Department of Psychology

In order to be able to answer this question for yourself, we would first like to inform you about the psychology degree programme at Bielefeld University.

The subject Psychology

The 1-subject Bachelor of Psychology concludes with the academic degree Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.). Within the Bachelor's degree, students can study either the Psychology profile or the Psychotherapy profile.

The programme deals with psychology as an empirical science. Accordingly, basic statistical and methodological skills are taught at the beginning of the programme as a basis for scientific work, as well as content-related skills, such as the visual and auditory perception of humans, emotion and personality theories.

In the further course of the degree programme, students can choose from four applied subjects (clinical psychology for children, adolescents and adults, educational psychology, organisational and applied social psychology, cognitive neuroscience) to set their first focal points with a view to accessing certain professional fields.

Within the internship, students have the opportunity to gain initial experience in various professional fields.

It is important to note that the B.Sc. degree programme in Psychology (Psychotherapy Profile) has professional recognition in accordance with the Psychotherapists Act and the Licensing Regulations for Psychotherapists. Thus, the qualification for a Master's degree in Psychotherapy .

With a Bachelor's degree in psychology, many other Master's programmes are also open to you.

At Bielefeld University we offer three different master's degree programmes in psychology:

• Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
• Applied Psychology: Diagnostics, Counselling and Training
• Psychology with a focus on experimental psychology and neuroscience

For more information on the Bachelor's programme in Psychology, please visit the study information page here.

The Department of Psychology at Bielefeld University is large with 20 working units (chairs/professorships).

These deal with the various sub-disciplines of psychology. You can find a list of the working units here.

Is the subject of psychology right for me?

Students are especially disappointed when their expectations of the subject they are studying do not match reality.

To prevent such disappointment, you should first check what expectations you have of the degree programme and then compare them with the real thing.

To get an overview of the contents taught, you can familiarise yourself with the module handbook.

In addition to the study content, your own motivation, skills and knowledge are important for your decision.

Online self-assessment offers provide the opportunity to get to know the requirements of psychology degree programmes better. After taking part, you will receive feedback on your results, which can help you make a decision and show you options for further study preparation. You can find one of these self-assessments here.

What skills should I bring with me?

When choosing a field of study, it is important to match the required skills with your own.

In the field of psychology, the following skills are helpful for successful completion of the degree programme:

• Ability to think logically and critically
• Solid knowledge of the English language (specialised literature is usually written in English)
• Ability to write your own (scientific) texts
• Knowledge of mathematical basics

For problems and difficulties that arise, the university offers a wide range of support options. For example, you have the opportunity to improve your English skills at the Language Centre, to get tips for writing (scientific) texts in peer learning, to participate in workshops for learning strategies and study techniques, and much more. Furthermore, the Psychology Department offers special support services for statistics (e.g. tutorials, method counselling, etc.).

The Psychology programme at Bielefeld University is designed as a full-time programme with a standard study period of six semesters. The course times range from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Of course, you have the option of adapting your studies to your needs and commitments to a certain extent. This may extend the study time.

Despite the flexibility in design, you should check beforehand whether studying is manageable for you in terms of time and finances.

Time

Studying demands time!

Not only for the period of time in which you attend lectures, but also for their preparation and follow-up, studying for exams, writing assignments, etc. You should therefore check whether you can manage your studies in the time available.

You should therefore check whether you can integrate or create time for studying into the way you organise your life.

A semester (approx. 6 months) is divided into a lecture period, during which lectures are held and attended, and a lecture-free period, during which examinations usually take place.

The standard period of study for the Bachelor's programme is 3 years (6 semesters) and for the Master's programmes 2 years (4 semesters).

Finances

Studying costs money!

During your studies, you will usually have general living expenses (e.g. housing, food, etc.) and financial obligations (e.g. children, hobbies, etc.). In addition, there are costs that arise from studying. These include, for example, the social contribution to be paid twice a year (known as the semester contribution), costs for specialist literature, etc..

A possible reduction in working hours (to accommodate the time aspect of studying) can lead to a reduction in income.

Therefore, you should get a good overview of your income and expenses and any changes due to your studies.

There are various ways to improve/stabilise your financial situation: BAföG, student loans, scholarships, mini-job, part-time work, etc.

The educational goal of the Bachelor's programme in Psychology is to equip graduates with a basic knowledge of psychological content as well as solid training in scientific work.

The Bachelor's programme thus lays the foundation for a postgraduate and in-depth Master's programme.

On the labour market, a Master's degree is usually required.

For certain occupational fields, a Master's degree is indispensable.

However, employment on the basis of a Bachelor's degree cannot be ruled out. Especially if you can combine it well with your previous work.

Career goal: psychological psychotherapist

Many students of the Bachelor's programme in psychology are interested in the profession of psychological psychotherapist. This career goal has some special features that you should inform yourself about beforehand.

In 2020, there was a legal change in the licensing regulations for psychological psychotherapists that changed the training path to this profession. The new licensing regulations provide for psychotherapy studies (Bachelor's and Master's degrees). Graduates then take the licensing examination to become a psychological psychotherapist. This is followed by further training (5 years, full-time) with the final acquisition of the specialist qualification (e.g. in behavioural therapy, depth psychology-based psychotherapy, analytical psychotherapy, systemic psychotherapy and clinical neuropsychology). The path to becoming a psychological psychotherapist is therefore a long one and should be well considered.

Prospective students with A-levels apply for the first semester as described on the study information page of the Bachelor's degree programme.

You don't have an Abitur/ A-levels (general university entrance qualification) but would like to study psychology at Bielefeld University?

That is possible!

Before starting the official application procedure, you should get a good overview of the points mentioned above (choice of subject, time and financial aspects and career goal) and check whether studying is feasible for you.

Once you have decided to study psychology, you can start the official application procedure. In order to find out the guidelines and regulations that apply to your case (depending on your education, entrance qualification for studies at universities of applied sciences, professional experience or master's diploma), first contact the responsible staff member from the Student Administration Office, Doris Mahlke.

In some cases, an entrance examination is required. Information on this (e.g. sample examination tasks, procedure of the examination, etc.) can be obtained from the Psychology Examinations Office.

Information on the procedure and application process can be found here.

If you have any questions about the procedure and application process, please contact Ms Doris Mahlke (contact details can be found here).

If you have any questions about the entrance examination, please contact the Psychology Examinations Office (contact details can be found here).

If you have any questions about the study of psychology, please contact the academic student advisory service of the Faculty of Psychology (contact details can be found here).

 

1. You are performing or have performed work that can be recognised for the psychology degree programmes offered at Bielefeld University in the Bachelor's degree (core or subsidiary subject) or in the three Master's degree programmes. In order to be able to have your placement in a higher subject-related semester certified with a placement certificate, you must provide evidence of a level of achievement (coursework and examinations) covering at least one semester of the course of study described at Bielefeld University. You can find an overview of the course contents on the study information pages of the respective degree programmes. From this page you can navigate to the study information pages.
2. If you have proof of your achievements (e.g. in the form of a Transcript of Records), you can start the application procedure.
3. The procedure at Bielefeld University is standardised. Please first fill out the application for recognition and the recognition table (see here) and send them to the Examinations Office for Psychology at Bielefeld University, initially only in electronic form. Should a paper version be necessary, this would be requested from you. Please use the online input help to fill in the recognition table. In addition to the application, please submit your official Transcript of Records as well as relevant module descriptions. The complete application (please do not forget the date and signature on the application) must be submitted to the Psychology Examinations Office by e-mail (pruefungsamt-psychologie@uni-bielefeld.de) by 15 February/15 August (summer semester/winter semester).
4. The Dean of Studies or a member of the Service Office will check the content of your application. A decision will then be made as to which semester you can be placed in. Unfortunately, achievements that are added later and have not yet been entered in the transcript at the time of application cannot be taken into account. It is therefore not possible to submit documents after the application deadline of 15 February or 15 August. If you are admitted to a higher semester, you can submit another application for credit transfer.
5. After the Dean of Studies or the staff member of the Service Office has completed the assessment of your placement, you will receive a notification by post from the Examinations Office for Psychology stating in which semester you can be placed (placement notification). With this notification, you apply for admission to a higher semester at the Registrar's Office of Bielefeld University in due time. Please enquire there about the exact modalities.
6. The deadline for applications to the Registrar's Office is currently 15.03. for the summer semester and 15.09. for the winter semester.
   • Please note that other deadlines apply to international students. If you belong to this group, please contact the Registrar's Office.
   • Please also note that the credit transfer procedure at the Examination Office can take up to four weeks. You should therefore submit your credit transfer application as early as possible; it would be desirable for the Psychology Examinations Office to receive it by 05.02 or 05.08.
7. Once the application has been received, the Registrar's Office will check whether there are free places available for the semester for which you are applying. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of available places, a draw will be made among the applicants. Grades, neither Abitur/ A-levels nor university grades, are not a criterion for admission in this procedure.

If you have already completed a university degree, you must apply via the second degree quota.

You can find more information on this topic here.