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MSc Applied Psychology

Campus der Universität Bielefeld — © Universität Bielefeld

Contents of the study program

Our Master's program in Applied Psycholgy provides students with up-to-date knowledge in the fields of educational and educational psychology, social, industrial and organizational psychology.

In parallel, they deepen their knowledge and competencies on the advanced methodological and psychometric foundations of psychological diagnostics, on the theory, construction and application of psychological tests, and on new developments in test theory and test construction.

The full-time program (120 credit points) builds on the skills and knowledge learned in the bachelor's degree, deepens them, and serves as a focus for content. The master's program in applied psychology concludes with the Master of Science (M.Sc) degree.

Design and structure of the study program

The degree program aims to interlock the applied subjects of educational psychology and industrial and organizational psychology in order to ideally prepare students professionally, methodically and practically for a continuously changing world of work. This is reflected in the design and structure of the degree program. Knowledge and competencies are acquired through both theoretical and practical application.

Our master's program offers the following three specialization options. Within the program, students must select two specializations from these:

Educational and Educational Psychology: Essential contents represent the in-depth examination of diagnostics and counseling as well as individual support in the school context.
Industrial, organizational and social psychology: The focus is on the application of aptitude diagnostics for personnel selection and development, the design of sustainable working environments in an organizational context or topics such as robotics and gender research.
Training and continuing education: The target group-oriented planning, organization and implementation of internal and external group interventions in the educational and organizational context are taught and tested.

Students will independently plan and implement projects within the context of these concentrations.

Course of studies

A diagram shows the modules of the Master's program in Applied Psychology with the corresponding credit points. On the left of the diagram, the semester designations with the intended credit points are shown one below the other. The modules for the semester are shown in boxes on the right. If there are elective options within a module, the box is outlined in pink. If there is an elective requirement, the box is colored pink. If the module is part of all psychology master's programs at Bielefeld University, the box is colored gray. There are 28 credit points in the first semester. The semester includes firstly the introductory module with 13 LP. It consists of three seminars with three LP each: Educational Psychology, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Training and Continuing Education. Secondly, it contains the Individual Supplement module with 10 LP. It starts in the first semester and ends in the second semester. There are elective options within the module. Third, the semester contains the Research Methods module with 10 LP. It also contains electives and runs for two semesters. Fourth, the first and second semesters include the module Psychological Diagnostics with 10 LP. This module and the introductory module are included in all psychology master's programs at Bielefeld University. In the second semester, 30 LP are provided. In addition to the modules, which span the first and second semesters, the semester includes the project modules. There are three modules to choose from, two of which must be selected. Each project comprises 15 LP. The modules extend over the second and third semesters. The projects to choose from are Educational Psychology, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Training and Continuing Education. In the third semester, 31 LP are provided. In addition to the project modules, one includes an internship of 15 LP. The internship is part of all psychology master's programs. On the other hand, the research module begins, which consists of the master's thesis and a colloquium. There are elective options in the research module. It comprises 32 LP, is started in the third semester and is the only content of the entire fourth semester. In the fourth semester, 31 LP are planned. — © Universität Bielefeld

The first semester aims at creating a (common) knowledge base for the further course of studies within the framework of the introductory module. Parallel to this, methodological training is continued in the modules of research methods and psychological diagnostics. Both modules extend over the first year of study.

A large part of the second and third semesters is taken up by the project modules. The students choose two focal points from the three specialization options of the program (see above), which they will work on in the course of two semesters.

In the third semester, students complete the project modules. In a colloquium, the research module is already started at this time in order to create a methodological and content-related preparation for the upcoming master's thesis. We recommend that students also complete the mandatory internship in this semester.

In the fourth semester, students dedicate themselves to the development of their master's thesis topic in the research module. This semester is also accompanied by a colloquium to support and promote the development process through peer feedback and feedback from the professors.

Elective options and specialization

Eine Frau im Profil sitzt an einem Schreibtisch vor einem großen Fenster — © Universität Bielefeld

In the course of their studies, students often have the opportunity to take courses according to their interests (see red boxes in the diagram). For example, within the framework of the project modules, within the individual supplement or the research module. The internship can also be freely chosen within the framework of the module requirements and thus sharpen the profile of the graduates.

Here you can find more information about the requirements and the contents of the modules of the MSc Applied Psychology.

hier könnte das Video zum Ablauf des Studiums hin

Students will be able to deepen and broaden their subject-specific, interdisciplinary and methodological knowledge in areas such as survey planning and the assessment of evaluative questions, computer-assisted data collection and analysis, and the presentation and discussion of project results.