Open Day B.A. Studium Individuale: Johanna Hauck

Johanna Hauck's career path seemed preordained: At the age of 15, she already worked at the ARD studio in Brussels and then completed an internship there. Later, as a graphic designer, she took care of the so-called belly bands, i.e. the inserts at the bottom of the picture. Then she changed to Discovery Communication. The company operates channels such as DMAX and Tele 5, where she was also responsible for the technology and designed episode images for the streaming platform. The German grew up in Brussels, passed her international baccalaureate there and speaks several languages. The decision to study B.A. Film and Television in Munich seemed logical: "I had already worked behind the camera so many times," says the 22-year-old.

But after just one semester, Johanna Hauck had doubts: "My fellow students had a vision, of their future in front of or behind the camera. I was missing something like that." After one year, she dropped out of her studies and first fell into a hole. "At the same time, the pandemic broke out. It wasn't easy," Johanna Hauck recalls. But she took advantage of the lockdown, attended online courses to sound out her interests and obtained information material from different study programmes and universities: "In the end, I had five folders full of material."

Leuphana and the B.A. Studium Individuale programme were also there: "At first I couldn't believe that such a study programme existed. I can fully contribute my interests and don't have to make any compromises." Studium Individuale asks students to design a considerable part of their curriculum freely and on their own responsibility and to deal with central questions and problems of the present.

But Johanna Hauck couldn't start immediately: the B.A. Studium Individuale is one of the most sought-after programmes at Leuphana College, which means that every year there are more applicants than there are places available. "My first application didn't work out," she reports. But the second attempt was successful. Johanna Hauck is now in her third semester and has no doubts about her decision: "It was worth the wait. My focus is on psychology and social issues. I would like to do something for and with people later." She is thinking about self-employment, which is why Johanna Hauck would soon like to take courses in business administration. At the beginning of each semester, the student sits in about 15 seminars and lectures. She checks which courses are the right ones for her. "What doesn't fit into my portfolio, I hand in again. So far, every decision I've made has felt right," says Johanna Hauck. But freedom also brings responsibility. That's why the student focuses and reflects on her choices: "In Studium Individuale, you learn a lot about yourself." At the same time, students on the programme are regularly accompanied and advised by teachers. In addition, every semester there is a core module on topics such as freedom, methods of culture and criticism or procrastination and motivation, in which all students of the B.A. Studium Individuale participate.

After her diversions via Munich, Johanna Hauck has fully arrived in Lüneburg. She is involved with the International Student Initiative I:SI and is, among other things, a peer advisor for first-semester students in the B.A. Studium Individuale. "I received a lot of support from Leuphana itself when I was choosing my degree programme and used the 'Ask a student' service, among other things, in which students support interested students in their choice of degree programme via Zoom. That's how I found my way and, as a student ambassador, I want to help others do the same."