Vocational Teacher Education
Would you like to become a vocational teacher? In that case, study a combination of Bachelor's and Master's degree courses at our university!
The first milestone in your academic career marks the Bachelor of Vocational Education degree program. Subsequently, you can apply for the Master of Vocational Education course. Successful completion of this course opens the door to a teaching traineeship: During this final phase of your training, you will work at a school during the preparatory period of service prior to qualifying for the teaching profession.
If you already have a university degree, you may be able directly enter the Master's degree course Vocational Education for Specialized Bachelor at Osnabrück University. This is offered for the subjects Electrical Engineering, Metals Engineering, Nursing Science, and Social Education.
The ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) is used to assess academic achievements. This also applies in many other countries and facilitates the mutual recognition of academic achievements.
Do you have any questions?
You can easily find out who to contact regarding your request on the website of the Center for Teacher Education (ZLB) under Contact persons by subject area.
Presentation at the HIT!
The lecture "Becoming a Teacher in Osnabrück: Vocational Teacher Education" (PDF, 1.01 MB) at the Osnabrück University Info Day HIT (in German)
Bachelor of Vocational Education
In the Bachelor's phase, you will study a vocational subject and a general education subject. This content is supplemented by courses in vocational and business education and general teaching practice, including a 5-week school internship. You can write your Bachelor's thesis on a topic related to the vocational subject area or vocational and business education in cooperation with the vocational subject area. You will earn 180 credit points during your Bachelor's degree.
| Sem. | Components of the degree program | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vocational specialization - 95 CP incl. didactics of the vocational specialization | General education subject - 42 CP incl. subject didactics | Vocational and business education | |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | General teaching practice - 10 LP | |||
| 4 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 6 | Bachelor thesis - 12 LP | |||
Master of Vocational Education (Master of Education)
After successfully completing your Bachelor's degree, you can continue to study for a Master's degree, for which a new application is required. The Master's degree is a prerequisite for admission to a traineeship and thus a professional career in the teaching profession.
The components of the Master's degree include your professional subject area, a general education subject and vocational and business education. In addition, there are specialist teaching practices and specialist internships including a five-week school internship.
You can write your Master's thesis on a topic from the vocational subject area, the general education subject or vocational and business education. You will earn a total of 120 credit points in the Master's program.
| Sem. | Components of the degree program | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vocational specialization - 30 CP incl. didactics of the vocational subject | General education subject - 30 CP incl. subject didactics | Vocational and business education - 27 CP | Specialist teaching practices and specialist internships - 10 CP |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | Master's thesis - 20 CP & colloquium - 3 CP | |||
Subject combinations
As part of the teacher training course, you must study a vocational subject and a general education subject. Special access requirements apply for some subjects. With the exception of biology, all subjects can be combined with all subject areas:
Professional specializations
Electrical Engineering in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Automotive Engineering in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Information Technology in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Metals Engineering in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Ecotrophology in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Business Administration and Economics (expected from winter semester 2025/26)
General education subjects
Biology can only be combined with Health Sciences, Cosmetology and Nursing Science!
Practical work experience
The Ordinance on Master's Degrees for Teaching Qualifications in Lower Saxony stipulates that practical professional experience must be demonstrated for Vocational Teacher Education.
In the case of the vocational specialization Nursing Science, you must have successfully completed relevant vocational training.
For the vocational subjects Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Health Sciences, Cosmetology, Metals Engineering, Ecotrophology, Social Education and Economics, you can also provide proof of successfully completing relevant vocational training; alternatively, however, 52 weeks of practical work experience in suitable vocational fields is also sufficient.
Regulations and module descriptions
Click on your subject to find the admission and examination regulations as well as module descriptions relevant to your Bachelor's or Master's degree program.
Which is which?
Subject-specific access and admission regulations specify which requirements you must fulfil to be admitted to a Bachelor's or Master's degree program, e.g. language skills or prior knowledge of the subject. The regulations also determine how places are allocated in degree programs which are subject to admission restrictions.
If there are no access and admission regulations for your subject, you will find all the necessary information in the interdisciplinary requirements for a degree program.
The examination regulations contain legally binding regulations on the timing, content and organisation of the respective degree program. These include information on program content (mandatory and mandatory elective modules) and examinations (requirements, repeatability, free attempt).
General Examination Regulations
The General Examination Regulations (PDF, 338 kB) apply to students of almost all degree programs. These contain general regulations and other regulations applicable to all degree programs.
Program-Specific Examination Regulations
Program-specific examination regulations contain regulations that only apply to one degree program. For example, they determine which degree is awarded upon graduation.
Subject-Specific Parts
For multi-subject degree programs (e.g. dual-subject Bachelor degrees), additional subject-specific sections apply for the individual subjects in addition to the general examination regulations and the program-specific examination regulations, which regulate a range of factors including the modules you must study during your degree program.
A module is a single component of a program that is a complete learning unit in terms of content and time, in which students are taught skills and knowledge in a specific subject area. It is made up of various courses (e.g. seminars, lectures, practical courses). The module descriptions contain information on the workload, coursework and grading.
The program-specific examination regulations for single-subject degree programs and the relevant subject-specific and interdisciplinary sections for multi-subject degree programs (see "Examination Regulations") set out the modules you have to complete in your subject area.