M.A. Teaching and Learning Processes

Aerial view of the Nikolakloster Building

Degree awarded	Master of Arts (M.A.)
Duration and credits	4 semesters; 120 ECTS credits
Starts in	April (summer semester) and October (winter semester)
Language of instruction	German

About the programme

The M.A. Teaching and Learning Processes programme is aimed at students who wish to gain a qualification in the education field, its research methods and special pedagogical fields of action. Studying this programme, you will acquire in-depth competencies in psychological and pedagogical teaching and learning research. A particular focus of the degree programme is on media education issues, digitalisation and the use of new media.

If you have previously completed the University's B.Ed. Secondary Education, you can sit the First State Examination for Realschule Teachers during your master's programme, which enables you to begin a career as a teacher at Bavarian state-run schools.

Furthermore, if you choose a pedagogical field of action as your specialisation, you will acquire qualifications in non-school, pedagogical fields of activity. The University offers the following fields of action as a specialisation:

Information and Media Literacy
Art Mediation
Education Management
Integration, Interculturalism and Diversity
Museum Pedagogy

This Master of Arts degree gives you the best prerequisites for a subsequent doctoral study in education and subject didactics.

For details, please consult the Academic Advice Service's infosheet (German).

Features

Greater professional expertise: The degree programme offers a significantly higher proportion of pedagogy, psychology and didactics courses than the conventional teacher education programme for 'Realschule' secondary schools.
Wide range of pedagogical fields of action: When studied consecutively to the University's B.Ed. Secondary Education programme, the master's programme enables you sit the First State Examination as you study for the master's degree. Other possible specialisations are in the pedagogical fields of action: 'Information and Media Literacy', 'Art Mediation', 'Education Management', 'Museum Pedagogy' and 'Integration, Interculturalism and Diversity'.
Research orientation: You will acquire in-depth knowledge and qualifications in educational research methods and have the opportunity to complete an internship as a research assistant.
Excellent staff-student ratio: The programme is organised in a way that ensures a high level of individual support.

This Master of Arts degree opens up a wide range of employment prospects in the education sector. These include early education, child and youth work, work with migrants and other structurally disadvantaged groups, adult education, media and museum education, work in municipal cultural institutions, education management and learning support.

Other examples of potential areas of work are jobs in career and management consultancy, in personnel development and in scholarly research. Since the master's degree is an internationally recognised qualification, graduates should find it possible to find employment abroad.

Finally, you can follow up your studies with a doctorate in education. The necessary foundations for independently writing a doctoral thesis are already laid in the preparation for the master's thesis; the excellent staff-student ratio means that students receive an optimal level of support for their academic development.

The master's programme is comprised of four module areas and the master's thesis:

A1) Teaching subjects and subject didactics (only for students with a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Passau or an equivalent degree) or
A2) Educational sciences core modules (30 ECTS credits for either option)
B) Pedagogical fields of action (30 ECTS credits)
C) Profile modules in educational sciences (15 ECTS credits)
D) Research methods (15 ECTS credits)

A1) If you have graduated from the University's Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. Secondary Education) programme or an equivalent programme, you will complete the still missing, required assessments for admission to the First State Examination for teachers at Bavarian secondary schools (specifically, Realschule) in this module area. Of the overall 30 ECTS credits to be gained in this module group, 10 must stem from the subject area chosen as a secondary subject in the Bachelor of Education programme; the other 20 ECTS credits are earned in equal parts in intermediate modules for the two subject didactics. Once you complete the A1 modules, counting in the assessments completed during the Bachelor of Education programme at the University of Passau, you will have fulfilled all the requirements for admission to the First State Examination.

A2) Students who do not wish to sit the State Examination complete module area A2 with advanced modules in psychology, pedagogy, general didactics and subject didactics.

B) You will choose a specialisation module group in which you will acquire specific and in-depth knowledge and qualifications for the relevant pedagogical field of action in the amount of 30 ECTS credits.

Information and Media Literacy
Education Management
Integration, Interculturalism and Diversity
Museum Pedagogy
Art Mediation
Educational Science and Didactics

C) You will choose three out of five modules (15 ECTS credits in total) to acquire in-depth knowledge in the areas of subject didactics, general didactics, media education or psychology in the context of technology-assisted teaching and learning according to your interests. In addition, you can complete a research internship in which you will accompany and support current educational research projects as a research assistant.

D) You will complete three modules in which you will acquire in-depth knowledge and qualifications in educational research methods.

The master's thesis (30 ECTS credits) is written either on an educational-science topic or on a topic from the subject didactics.

Applicants should have a prior teaching degree (bachelor's degree or higher) with a final grade of 2.5 (or better) according to the German marking system or the relevant equivalent foreign grade. Grades will be converted by the University during the application process. If your final grade does not meet the 2.5 requirement, you may still apply if you can provide evidence that you were among the best 50% of graduates in your cohort.

In addition, you must show that the prior degree you are applying with had an education/teacher training component of 15 ECTS credits. (NB: ECTS credits indicate the required coursework to complete a unit/module; one ECTS credit amounts to approximately 30 hours of work, including teaching contact hours and self-study). If this was not part of your prior bachelor's degree, you can still catch up on those by studying the relevant modules in the first two semesters of your master's degree programme.

If you wish to apply but your first degree is not related to education/teacher training, you have to provide evidence that your first degree can be counted towards a didactics subject (i.e. a teaching subject) offered as part of one of the University's Teacher Education Programmes.

You will need German language skills at level C1 CEFR or higher to study this degree programme, as that is the main language of instruction for this programme. Therefore, you will have to provide a recognised German language certificate such as DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 in all four categories, unless German is your native language or was the language of instruction for your secondary school education (e.g. Abitur at a German international school) or prior tertiary education.

The programme begins each winter and summer semester (October and April respectively).

Information on the application procedure and deadlines

Applicants with a German degree: apply via the online portal
Applicants with a foreign degree: find out how to apply
Information for international students

If you have any questions about the required qualifications and the application procedure, please contact the Student Registration Office.

You will need German language skills at level C1 CEFR or higher to study this degree programme, as that is the main language of instruction for this programme. Therefore, you will have to provide a recognised German language certificate such as DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 in all four categories, unless German was the language of instruction for your secondary school education (e.g. Abitur at a German international school) or prior tertiary education.

The University of Passau has set up a German language teaching unit, German Courses Passau, which offers a selection of preparatory language programmes tailored to the needs of international students. These range from summer courses to a full academic year and cater to learners of all levels.

Infosheet on the degree programme (German)

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Get detailed information on the application process and start your application – or e-mail us your questions.