Studying Teacher Education at the University of Cologne
All teacher education students, no matter what type of school they are specializing in, complete a three year B.A. program (six semesters), and a two year M.Ed. program (four semesters). However, the Master of Education is not the final stage of training yet: university training is followed by an 18 months residency at a school (Vorbereitungsdienst). During this time, the teachers-to-be already teach a certain number of hours but they are regularly monitored by Centers for Practical Teacher Training, and they receive detailed feedback on the development of their teaching skills. One central innovation that was implemented together with the B.A. and M.Ed. degrees are the mandatory internships/ practical phases. In total, students complete three internships: The aptitude and orientation internship (5 weeks) and the vocational field internship (4 weeks), both integrated into the B.A. program, and the internship semester (5 months), integrated into the M.Ed. program.
Portfolio work is the common thread that runs through all practical phases. At the University of Cologne, students are required to document and reflect on their experiences during the practical phases in a cross-phased e-portfolio. The portfolio is embedded in a didactical concept, which prompts students to take a closer look at all aspects of the teaching profession, from routines in the classroom to interaction with colleagues, from curriculum development to issues of school management. Students are encouraged to turn to theory in order to ‘shed light’ on some of the observations, and to go deeper and formulate research questions, which are presented at seminars and often developed into projects for a final thesis.
Practical Phases - EOP and BFP
To finish your teacher education (B.A.) at the University of Cologne, you need to complete two internships, called Eignungs- und Orintierungspraktikum (EOP - aptitude and orientation internship) and Berufsfeldpraktikum (BFP - vocational field internship). To complete the Master of Education, you also need to complete the Praxissemester (inernship semester).
The EOP needs to be completed at a German School of your field of specialization. E.g.: you study to become a primary school teacher, you need to do your internship at a primary school in Germany. Alternatively, you can do your internship at a German school abroad. You find more information here (German site) .
The BFP is an internship, that can be completed all over the world. It needs to be located in a social, pedagogical or subject-specific field and should not be completed at a German school. You can find more information about it here (German site). If you are interested in doing your BFP abroad, click the following link.
The Praxissemester is a semester to be realized at a German school of your specialization. It is an integral component of the Master of Education at the University of Cologne. You can find more information here (German site).
Subjects and different types of teachers
At the University of Cologne, you can study all five types of schools that are present in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia:
- Primary School (Grundschule)
- Secondary School and Comprehensive Secondary School (Haupt-, Real- und Gesamtschule)
- High School and Comprehensive Secondary School (Gymnasium und Gesamtschule)
- Vocational College (Berufskolleg)
- Special Needs School (Sonderpädagogische Förderung)
Primary School
- Mandatory German for Primary school
- Mandatory Mathematics for Primary school
- Natural and Social Sciences
- Aesthetic Education
- English
- Protestant Religion
- Catholic Religion
- Arts
- Music
- Physical Education
Secondary School and Comprehensive Secondary School
One of the following subjects is mandatory:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- German
- English
- Protestant Religion
- Catholic Religion
- History
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Philosophy
- Social Sciences
For your second subject you can choose from the following subjects (you cannot combine catholic and protestant religion):
- One of the subjects above
- French
- Geography
- Arts
- Music
- Dutch
- Russian
- Spanish
- Physical Education
High School and Comprehensive Secondary School
One of the following subjects is mandatory:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- German
- English
- Protestant Religion
- Catholic Religion
- History
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Philosophy
- Social Sciences
- Latin
- French
- Spanish
For your second subject you can choose from the following subjects (you cannot combine catholic and protestant religion):
- Geography
- Greek (classical)
- Italian
- Japanese
- Arts
- Music
- Dutch
- Pedagogy
- Russian
- Physical Education
- Special Needs Education: Listening and Communication
- Special Needs Education: Physical and motoric development
Vocational School
One of the following subjects is mandatory:
- Professional specialization in economics
- Special Needs Education: Listening and Communication
- Special Needs Education: Physical and motoric development
- Special Needs Education: Learning
- Special Needs Education: Emotional and social development
- Special Needs Education: Language
For your second subject you can choose from the following subjects → please note that you cannot choose special needs education and politics together
- Biology
- Catholic Religion
- Chemistry
- Dutch
- English
- French
- German
- Mathematics
- Music
- Physics
- Politics
- Protestant Religion
- Spanish
- Sports
You are also able to choose an extension compartment. You are able to choose:
Special Needs Education
In Special Needs Education, you study two Special Education subjects and two further subjects or learning areas at the University of Cologne. The two subjects are studied to the same extent. Taken together, their share is about as high as that of the two special education disciplinen
One of the following Special Needs subjects is mandatory:
- Learning
- Emotional and Social development
For your second Special Needs subject you can choose from the following subjects:
- Language
- Intellectual development
- Listening and Communication
- Physical and motoric development
- Learning
- Emotional and social development
One of the following subjects is mandatory:
- German for Primary School
- Mathematics for Primary School
- German
- Mathematics
For your second subject you can choose from the following subjects (you cannot combine German for Primary School and German, same applies for Mathematics for Primary School and Mathematics):
- One of the subjects above
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Protestant Religion
- French
- Catholic Religion
- Aesthetic Education
- Natural and Social Sciences
- Physics
- Social Sciences
- Arts
- Music
- Sports
So what do I do, if I would like to study here? Find your way!
Do you want to come for a short term?
- Are you from the European Union (incl. Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and the United Kingdom)? Click here.
Would you like to realize a complete Bachelor and / or Master at the University of Cologne?
- Are you from the European Union (incl. Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and the United Kingdom)? Here you find further information for incoming students from the European Union.
- Are you from outside of the countries above? Here you find further information for incoming students from outside of the European Union.