haiti, Ukraine, Albania, and Thailand.

He has worked as a policy/expert consultant for the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the Mercator Dialogue on Migration and Asylum (MEDAM), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Since 2012, Kwaku has worked as an external project/program evaluator for several organizations, including the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He is an alumnus of Friedensau Adventist University and has been a guest lecturer in Friedensau since 2013. Kwaku is an Afropolitan and a member of the African Studies Association of Africa, and the Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies (AEGIS).

Dr. Jill Philine Blau -  Lecturer/Researcher | School of Social Sciences

Jill Philine Blau is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Development Studies and coordinates this Master’s program. She has taught and researched in Germany, Ghana, and Ethiopia. Her research mainly looks at the interface of feminism, pastoralism, and natural commons. In this program, she furthermore teaches on the legacies of the aid industry as well as skills-based courses such as academic writing, rhetorics, and participatory project planning. Before returning to research, she was Head of the Department for International Politics at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation as well as in the Board of Trustees for OWEN e.V. and the German Women’s Security Council. She started her career in development working for the GIZ and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Bendix -  Professor of Global Development | School of Social Sciences

Daniel Bendix is a Professor for Global Development. He previously taught and researched in Berlin, Manchester, Jena, and Kassel. His research focuses on colonial power in development policy, the politics of reproductive health and population, post-development in the North, and transnational activism against deportation and land grabbing. In this Master’s program, he teaches development theory and public health amongst others. He is a member of the network Afrique-Europe-Interact and of Glokal, a Berlin-based association for postcolonial education.

Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Ulrike Schultz -  Professor of Development Sociology and Economics | School of Social Sciences Program Director M.A. International Social Sciences (Development Studies) Vice Dean | School of Social Sciences

Ulrike Schultz is a Professor for Development Sociology and the Head of the full-time development studies program in Friedensau. Before coming to Friedensau, she taught in Berlin, Bochum, and Khartoum. Her main research fields are migration, refugee and mobility studies and gender, and intersectionality. In her current research project, she looks at belonging and citizenship in the context of migration in the two Sudan. Her regional focus lies in North East Africa and East Africa. Special interest in her academic life lies in the cooperation with universities in the so-called Global South. She conducted workshops and summer schools in Sudan, Ghana, Nigeria, and Myanmar. In this Master’s program, she is responsible for the gender and the migration courses, the social protection module, and teaches qualitative methods, which is another passion in her academic career.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Spiegler -  Professor of Sociology and Empirical Social Research | School of Social Sciences Dean | School of Social Sciences

Thomas Spiegler is a Professor of Sociology and Methods of Social Research (and Dean of the School of Social Sciences) at Friedensau Adventist University. His main research field is the sociology of education with a focus on educational inequalities. In this Master’s program, he teaches methods of social research and statistics. One of his passions is to explain statistics as easily understandable as possible. He has just published a new textbook about it in German and hopes to work on a more global version in English soon.

Annette Witherspoon, M.A. -  Lecturer International Social Sciences

Saijue Annette Witherspoon is a doctoral researcher in the field of Development Sociology. She has taught, conducted research, and worked in Germany, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Madagascar. Her current research analyzes power relations in agricultural value chains is a part of a larger transdisciplinary sustainable land use project hosted at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Throughout her career, Ms. Witherspoon has remained at the intersection of research and practice.

She has had the opportunity to freelance with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Mercy Corps in the areas of programming, project monitoring, evaluation and compliance, emergency response coordination, and rapid research operations during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Ms. Witherspoon is an alumina of the Friedensau Adventist University and has since 2014 served as a guest lecturer in the Master's program. She offers seminars and workshops in the courses of participatory project planning and public health.

Friedensau Adventist University (FAU) is a state-accredited university run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was founded in 1899 and can look back on a long tradition and a great deal of experience in studying and teaching. 200 students from more than 30 nations are currently enrolled.

