Study content and requirements
for the Disability, Diversity & Digitalization degree program
What should you bring to the program?
You don’t need any prior technical or computer science knowledge. What matters most is your interest in topics related to the social and cultural sciences and your willingness to take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the opportunities and challenges of digitalization. The following are particularly helpful:
- An interest in disability, diversity, and digitization
- A passion for learning digital fundamentals and skills
- Openness to programming concepts and basic programming
- An interest in assistive technologies and their societal impacts
- A willingness to develop creative and participatory solutions
Admission Requirements
- A completed bachelor's degree program at a university of applied sciences or a university
- or completion of an equivalent degree program at a recognized domestic or foreign postsecondary educational institution. These include, among others:
- Social Sciences, Humanities, and Cultural Studies (e.g., DDS, Social Work, Inclusive Education, Gender Studies, Media and Art)
- Health and nursing professions or health sciences/medicine
- Information technologies (health informatics, engineering, media technology, etc.)
Here's what you'll learn during your studies
In the master’s program in Disability, Diversity & Digitalization, you’ll combine perspectives from the social and cultural sciences with digital fundamentals and skills from computer science. You’ll learn to critically reflect on technological developments and help shape inclusive, participatory, and user-centered solutions.
Critical Disability & Diversity Studies and Digital Skills
You will acquire disciplinary and methodological knowledge from the social and cultural sciences and link this to digital fundamentals. The technical component serves as a toolbox: it equips you with the skills to understand, evaluate, and help shape digital systems. Technology is never viewed in isolation—it is always considered in relation to law, society, ethics, and disability studies.
Assistive Technologies, Technology Consulting, and Technology Impact Assessment
You will explore the development and application of assistive technologies. In doing so, you will learn to assess their potential applications, provide guidance on their use, and critically reflect on their societal opportunities and impacts.
Participatory and User-Centered Approaches
You will learn to embed user-controlled, user-centered, participatory, and community-based approaches into various contexts. Dialogue between developers and users plays a central role in this process.
Academic Work and Research
You will develop the ability to conduct independent academic work and research projects. You will also learn to analyze existing literature and studies in a nuanced way and apply them to various research questions.
Communication, Ethics, and Human Rights
You will strengthen your communication and interpersonal skills for interdisciplinary contexts and diverse target groups. At the same time, you will learn to reflect on your professional conduct in light of ethical principles and human rights documents and to promote social participation.
What career options do you have after graduation?
Successful completion of the master’s program in Disability, Diversity, and Digitalization generally qualifies students to pursue a doctoral degree.
Here's how the program is organized chronologically
The part-time master’s program in Disability, Diversity & Digitalization lasts four semesters and comprises 120 ECTS credits. The majority of instruction takes place online and is supplemented by self-study periods and in-person sessions. This makes it easy to balance the program with professional commitments.The program is taught primarily in German and, to some extent, in English.
General Information About the Program
For more information on admission requirements, the training contract, nostrification and recognition, the admissions process, examination regulations and grading, ECTS credits, and the academic calendar, please refer to the General Study Information.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about the Master’s Degree Program in
“Disability, Diversity & Digitalization”
Do I need any prior technical knowledge or programming skills?
No prior technical knowledge is required. You will gain a basic understanding of digital assistance systems, their applications, and simple programming concepts, while integrating technical, social science, and ethical perspectives.
What are assistive technologies?
Assistive technologies support people with disabilities in their daily lives, in communication, in learning, and in their professional lives. During your studies, you will explore their potential applications and their inclusive, user-centered design.
Can I complete the degree program from abroad?
Yes, because a large portion of the program is online, you can generally complete the degree program from abroad. Each semester includes an intensive on-campus block week at the Klagenfurt campus.
Current Courses
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Jobs & Careers
With the master’s degree program in Disability, Diversity & Digitalization, you’ll gain the qualifications needed for a wide range of roles at the intersection of social services, health care, business, education, and technology. You’ll reflect on the impacts of digital transformation and actively help shape inclusive technologies, organizations, and services.
Developing and Implementing Assistive Technologies
Work as a product developer or technical consultant on user-centered assistive technologies. Provide guidance on potential applications such as social robotics and digital prosthetics, or help develop solutions for augmentative and alternative communication and universal design.
Managing Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion
As a disability, diversity, or inclusion manager, take on responsibility for a specific field, department, or division. Develop strategies that promote diversity, accessibility, and digital inclusion in companies and organizations.
Shaping Digital Education, Teaching, and Research
As a speaker, teach digital skills in companies, communities, the healthcare sector, or other areas of work and life. At universities and research institutions, you can work as a research assistant on the intersection of digitalization and the social and cultural sciences.
Inclusive Education and Counseling
Advise educational institutions on inclusive and diversity-sensitive approaches, or develop inclusive educational projects. Other areas of work include advocacy for people with disabilities, peer counseling and peer support, personal assistance, and supporting self-advocacy movements.
Inclusive Workplace and Digitalization Projects
As a project manager, plan and oversee inclusive digitalization projects and initiatives aimed at creating a barrier-free workplace. This also includes projects related to entering or re-entering the workforce, as well as those in the field of vocational rehabilitation.
Digital and Social Entrepreneurship
Start your own business and develop digital or social initiatives that promote inclusion, accessibility, and social participation. This degree will also open up opportunities for you as a digital or social entrepreneur.
Research and Teaching
At CU Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, research and teaching are linked in a dynamic interplay and complement each other in their objectives.
Our approach aims to actively involve students in the research process, thereby familiarizing them with the fundamental principles of research. In this way, we promote not only scientific understanding but also the practical application of research findings in real-world contexts.
The topics of our research activities, as well as the content of our teaching and continuing education programs, are specifically tailored to the current and future needs of society and the economy. In close collaboration with our research efforts, we continuously refine our programs to address evolving challenges. In doing so, we strive to foster both the scientific knowledge and the methodological skills of our students so that they are able to actively contribute to society’s pressing needs and develop innovative solutions.