Early Childhood Education Research (M.A.)

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Application deadline 2024: 15.06.2024 – 15.08.2024

The Master’s programme “Early Childhood Education Research” is a cooperative programme of the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences (FHP) and the University of Potsdam (UP). Students receive interdisciplinary expertise, research and management skills and are prepared for researching, steering and developing advisory activities. Our students also benefit from a growing network of scientists, research and educational institutions, and partners from the field.

Profile of the study programme

The Master’s programme “Early Childhood Education Research” aims to train students for highly qualified positions in research, specialist training and professional management, e.g. at child and youth welfare organisations. The Master’s programme “Early Childhood Education Research” is designed to allow students to deepen their competencies in scientific work at an early stage within the framework of their research interests. A central component of the programme is scientific work based on empirical research methods, in which quantitative-experimental approaches play a critical role alongside qualitative approaches.

The focus of the Master’s programme is the student’s research interest. Half of the workload (60 ECTS points) is therefore completed through developing one’s research project and its implementation within the framework of the Master’s thesis. Here, the students – accompanied and supported by the lecturers and fellow students – go through all phases of the empirical research process. This is flanked by corresponding courses, allowing them to deal intensively with a topic, act as researchers simultaneously, and cooperate with partners from research, management and practice in their research area.

Main research topics:

  • Educational interaction and participation
  • Cognition, language and concepts
  • Practice development and transfer

Teaching formats

The focus is on forms of teaching that enable independent, cooperative and research-based learning in small to medium-sized groups. The lecturers personally supervise students and offer various opportunities for individual in-depth study. Teaching formats are, e.g.:

  • Seminars and exercises
  • Research and literature colloquia
  • Small group projects
  • Participation in research projects with various cooperation partners from research, management and practice in early childhood education

Perspectives

The fields of work in early childhood education offer a wide range of perspectives for graduates of the Master’s programme “Early Childhood Education Research”:

  • Research activities at universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutes
  • Training, further training and continuing education of early childhood education staff
  • Management of early education projects
  • Technical and organisational consulting
  • Development of pedagogical quality in supporting organisations and professional associations
  • Professional political representation as well as socio-spatial and communal networking tasks

Learn more about the programme

Click here for the image film of the Master’s programme “Early Childhood Education Research“