Master
Social Work - Psychosocial Counselling, Mediation

"Master builder" of life

Today's society requires people to be "master builders" of their own life plans and lifestyle. A successful lifestyle always involves coping with and organising highly complex challenges.

People in stressful life situations, crises and conflicts are often unable to fulfil these complex requirements. Professional helpers and counsellors need differentiated knowledge of conditions, analysis and action in order to be able to guide, advise and mediate effectively.

Psychosocial counselling is a reflective and method-based form of work that takes both the person and the context into account. It is process- and result-orientated. It is based on the socio-ecological approach of the "person in their environment" with a biopsychosocial understanding of the human being.

Mediation is a structured procedure and established concept that supports the persons or parties involved in finding a mutually beneficial solution to a conflict (win-win situation).

Students should be highly motivated to work with people under stress. Social skills, empathy, flexibility and tolerance are also important prerequisites. The studies also require an interest in scientific work and a scientifically sound approach to practical issues.

The Master's programme qualifies you ...

• identify and analyse stress and problem situations in different contexts (life situation, life phase, coping attempts)
• Derive methodologically sound interventions
• Establish sustainable and motivating working relationships with people under stress
• To consider relevant social, psychological and legal conditions in a differentiated manner
• Carry out accompanying research work
• Initiate, implement and evaluate projects
• To organise, manage and exercise personnel responsibility in institutions
• Carry out psychosocial counselling in individual, couple, family and group settings
• Provide mediation (conflict mediation) for couples, groups and at an institutional level

Graduates have new professional and career prospects in the traditional institutions of social work and psychosocial counselling, as well as in the private sector, at universities and in self-employment.

Please note: In the event that state recognition as a social worker was not obtained as part of a Bachelor's degree in Social Work, this cannot be obtained by successfully completing the Master's degree programme.

• Society and lifestyle
• Socio-ecological and psychopathological models of human experience and behaviour
• Legal and socio-political foundation courses
• Communication laboratory
• Multimodal case assessment, diagnostics and action planning
• Ethics and counselling models
• Social research
• Conflict models and conflict management
• Economic efficiency and quality development (financing, controlling, marketing)
• Work in a group context / empowerment
• Mediation in selected fields
• Counselling: personal approaches / socio-ecological counselling

• 1st semester
  // Society and lifestyle
  // Biopsychosocial models of human experience and behaviour
  // Communication laboratory
  // Law
  // Diagnostics, case understanding and action planning
  // Counselling approaches
  
• 2nd semester
  // Social research
  // Law
  // Ethics
  // Methods workshop
  // Counselling methods
  // Supervision of counselling practice
  // Financing, controlling, marketing
  
• 3rd semester
  // Social research
  // Law
  // Conflict models and conflict management
  // Advanced courses in social psychology
  // Methods of conflict mediation
  // Supervision of mediation practice
  // Quality development, evaluation
  // Advanced courses in social psychology
  
• 4th semester
  // Applied group psychology
  // Reflection on group practice
  // Master's thesis

Facts
► Degree // Master of Arts (M.A.)
► Type of degree programme // Full-time
► Standard time to degree // 4 semesters
► Scope of study // 120 ECTS
► Place of study // Mönchengladbach campus
► Costs per semester // approx. € 360.00 incl. NRW Ticket (as at: 04/24)
► Language of instruction // German

Admission requirements
► Completed studies in Social Work, Social Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education or Special Needs Education (final grade of at least "good" 2.5).
► A course on self and external experience with a minimum of 4 ECTS credits. This achievement can be made up for in the self and external experience as part of the apprenticeship in the BA "Social Work" at the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at Hochschule Niederrhein.

State recognition
► State recognition as a social worker is usually obtained through the degree of a Bachelor's degree programme in Social Work. In the event that state recognition has not yet been obtained, this cannot be obtained by successfully completing the Master's degree programme.

Central Student AdviceCentre (ZSB)
The Central Student Advice Centre is the general advice centre and source of information for prospective students at The Hochschule Niederrhein. Here you will receive personal advice on deciding which degree programme might be right for you, as well as on organisational questions regarding admission requirements, the application process or similar issues

Link
► Central Student Advice Centre (ZSB)

Personal counselling from the ZSB in Mönchengladbach
Richard-Wagner-Str. 97
41065 Mönchengladbach
Room ZE 39
Phone: +49 (0)2161 186-2712
studienberatung@hs-niederrhein.de

Appointments for a personal consultation in Mönchengladbach
Mon 9 - 12 and 13 - 18
Thu 9 - 12 and 13 - 15
and by appointment

Application deadline
1 May to 15 July each year

Proof of degree
Applicants who do not have their first professional qualification by the application deadline can take part in the selection procedure with a provisional certificate (grade report) instead of the degree certificate. The provisional certificate (grade report) authorises participation in the selection procedure if it certifies that no more than 30 ECTS points are missing for the degree. The average grade relevant for the selection procedure must be determined from the examination results achieved to date and stated in the preliminary certificate (grade report). All documents must be uploaded by 15 July.

Application
The application for a study place is made via the university's central student service.

Link
► Central Student Service

Commencement of studies
As a rule: end of September of each year

► Examination regulations
► Module manual
► Practical handbook

► Central Student Advice Centre (ZSB)
Central Student Services (application, registration, etc.)