The next ten years saw the construction of an ensemble of large teaching and residential buildings which still define the look of the campus today. A sanatorium, workshops, and a food factory were also built, in line with the school’s holistic pedagogical model, providing both practical teaching and opportunities to earn money. Before World War I, up to 250 people per year made use of the training opportunities offered.

During World War I the War Ministry set up a military hospital in the buildings. It was not until 1919 that training could be resumed, and expanded in subsequent years with new courses (home economics school, a preparatory school for nursing, secondary-level courses in science and technology, business and childcare courses). In 1923 the name of the institution was changed to the “Friedensau Mission Seminary”. In 1930 the seminary received state accreditation from the administrative district officer of Magdeburg for its home economics and business courses.

The Nazi period brought many restrictions, culminating in the closing of the seminary in the Second World War. Again the teaching buildings were used for the care of sick and injured soldiers, first from the Wehrmacht, and from 1945 from the Soviet army.

Through the intercession of the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, Erhard Hübener, the Soviet military administration allowed the school to reopen in 1947. This made the Friedensau Seminary the first and only church training facility to be allowed to resume its teaching operations in the Soviet occupation zone.

During the GDR period, the SED (communist party) government allowed the training of church employees only. As well as the training for pastors, there were one-year courses for deacons. In 1981 the high standards and quality of the training led to the new name, “Friedensau Theological Seminary”. Two years later the General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists accredited the seminary as a Senior College. From the 1980s students from other socialist states of Eastern Europe and Africa could be trained as pastors in Friedensau.

On 15 September 1990, the Theological Seminary became a state-accredited university following a decision by the Council of Ministers of the GDR. Later a School of Social Sciences was established alongside the School of Theology, which had offered Diplom and Master’s courses in theology since 1992.

Today the Friedensau Adventist University, as an academically oriented, church-run university, awards university qualifications. Friedensau is an established place of scholarship and has research collaborations linking it with institutions on several continents.

Students can choose between eight bachelor's and master's programs in the School of Social Sciences and the School of Theology. Some programs can also be studied part-time. FAU also offers the program "German as a Foreign Language"

Mission statement

The mission of our university is to make a contribution in the areas of education and scholarship, for the church and society. As a free-church, Adventist institution we are aligned with reformatory tradition and innovative thinking. Our research and teaching are thus based on scientific methods, a fundamental openness towards unforeseen results, and responsibility towards God and humanity.

Profile

As a university with a special profile, we concentrate on those disciplines which are concerned with service towards people. Our areas of focus are theology, social sciences, development cooperation, and health sciences. We see ourselves as an international university, committed to interculturalism and equal opportunities, and carrying on a history of long-lasting relationships with countries in every continent.

Community

We are a campus university. This means that our teachers, employees, and students form a trusting, tolerant, multicultural, and cooperative community. We wish to give holistic support to all members of this community. Here equality between men and women is a basic fact, as is respect for other religions, worldviews, and cultures. As a family-friendly university, we wish to create conditions that make it easier to reconcile study, profession, and family. The spacious layout of the campus with its natural setting also contributes to this.

We undertake to teach students the fundamentals of the relevant field of scholarship, as well as dealing with current contributions to research. The objective of our teaching is to combine skills in research and in the application, ensuring that our graduates always work to high standards and satisfy the demands of their areas of responsibility. We also offer further education and professional development, following the principle of lifelong learning. University teachers and students contribute to the scholarly discourse with publications. Our teaching and research, which form a single unit, are based on Christian ethics and have a holistic, interdisciplinary focus.

Society and spirituality

We are convinced that faith, education, and lifestyle are inseparable. We strive to reflect, in our actions, a spirituality based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We, therefore, foster the personal development of identity by encouraging and enabling self-reflection. Our aim is also to provide a constructive and critical commentary on the development of the Church and society. This is our comprehensive understanding of our mission and the way we as a university community seek to fulfill it.