Childhood research is no longer a monodisciplinary field of research. In Leipzig alone, psychologists, educationists, biologists, philosophers, doctors and paleaoanthropologists work on questions related to early childhood development, and they often work together to do so. That is why it is highly important to offer future academics in the area of early childhood development an interdisciplinary education. The Early Childhood Research MSC targets precisely this need and offers a challenging degree programme suited to this purpose.
Please note: This master’s program is not going to be continued and applications are no longer accepted. Instead, you can apply for the Master's program Child Development &
Intervention that will start in winter semester 2024/2025. More information can be found here.
Programme Overview
The highly research-oriented two-year programme is offered entirely in English and offers a unique curriculum. The course is divided into theory, application, method and skills modules as well as the master’s thesis (including defence). Subjects covered include:
- Cognitive and social development
- Psychopathological development
- Cultural variability of early childhood development
- Species comparison and phylogeny
- Ontogeny of psychological mechanisms
- Psychopathological developmental processes
- Cognitive neuroscience
The programme imparts research-relevant soft skills such as project management, time planning, university didactics and science communication. The Early Childhood Research MSc programme aims to enable highly qualified students to enter research, consulting, coordination or continuing education in the interdisciplinary field of early childhood development.
The programme entails a student workload of 120 ECTS credits, of which 25 credits are for the master’s thesis. The course is divided into theory, application, method and skills modules as well as the master’s thesis (including defence). A mandatory internship is included in the master’s programme.
Childhood research is no longer a monodisciplinary field of research. The Early Childhood Research MSC programme therefore has a strong interdisciplinary focus. Teaching content is provided by lecturers from the areas of education, psychology, philosophy and medicine as well as from researchers from the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology and Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.
- Strong research focus
- English-language degree programme
- Many international students
- Small cohorts
- Intensive exchange between instructors and students
- Broad spectrum of topics
- Interdisciplinary approaches
- The programme includes a mandatory internship in an academic institution
- Soft skills relevant to research are taught such as project management, time, management, university-level didactics, etc.
The Early Childhood Research MSc programme aims to enable highly qualified graduates to enter research, consulting, coordination or continuing education in the interdisciplinary field of early childhood development. The following professional fields are examples of where graduates could work:
- Research coordination
- Education and continuing education in statistics and methodology
- Consulting for social and political institutions at the local, national or international level
Upon successful completion of this research-heavy master’s degree, you will be able to start doctoral studies at research institutions in the area of early childhood development.