Social Studies (teaching degree) (Teaching degree)
Elementary school, middle school, secondary school, grammar school
In the Politics and Society teacher training program, you will learn subject-specific fundamentals such as political processes and social development, and in subject didactics you will deal with the question of how open issues can become a topic for children and young people. With your knowledge, you will build bridges between different contexts of life and show connections.
Fact Sheet
- Degree
- Teaching degree
- Admission
- No Admissions Restrictions
- Duration of studies
- 7 bzw. 9 semesters
- Teaching language
- completely in German
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
- Start of degree program
- Winter semester
- Number of students
- 1-50
- Special features
-
The contents of the subject differ from those taught in school in two respects. On the one hand, there is a noticeable deepening of the content, especially with regard to the functioning of the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany, the change in the social structure of Germany from pre-modern times to the present, as well as fundamental theoretical approaches from the fields of political science and sociology.
On the other hand, a variety of new content is taught, for example on questions of international politics and the history of political philosophy, changes in the world of work, the structure of social inequality, gender relations, the educational system, migration, and changes in private forms of life or the family.
Under certain conditions, students in all teacher training programs can apply for the academic degree „Bachelor“ after usually 6 semesters according to the LAPO. The type of Bachelor’s degree depends on the type of school studied and, if applicable, the choice of subject. Further information can be found on the homepage of the Center for Teacher Education (ZfL).
Subject combination possibilities:
Program overview
What is the degree program about?
The aim of this teaching degree in Politics and Society is to help you become an excellent teacher: Good teachers of Politics and Society can build bridges: Bridges between the different contexts of young people’s lives and areas of society; bridges between everyday observations and political decisions. Good teachers can explain how society works and point out current and structural conflicts and problems: What is controversial, ambiguous, in need of clarification? Why do we need binding rules and decisions? And what do politics and society have to do „with me?“
During your degree program, you will learn about the foundations of both Political Science and Sociology.
In Political Science, the focus is on the academic examination of the foundations and processes of politics in modern societies as well as in international relations. It is the responsibility of politics to make binding decisions and to enforce them by means of power in order to shape human coexistence. The Political Science portion of the program explores the most important political actors and institutions. It also examines the political process, its content and goals. This includes, for example, the most important schools of political thought, as well as the constitutional structures and ideas that shape political action and guiding principles such as freedom, power and justice. Sociology investigates how society comes into being and how to analyze and understand the production of social reality. It teaches basic sociological concepts and approaches to explaining the inner workings of society. Thereby, students understand why social order usually entails inequalities and what effects major social transformations have on the current structure of society.
In subject didactics, you deal with the question of how open issues in society can become the subject of children and adolescents. You select, relevant knowledge in a well-founded way and analyze, plan, design and reflect teaching and learning processes: What (content) do I teach for what purpose (goals), with whom (learning conditions), how (methods), where (learning places and contexts) and what is triggered by this (consequences and effects)?
To this end, you will question the relevant disciplines (political science, sociology, supplemented by economics, cultural studies and law, media and communication studies) about their respective contributions and look for possibilities of democratic teaching and school culture development, both in and out of school.
- Enjoy working with children and young people.
- Strong interest in political science and sociological issues and in dealing with social problems.
- Enjoyment in designing political teaching and learning processes.
Application for a Degree Program
Admission Requirements and Application
Admission
- 1st semester: No Admissions Restrictions
Application deadline
- Winter semester: 30.09.
- Summer semester: nicht möglich
Language skills
- German language skills for international applicants: DSH 2 (written 2 / oral 1) or equivalent
Details and notes
The application deadline for the winter semester for international applicants is July 15th.
In addition to the general qualification for university entrance (Abitur), there are other access options for studying at FAU.
