The degree programme is divided into so-called compulsory modules (to be completed by all students) and compulsory elective modules (in which students can choose their favourites from several options according to their individual preferences). Modules are teaching units that are organised according to content and extend over one or more semesters. These units can be made up of different types of courses such as lectures, seminars and practicals.Each module is allocated a certain number of credit points (CP). The credit points indicate the average workload of a student for a module, whereby one CP corresponds to approximately 30 working hours.In addition to attending courses at the university, the working hours also take into account the preparation and follow-up work for the course, e.g. for research and reading, writing a term paper or studying for an exam.With 30 working hours per CP, this results in a workload of approximately 40 hours per week in the current semester. On average, around 30 CP should be achieved per semester. A total of 180 CP must be earned for the 6-semester Bachelor's degree programme. Due to legal regulations, attendance is compulsory in certain modules or courses.
The compulsory modules include the sub-disciplines of psychology described above.
In the Bachelor's degree programme, for example, the General Psychology I module teaches current and fundamental theories and findings on experience and behaviour (including cognitive-neuroscientific aspects) from the areas of perception, attention and language as well as from the areas of learning, memory, thinking and problem solving.In the seminars, selected theories are dealt with in depth and the research methods and approaches used are familiarised with and critically discussed in practical exercises and group work. In a term paper, students then deal in depth with a research topic or a scientific question from the sub-discipline of general psychology.
In the compulsory module Developmental Psychology, the findings are combined directly with the application subject of Educational Psychology. There, for example, questions of the constitution, genesis and changeability of human experience, thinking, behaviour and knowledge are dealt with.From the perspective of developmental psychology, sustainable changes (and stability) in human experience and behaviour are examined. From a educational-psychological perspective, students deal with processes of learning, education, teaching and socialisation.
Also part of the compulsory programme is the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy application subject, which includes modules on disorders or prevention and rehabilitation, in which theoretical and practical training go hand in hand.Contents include, for example, concepts on the development, maintenance and progression of mental and psychologically related illnesses in childhood, adolescence and adulthood, including old age.
In the sub-discipline of research methods, the foundations for statistical analysis are laid in the compulsory modules and the statistics modules. This involves both ways of describing data (descriptive statistics) and drawing conclusions about the population from random samples (inferential statistics including probability theory). On the one hand, modern methods of computer-aided data analysis are practised in the research methods module. On the other hand, the focus is on methods of data collection, suitable experimental set-ups and current methodological aspects such as modelling, as well as topics such as replication and open science.
Two modules must be chosen from a range of compulsory elective modules. Five different subjects are currently offered in the compulsory elective area: Clinical Psychology (psychotherapy), Clinical Neuropsychology, Cognitive and Clinical Psychological Research Methods, Business Psychology and Theoretical Psychology. Alternatively, the compulsory elective modules of the 5th semester can be studied at an external university according to the study and research specialisations there. Documentation in a learning agreement as well as recognition by the Bachelor's Examination Board (BPA) and, if applicable, by the Erasmus representatives of the department before the start of the stay at the foreign university is a prerequisite.
