Philosophy Continuation Minor Subject (Advanced Secondary and Comprehensive Schools ('Gymnasium' and 'Gesamtschule'))

FsB vom 02.05.2014 mit Berichtigung vom 13.05.2016 und Änderung vom 15.07.2019

Overview

Master of Education

4 semesters

winter semester&summer semester

What distinguishes law from justice? What is science allowed to do? What is the relationship between language and the world? Is there free will? These are examples of questions to which Philosophy seeks answers. In the Philosophy teacher training programme, you will systematically and historically engage with questions of this kind and the answers that have been proposed so far. You will identify the strengths and weaknesses of these answers and learn to formulate new questions and answers yourself. A special focus of the study is on how pupils of the subjects "Philosophy" and "Practical Philosophy" can be guided and accompanied in their examination of these questions.

The content of the programme is divided into the areas of Theoretical Philosophy (Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, etc.) and Practical Philosophy (Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, Theory of Action, etc.). In addition, there is the field of logic and argumentation theory. In addition to subject knowledge in the narrower sense, you will acquire skills in text analysis, in writing and presenting independent philosophical papers, as well as in gathering information and interactively communicating philosophical problems. In addition, you will acquire subject didactic skills that prepare you for the teaching profession at Advanced Secondary and Comprehensive Schools. While the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and competences is in the foreground in the Bachelor's programme, these are deepened and expanded in the Master's programme and also linked to experience in school practice. This is done in particular through the educational internship.

If you are interested in dealing with complex philosophical questions independently under supervision, then the Philosophy programme in Bielefeld is the right place for you. Here you will meet committed and interested teaching staff who intensively research and teach a variety of different philosophical topics in a small department. Particular emphasis is placed on on Philosophy as a craft, because Philosophy is definitely something that can be learned. For a teaching degree, you should also have an interest in communicating complex content to pupils and engaging with them about it.

The courses

You will find the programme of lectures for this course in the eKVV.

An overview of the introductory and information events is provided by the central student counselling services.

Formalities / Important information

Course start

Studies can be commenced in both winter and summer semesters. Courses are targeted to commencing studies in winter semester. Student counselling to plan the course of studies is recommended.

Length and scope of studies

The standard period of studies is 4 semesters.

The studies Continuation Minor Subject (Advanced Secondary and Comprehensive Schools ('Gymnasium' and 'Gesamtschule')) Philosophy comprise 40 credit points.

Access requirements

Access to the Master of Education is granted to those who can provide evidence that they have a first university degree which has a standard period of study of at least six semesters and qualifies them a for profession. Whether the first degree provides suitable access also depends on the kind of teaching qualification to be pursued.

A first degree for a subsequent Master of Education programme with the professional goal of a teaching qualification is generally given if the Bachelor degree was completed at Bielefeld University (according to the Bachelor Examination Regulations (German ‘BPO’) for the 2011 study model) with a corresponding orientation (professional goal and choice of subjects).

Other degrees may be accepted if applicants can provide evidence of academic achievements for the intended teaching qualification that are substantially equivalent to those of the above-mentioned bachelor degree. For example, these can be degrees

granting a teaching qualification for a different school type,
with a different choice of subjects,
with a subject-specific orientation (i.e. degrees that do not encompass a teaching qualification)
a degree from another university.

Access to the Master of Education may be subject to the completion of alignment studies. The fulfilment of the access requirements is checked in each case during the application procedure.

The exact regulations for the access procedure can be found in the examination and study regulations for the Master programme (see navigation).

Access to the preparatory service (German ‘Referendariat’) requires knowledge of two foreign languages. This is usually provided via the German ‘Abitur’. The Bielefeld School of Education (BiSEd) counselling service will respond to further questions.

Hinweis: Für den Abschluss des Studiengangs Master of Education mit dem Berufsziel Lehramt an Gymnasien und Gesamtschulen ist der Nachweis des Kleinen Latinums oder des Graecums Voraussetzung.

Application, admission and enrolment ¹

The study places for this degree programme are not subject to any admission restrictions (numerus clausus). Nevertheless, you need to apply within the currently applicable application deadlines.

As soon as you receive positive responses in the application- and status portal (notices of access), you can submit your application for enrolment within the set deadline. If you are already enrolled at Bielefeld University, you need to apply for a change of degree programme.

Important notice: Please note the applicable deadlines for application, enrolment and change of degree programme. If you want to do the preparatory training within the 1^st and 2^nd semester, shortened deadlines may apply for the practical semester.

You can find more detailed information on the application process as well as information on the enrolment procedure on the pages of the Student Office.

To the application portal

Further links

Internet pages of the responsible institution(s):

Department of Philosophy with the courses offered

Legend

1: Die Angaben zu Zulassungsbeschränkungen / Numerus clausus beziehen sich auf die Bewerbung zum Wintersemester 2024/25 und Sommersemester 2025. Informationen zu NC Werten aus früheren Jahren finden Sie auf dieser Seite.