General Guidelines
The University of Göttingen sees itself as a research university that has key areas in research-based teaching and is distinguished by its wide range of subjects – especially in the Humanities. The University believes that its most important task is to maintain this variety of subjects with interdisciplinary and international networking, to raise its subjects to the peak of international research in an environment that supports research and thereby to ensure the basis for excellence in teaching and education.
From the point of view of the University, the best opportunity to recognise, attract and keep excellent junior researchers lies in research-oriented teaching. Undergraduate degree programmes are a preparation for research-oriented postgraduate degree programmes and also include career-related elements, since all Bachelor degrees usually offer a career-related profile along- side the in-depth specialism.
A link to research is ensured even on undergraduate courses through the participation of top academics in Göttingen in teaching undergraduates and also supported by the research-oriented teaching and learning project, where Bachelor degree students work in small teams with teaching staff on an independent research project.
More advanced Master degree programmes are usually distinguished by their strong research orientation and occasionally by a close connection with doctoral degree programmes. These programmes are designed to guarantee that the selection procedures select highly academically motivated and socially adept German and foreign students. The emphasis on research in these programmes is underscored by the involvement of extramural researchers in teaching.
The University’s Constitution (PDF, German, 226 KB) also commits it to empowering students to responsible conduct in academic life, as in all areas of cultural, political and economic life. To this end it offers many opportunities to participate in student and academic autonomy, in particular on the decentralised and central committees. In addition, the University is also expanding its range of options for the acquisition of appropriate competencies. For instance, on the one hand an increasing range of interdisciplinary options and freedom of choice promote the development of self-determination and autonomy, on the other, degree programmes increasingly offer the possibility of incorporating civic engagement and work on committees in the curriculum as part of specially-provided modules. On top of this, there is a growing range of appropriate key competency modules.
The structures of Bachelor and Master degree programmes meet the requirements of the Qualification Framework for German Higher Education Qualifications and the common national and/or Federal State-specific structural guidelines, with regard to degree programmes and individual subjects that offer qualifications for the teaching profession at high school level (Gymnasia), in particular including the provisions of the Regulation on Master degrees for the teaching profession in Lower Saxony.
In accordance with the Qualification Framework for German Higher Education Qualifications, depending on the level of qualification, the degree programmes build on the university entrance qualification and/or on a relevant, successfully completed Bachelor degree.
The University of Göttingen considers it important to offer its Bachelor degree students teaching and learning conditions that are characterised far more than normal by their close relationship with everyday research. Using funds from the German Federal and State Governments’ programme for better study conditions and greater quality in teaching as well as from Study Quality Funds, actual research-related teaching and learning projects amongst other things are therefore enabled or supported for students on undergraduate degree programmes.
In view of growing social, economic and societal challenges, universities increasingly also need to draw on their knowledge from their core tasks of research and teaching in order to fulfil the “Third Mission” in society and the economy, that is, to actively and consciously adopt responsibility for the society for which they work. As part of its social responsibility, the University of Göttingen wants to systematically develop the commitment of students, teachers and researchers to civil society, so it is promoting teaching and learning formats that include engagement, such as Service Learning. The aim of Service Learning is to combine academic learning with civil society engagement by offering services to non-profit or public institutions in the region. In this way, students contribute positively to resolving civil society issues and at the same time learn a diverse range of skills through doing. So the university has an active impact on society and contributes to a mutual exchange of knowledge. In Service Learning, students, teachers and researchers apply their expertise to real-life social issues. This involves constant re-evaluation of the learning process through feedback, to generate new, experience-based knowledge. Specialist, methodological, social and personal skills are reinforced in Service Learning with learning experiences in a practical context while promoting a sense of civic responsibility. By developing Service Learning, studies, learning and research benefit from the valuable experiences that students can gather through socially relevant participation within the framework of volunteering in combination with academic support. Research and teaching involving society are particularly important at the University of Göttingen, as a member of the national university network Education through Responsibility: the service learning coordinator is in charge of raising the profile of existing projects, networking stakeholders and initiating engagement-based courses. At present there are roughly ten to fifteen such projects in a wide variety of subjects each semester. The coordinator also provides various materials, such as a guide for teachers or a feedback form, designed to encourage and support the realisation of suitable courses and contribute to quality assurance.