Lehramt an Gymnasien (L3) / Teaching Qualification for Grammar Schools (Teaching Degree)

What skills and interests should I have?

As a future teacher, you should have an interest in working with children and young people, as well as in the subjects you have chosen to study. Openness to others, stability and self-reflection are further desirable qualities for this profession. The breadth of subjects covered in teacher training programmes requires you to be flexible and to take an interest – depending on your choice of subjects – in issues, methods and ways of thinking relating to the natural sciences, languages, the humanities, social sciences and educational sciences.

What makes the programme special?

JLU offers teacher training programmes for all types of school. Teacher training is a key focus of JLU’s range of courses and programmes.

The course corresponds to the first part of teacher training and concludes with the First State Examination. This is followed by the second phase – the teaching traineeship (Referendariat) – which concludes with the Second State Examination. Only upon completion of this course will you be eligible to teach at grammar schools and able to apply for a teaching post.

During the course, students study several modules simultaneously:

As teachers not only impart specialist knowledge but also have an educational role, educational sciences deal with topics such as, for example, Areas of education (e.g. Family upbringing, education at school), theories of learning, the social environment of pupils, parents and teachers, the fundamentals of democracy.

The two teaching subjects consist of subject-specific knowledge and subject-specific teaching methodology for the chosen subjects. To do this, you must choose two subjects from the following list:

^{1) see language requirements
2) see aptitude test before the start of studies
3) Pre-courses are being offered
4) A video produced by the faculty about studying sport at JLU}

Studying music and art requires a greater workload than studying other A-level subjects. The workload is measured in credit points (LP); music and art each account for 120 LP, whilst all other grammar school subjects account for 90 LP. For this reason, the second subject combined with music or art is generally only studied at lower secondary level (60 LP). When choosing your second subject, please therefore refer to the range of subjects on offer for teacher training at Hauptschulen and Realschulen. Please bear in mind, however, that you will not then be able to teach this second subject at sixth-form level, and that the subject of ‘Arbeitslehre’ is not taught at grammar schools. If desired, the second subject can also be studied as a standard grammar school subject (90 LP), i.e. for upper secondary level as well. It must therefore be assumed that the degree programme cannot be completed within the standard duration of study.

Studying music as a teaching subject and studying art as a teaching subject are mutually exclusive, just as are the teaching subjects of Protestant and Catholic Religion.

Justus Liebig University offers teacher training courses that do not overlap within the same academic semester. The aim is to ensure that students on teacher training programmes can actually complete their degree within the standard period of study.

To make this possible, courses in subjects that have rarely been combined in the past must be offered at the same time. JLU therefore no longer supports the study of these few combinations, with the result that it will be virtually impossible to complete a degree within the standard period of study in these combinations. These are the following combinations:

If three or more subjects are combined in the teacher training programme for grammar schools, it must be expected that completing the degree within the standard period of study will appear out of the question, not only because of the significantly increased academic workload, but also because the guarantee of no overlap between modules, as stated above, no longer applies to such extended subject combinations.

The University has decided not to lock the above-mentioned subject combinations. However, choosing such a combination of subjects does not guarantee that you will complete your degree within the standard period of study. Anyone who chooses to study these subject combinations at their own risk will not be prevented from doing so.

The teaching placement component of the degree programme comprises a basic teaching placement and a placement semester at schools, combined with preparatory and debriefing sessions. You must also provide evidence of having completed a work placement by the time of the First State Examination. There is no longer an orientation placement scheduled before the start of the degree programme.

The Hessian Teacher Training Act allows teachers to obtain teaching qualifications for additional subjects at primary schools following the First State Examination (extension examination).

Upon completion of the Second State Examination for grammar school teaching, it is possible to obtain an additional teaching qualification for primary schools, for lower–secondary schools or for special educational needs through further study (supplementary examination).

The First State Examination for grammar schools opens the way to a subsequent doctorate.

Forecasts regarding future recruitment opportunities in the Hessian teaching profession for the various types of school can be found on the website of the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs.

JLU regularly organises information sessions for teacher training students who wish to study abroad during their degree. In addition, JLU has a wide range of partnership, cooperation and exchange agreements that offer you opportunities to study abroad. You can find further information on the International Office’s website.

The European University Alliance EUPeace offers exchange opportunities for teacher training students, e.g. a semester abroad or work placements abroad.

Information from previous information sessions for teacher training students, as well as testimonials.