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Structure and Content

See also: Overview of the curriculum in German as well as a list of courses in English.

The undergraduate Degree Program Psychology is designed for a regular study period of six semesters. The curriculum consists of a total of 20 modules, in which thematically or methodologically related lectures are bundled. The modules can be divided into five required areas:

Introduction
Methods + Diagnostics
Basic Psychology Courses
Applied Psychology Courses
Further requirements

Of the 180 credits to be earned (CP or ECTS credits), 150 credits are attributable to the modules accompanying the program, 17 credits to the career-oriented internship and 12 credits to the bachelor's thesis (plus 2 credits for the bachelor's preparatory courses and 1 credit for experiment participation).

The ideal curriculum of the Bachelor’s Program specifies the position and extent of the modules (in terms of achievement points) within a regular study period of 6 semesters.

In the following, the five required modules of the Bachelor's Degree Program in Psychology are presented:

1. Introduction to Psychology

The requirements of Introduction to Psychology include an introductory lecture and block internship courses in which basic time management and communication techniques (including presentation and moderation of groups) necessary for successful study are taught and practiced. In addition, it includes an empirical-experimental internship.

2. Methods + Diagnostics

The course requirements in the subject area of Methods and Diagnostics include:

1. The modules Statistics and Data Analysis I & II, in which students are taught the theoretical and practical qualifications for the evaluation of empirical studies using basic statistical methods.

2. The modules of Research Methods, Test Theory & Test Construction, in which students acquire the basic qualifications for the planning and evaluation of empirical investigations as well as for the development of psychological tests.

3. In the Diagnostics module, students learn to plan and implement a diagnostic process, assess the quality of psychodiagnostic procedures, and provide statistically informed diagnostic judgments.

3. Basic Psychology Courses

The basic requirement areas include the following modules:

1. The module "General Psychology I" covers the fundamentals of perception and cognition and the methods of cognitive neurosciences.

2. The module “General Psychology II” covers the topics of experimental psychology of learning, especially conditioning research, emotion and motivation psychology, and includes learning about the neuronal foundations of learning, emotion and motivation.

3. In the module “Biological Psychology” the students learn the anatomical, neurobiological, pharmacological and neurophysiological basics of human experience and behavior.

4. The module ”Developmental Psychology” deals with the theoretical foundations of development as well as concrete developmental processes and the description, explanation and prediction of development processes.

5. The module "Differential Psychology" provides content on the functional levels of personality and the use of theoretical concepts, empirical findings and diagnostic tools for individual counseling.

6. The module “Social Psychology” covers theories and insights about the experience and behavior of human beings in groups and their application to everyday situations such as interpersonal attraction, attitudes or social judgments.

4. Applied Psychology Courses:

In the applied area, the following five modules are included:

1. In the module “Basics in Clinical Psychology” the prevalence, etiology and consequences of mental disorders are presented as well as an overview of the most important mental disorders. Furthermore, relevant theoretical perspectives and basic principles of diagnostics and classification are dealt with.

2. The “Work Psychology” module provides an overview of the objectives, areas of application and research questions of this subject area. Questions regarding the impact of work on humans as well as concepts and methods of analysis, evaluation and design of human work are handled as preconditions for psychological interventions at work.

3. Topic of the module “Organizational Psychology” are methods of diagnosis and intervention of people's experience and behavior in organizations. This takes place at the level of the individual, the group and the entire organization. The central topics of personnel psychology, communication and decision-making processes, as well as conflicts in organizations are dealt with.

4. The module “Clinical-Psychological Intervention” deals with clinical-psychological mental health interventions and their integration into the legal and institutional context conditions. The functions of prevention, psychotherapy and rehabilitation as well as models for the evaluation of clinical-psychological interventions are presented.

5. The contents of the module “Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology” includes theoretical concepts and specific research methods and results of this subject area. Furthermore, symptomatology, epidemiology, diagnostics / differential diagnosis, classification, etiology / maintenance and treatment of various psychological disorders in childhood and adolescence are presented.

In addition, the university offers (nonmandatory) lectures and seminars in the field of Educational Psychology.

5. Further requirements

The last requirement area (further requirements) includes the following modules:

1. Career-oriented internship: In this module, students will gain practical experience in field activities with a psychological background as well as knowledge about practical tasks and work processes, which are applied by psychologists in professional practices. The internship is intended to help students develop perspectives for further studies and future professional activities and to establish contacts with potential employers.

2. Experiment participation: Students should get to know different methods of psychology research in practice and be enabled to take the perspective of participants. Therefore, students are expected to complete 30 hours in participation of psychological experiments.

3. Bachelor Preparatory courses: This module prepares students for the independent development of theoretical, empirical or practice-oriented scientific questions and their implementation.

4. Bachelor’s thesis: Students should demonstrate that they are able to deal with a psychological question according to scientific standards. They should show that they are familiar with psychological methods and are able to present a scientific subject in written and suitable form.

More detailed information on the individual modules can be found in the respective module descriptions of the module manual. The module manual can be found from page 31 onwards in the Examination Regulations of the Psychology Bachelor's Program in German.

For further questions regarding the structure and content of the program, please contact the Academic Program Manager: