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Education (Pedagogy)
Degree
Bachelor of Arts
Semester fee
88
Euro
Start of the program
Winter semester
Standard length of the program
6
Semester
Place of study
Eichstätt
Part-time studies possible
Yes
Do you want to understand how people learn, how education shapes our society, and how you can play an active role in this process? Then the Bachelor's degree program in Education is just right for you! During the program, you will explore current educational issues in a globalized and digitalized world: How can education be made more equitable? What role do values and responsibility play? How can educational and upbringing processes be effectively supported? You can expect a program that critically examines academic foundations and relates them to educational practice. This qualification for professional educational practice opens up a wide range of career opportunities for you.
Why study the BA in Education?
Uniqueness & diversity of the program's academic offer
Educational policy and educational philosophy, together with adult and continuing education and social pedagogy, form the three equally important specializations in this degree program, which is unique in Germany in this form. In addition, other relevant disciplines – such as empirical educational research, psychology, sociology, and school pedagogy, among others – complement the diverse range of courses offered.
As a result, the program offers students the opportunity to engage holistically with education and upbringing processes from a wide variety of perspectives, within the context of current societal transformations.
Particular emphasis is placed on issues of values formation, social responsibility, transformative education, and national and global challenges in education and development. In this way, the degree program makes a significant contribution to developing contemporary and future-oriented educational approaches for the 21st century.
Human-centered approach
The program is tailored to the prerequisites, needs, and aspirations of its students and
- takes into account their educational backgrounds and supports individual personal development.
- through its flexible full-time and part-time study models, the program makes it possible to combine academic studies with professional and family responsibilities.
- offers a personalized learning environment in both teaching and academic advice.
- also provides the opportunity of pursuing a university education for professionals with vocational qualifications, such as state-certified early childhood educators or those with a master craftsman’s certificate, as well as graduates of vocational high schools (FOS) and business high schools (BOS).
- opens the door to a wide range of attractive career opportunities.
The program also focuses on a scientifically grounded and practice-oriented examination of successful educational and developmental processes of the individual across the entire lifespan. This takes place against the backdrop of organizational and sociopolitical conditions and challenges.
Educational professionalization: Interlinking theory & practice
Through a well-grounded academic program that is both practice- and experience-oriented, students acquire a high level of professional pedagogical competence.
Throughout the entire program structure, foundational knowledge in educational theory and research methodology is closely integrated with practical application.
This is achieved through numerous seminars, for example, through project work, field trips, and guest lectures from the professional practice. The two internship modules, the learning research project, and the final thesis also deepen a critical and reflective connection between theory and practice.
Wide range of career opportunities
This degree program opens the door to a wide range of attractive and promising career opportunities in various fields of education.
You can work in a management position, as an educational specialist, or in a wide range of other roles at numerous institutions in adult and continuing education, social pedagogy, and the fields of educational policy and philosophy.
In addition, this program allows you to pursue subsequent Master's level studies. Building on this foundation, you can pursue an academic career at a university or work at research institutions.
The program in detail
Contents
Students acquire specialized skills that enable them to research and design educational and teaching processes based on knowledge of educational theory and using research methods from the field of Education. In addition, the program fosters personal and social skills, such as communication and collaboration skills, as well as a reflective engagement with ethical issues in the field of education.
Specializations
Across the three specializations – educational policy and philosophy, adult and continuing education, and social pedagogy – students acquire subject-specific theoretical knowledge throughout the program structure and relate this knowledge to its practical relevance for various fields of educational practice.
Educational policy and philosophy of education
Adult and continuing education
In the context of lifelong learning, adult and continuing education represents the largest sector in the German education system and therefore offers a wide range of interesting career paths and fields of activity. To this end, students in this specialization acquire professional competencies in adult education. For example, they develop innovative and sustainable educational programs for adults that are grounded in theory and oriented toward practice. The focus is on clarifying the specific characteristics of adult learning and on how to successfully design, implement, and evaluate attractive educational programs – as well as workshops, courses, and seminars – using participant-centered methodological and didactic approaches. Additional course content addresses topics such as transformative learning, as well as organizational and human resource development.
Program specialization coordinator:
Prof. Dr. Anita Pachner, Professorship of Lifelong Learning
Social pedagogy
The Social Pedagogy specialization examines, from an educational science perspective, transformative processes of education, upbringing, and socialization in the context of (global) societal, political, and ecological upheavals. The focus is on issues of social inequality and participation, the relevance of personal history in the context of professional practice, transitions throughout the life course, and the forms, conditions, and (historical) developments of social pedagogical support across the entire lifespan. Research and teaching are guided by perspectives sensitive to power dynamics and the dynamics of forgetting, as well as by reconstructive research methods, and integrate various social and action theories with empirical analyses.
Program specialization coordinator:
Prof. Dr. Tilmann Kallenbach, Professorship of Social Pedagogy
Other study contents
In addition to the coursework in the three specializations, the following topics from other disciplines relevant to education complement the diverse range of courses offered:
Empirical educational research
In the field of empirical educational research, students acquire fundamental knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods and apply this knowledge in a practice-oriented manner.
Internships
Two internship modules allow students to take a critical-reflective theory-practice transfer.
Psychology & sociology
Course content from developmental and educational psychology, as well as the sociology of education, provides a holistic perspective on the upbringing and educational processes of the individual within the context of societal conditions.
Overarching topics
Other education-related topics, such as “Digital Education”, “Fundamentals of the School System”, and “Education and Migration”, are the ideal addition to the curriculum.
Studium.Pro
Students can select a module from the entire Studium.Pro offer according to their interests. The KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt’s Studium.Pro program expands the curriculum to include interdisciplinary course offerings.
Structure
The program is structured as a full-time or part-time degree program totaling 180 ECTS credits. It lasts 6 semesters on a full-time basis and 12 semesters on a part-time basis, and is divided into a foundational phase and a specialization phase in each case.
Foundational phase
Specialization phase
Full-time: 5th and 6th semesters / Part-time: 9th through 12th semesters
Selection of two of the three specializations to develop an individual career-oriented specialization and to deepen studies and research
- (Practice-oriented) specialization modules in two specializations
- Learning research project in one specialization
- Bachelor's thesis & Bachelor’s colloquium in one specialization
Rankings and assessments
KU students and alumni have voted for their University to be Germany's most popular university in the 2026 ranking of the online portal StudyCheck. This is the fourth time in a row, as KU was also voted the most popular university in 2021, 2022 and 2024. The ranking was based on over 78,000 evaluations for more than 500 higher education institutions and universities. 97 percent of students questioned for the ranking would recommend studying at the KU to others.
"There is no better praise for a university than almost 100 percent of students and alumni agreeing: I can only recommend studying at the KU! That is why we are very pleased with the ranking’s outcome, because it expresses the high level of satisfaction of our students," says KU President Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien.
Study abroad
Thanks to its flexibility, the study plan allows students to spend all or part of their time staying abroad by taking equivalent courses at the Faculty's Erasmus partner institutions, such as the University of Oulu, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Sofia University, and many others. The KU maintains a network of partnerships with approximately 300 universities worldwide. The KU's International Office provides support with planning and offers information on the various funding options.
In addition, it is possible to complete both internship phases (Internship I and II) abroad to gain practical experience in a global context and open up international career opportunities. The International Internship Service offers advice and support. The learning research project in the 5th semester can also be conducted at international and/or intercultural educational institutions.
Connection to practice
Throughout the entire program structure, the curriculum closely integrates theory and practice. This includes both two integrated practical training phases and practice-oriented courses in various modules:
