Bildungswissenschaft - Educational Sciences
Content and idea
The program surveys problems from across the disciplines of pedagogy and educational sciences. Unlike the program geared to training students to become teachers or social educators, the Master's degree in Educational Sciences shows students the different perspectives on pedagogy as an academic discipline: scientific, philosophical, theoretical, empirical, conceptual and professional. Students also learn that the ability to engage in theoretical reflection is a prerequisite for undertaking practical change—regardless of whether it is in scientific research within the education or staff and administration responsibilities in educational institutions.
Students work on specific research problems in the field. They gain the expertise with which to evaluate the results of pedagogical research and to examine current recommendations for new pedagogical guidelines.
Course structure
The core of the degree program consists of the educational sciences and its related disciplines (psychology and sociology). These fields are presented in six modules from the first to the third semester. They form the systematic foundation for the program of study.
Minors (a required supplementary field) serve to expand the student's individual interests through six modules that are chosen as a systematic complement to the core curriculum:
- Minor in Educational process in organizations
The minor is designed for students who wish to acquire academic leadership skills in order to plan, organize, evaluate and review teaching and learning programs, particularly in the area of non-formal education.
- Minor in Social Education
The minor is directed toward students who wish to expand the core curriculum of the educational sciences with a concentration in social education. In this minor you will have the opportunity to examine informal and accidental learning process in the context of youth welfare and education.
The ongoing teaching research project is a distinctive feature that runs through the entire curriculum. Students get the opportunity to work on a topic in the educational sciences of their own choice. They can develop their own independent research agenda based on the teaching research project they have chosen or through one of the special fields developed in their minor. With the help of the master's forum, they then write their research project up as a master's thesis.
The course offerings are supplemented during the first three semesters by the Master's complementary studies, wherein the broad scientific assumptions are critically examined.
Prospects
The major offers graduates who have already begun work in the educational sciences the chance to develop their expertise. It prepares students for doctoral studies as well as for leadership positions in educational research, social education, and educational planning, management and organization. Upon completion of the degree program students receive a Master of Arts (M.A.).
Aspirants
The major in Educational Sciences is directed at students with a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the educational sciences, teacher training and social education. Prerequisites include, among others, an above average transcript in your previous degree as well as sufficient knowledge of English.