Childhood Studies and Children's Rights

This innovative programme of study is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and on implementing the children's rights that it covers. Children have rights to participate in all decisions and processes affecting them, to equitable access to societal resources (e.g. health, education) and to effective protection from violence and exploitation. All institutions, processes and measures oriented around children at national, state/regional and local level must be designed and evaluated according to these considerations.

Students become qualified to represent children and their concerns and interests in terms of the UNCRC to responsible political entities in all vocational fields on a sound academic basis. They support children and young people with the help of stakeholder- and subject-oriented approaches, which are aimed at understanding institutional and social frameworks from the perspective of the affected parties and at shaping those frameworks with those parties.

Scholars and researchers in childhood studies are able, for example, to design projects and programmes aimed at integrating socially disadvantaged children, promote child health and implement appropriate preventative programmes, develop projects with children and young people to boost political participation, research the conditions and effects of child poverty and the circumstances of children with a migration background, and initiate suitable regional integration projects.

Core content:

• Childhood studies as a multidisciplinary subject based on childhood sociology
• National and international children's rights
• Methods and techniques in research in childhood studies and children's rights, including ethical and legal issues in research with and about children
• Childhood studies and transdisciplinary perspectives on the application of children's rights
• Didactics in childhood studies and human rights education
• Reflection of heterogeneity concepts from the perspectives of gender and diversity studies
• Fields of activity pertaining to children's rights in families, daycare facilities and schools, in youth work and in the context of early intervention
• Socio-pedagogical methods and fields of activity, children's and social legislation
• Project and change management
• Job profiles and career paths in childhood studies
• Master's degree seminar, Master's thesis, Master's colloquium

Admission to the Master‘s programme Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights requires a good or excellent university degree completed over a standard course duration of at least 6 semesters or at least 180 credits in a related field (Childhood, education, social or health sciences as well as social or childhood education or psychology).

The language of instruction is German. Foreign applicants must prove they have adequate knowledge of German. Evidence of the necessary German language skills can be provided in the form of:

• Goethe Certificate C2
• DSH II
• DSD II
• TestDaF (minimun 16 total points & minimun level 3 in the examination modules)
• ÖSD C2
• TELC Deutsch C1 Hochschule

In addition, evidence must be provided of knowledge of the English language to level B2 of the Common European Framework.