MSc Psychology (majoring in clinical psychology)

What characterizes the study of psychology at SFU in general?

All courses of study at the Faculty of Psychology are based on the same principles, objectives and values: The basic training (Bachelor's and Master's courses) is practical and takes place as close as possible to the existing practice and care facilities. All courses with a practice character are carried out in small groups. The individual support of the students by professors and assistants, which is geared towards personal support, is guaranteed by the open-door policy at the Faculty of Psychology. This also enables particularly intensive support with regard to empirical exams and theses, which paves the way for very individual research topics and further scientific development.

Studying psychology prepares you for a wide variety of career opportunities. This wide range of career prospects corresponds to a wide range of research-supported and research-led teaching, especially in the basic studies. In order to promote the willingness for interdisciplinarity right from the start, more attention is paid to including relevant topics from adjacent scientific and practical disciplines in the lessons or to being able to choose different focal points. Compared to the primarily scientifically oriented courses offered at the state Austrian and German universities and colleges, the curricula of the psychology courses at the Faculty of Psychology are much more oriented towards the reception of social, cultural and humanities approaches and therefore also include more progressive approaches in the economically oriented offers.

How is the master's degree at the Psychology Department of the SFU structured?

The main concern of the teaching in the framework of the master's programs is to support the students in developing their own professional identity, which suits them best and which is always formed together in a mutually resonating manner in the individual context. For this purpose, not only are empirical key qualifications and practice-relevant skills imparted within the framework of integrated theory units and application exercises, but personal development is also promoted by means of a uniquely close-meshed support by teachers from science and practice. This creates the ability to take a critical stance in scientific discourse and competent participation in professional life in holistic and integrative approaches to the development of individually suitable and sustainable application solutions.

You can either choose to specialize in clinical psychology (German programme) with a focus on psychotherapeutic and psychosocial intervention (double enrollment possible). Or the decision falls on International Business and Economic Psychology (German-English study program in cooperation with Vienna). If in doubt, it is advisable to combine both courses in order to complete a double degree as part of the interlinked course. In addition to the options in the clinical master's degree, there is also the special feature of being able to prepare for the master's thesis on a very individual topic and to develop it scientifically within the framework of cultural psychological research projects relating to clinical-psychological practice, through very individual support from the professors . On the other hand, in the business psychology master's program, intensive project work with high practical relevance is carried out in order to put the theoretical content through its paces in more depth. Both courses also have in common that a semester is scheduled for a job-related internship, which is also supported by the university side in parallel with the practice in order to achieve the best possible effects. Finally, there is the possibility, if desired, to spend a semester at another SFU branch (Milan, Ljubljana, Paris & Vienna). The payment model with the "flat rate" is particularly suitable for this.

Students who started their basic psychology studies (Bachelor level) before the winter semester 2020/2021 can start psychotherapy training in Germany after completing their Master’s degree with a clinical focus. The change in the law in 2020 gives you the opportunity to complete your license under the old law by 2032.

degree program folder

A module overview and a potential study plan can be found in the brochure for the study program.

accreditation

The Master's degree in Psychology was accredited by the Austrian Accreditation Council in 2009.

history

AQ AustriaThe Sigmund Freud Private University (SFU) is a private university accredited under Austrian law since 2005 with branches in Vienna, Linz, Paris, Berlin, Milano and Ljubljana.

The founding idea of the SFU: The establishment of psychotherapy science

The founding fathers and mothers, Univ.-Prof. dr Alfred Pritz, Univ.-Prof. dr Jutta Fiegl, Heinz Laubreuter and Dr. Elisabeth Vykoukal decided to found the Sigmund Freud Private University in 2003 with the ambition to transform psychotherapy into a psychotherapy science, to put it structurally on a scientific basis, following Sigmund Freud's 1926 fantasy in "On the Question of Lay Analysis" - one day it will be the Psychoanalysis can be taught as a subject in its own right. The Faculty of Psychology was founded in 2007 under Dean Univ.-Prof. dr Mag. Gerhard Benetka, in 2015 the Faculty of Medicine and in 2016 the Faculty of Law at the SFU Vienna.

European orientation

Driven by the ideas of the founding fathers, it became clear that the SFU vision required a European orientation, which led to the founding of branches at the locations mentioned. Ass.-Prof. dr Katharina Reboly, formerly a student from the very beginning at the SFU Vienna, has been committed to the SFU branch in Berlin since 2008 with the aim of establishing and expanding the European humanities-focused university in Germany.

The SFU Berlin at the Tempelhof campus

With accreditation in 2013, the SFU Berlin began teaching and researching the bachelor’s degree in psychology at the location of the historic airport in Berlin-Tempelhof. Psychotherapy science and the university course in art therapy followed in 2015, the MA university course in cultural relations and migration in 2016 and the establishment of the Institute for Media and Digital Journalism in the Department of Psychology in 2017.

In the teaching and research of the branches of study, university courses and further and further education offers, the SFU Berlin has committed itself to imparting a wide range of theoretical and practical scientific approaches in order to create a breeding ground for scientific and practical professional debates. In this way, the different methods and theories are taught based equally on empirical and hermeneutical principles as well as practical skills; For example, in the study of psychotherapy science, the various scientifically recognized psychotherapeutic methods are taught. The breadth is conveyed within the framework of the bachelor's degree programs, and within the framework of the master's programs, focal points can be marked. All courses are based on the three-pillar model: theory, practice and personal development.

Professional identity, scientific discourse and personal maturity

The main concern of our students and teaching, based on the entire range of courses, is the development of an individual professional identity, the establishment of young people to a critical attitude in scientific discourse and personal maturity. Therefore, no numerus clausus counts as an admission criterion, but personal suitability for the respective field of study. The chances of our still young university are an innovative education, student-centered teaching, the search for and occupation of promising research niches and to be a spiritual home for students hungry for experience, in which they can grow.

Mission statement

Bachelor, Master, PhD, extra-occupational courses: study with pleasure in Berlin!

The study programs of the Sigmund Freud Private University (SFU) are structurally adapted to the demand for studying in Berlin and are managed in the Bachelor-Master-Doctorate / PhD system. In addition to the academic education, career orientation plays an important role in the bachelor's degree and is further deepened in the master's degree. In addition to psychology and psychotherapy science (often referred to as "studying psychotherapy" in everyday language), the degree in media and digital journalism complements the portfolio of the SFU as a focus university in the lively media location of Berlin.

Benefit from the international network of the SFU

The SFU Berlin was founded and accredited in 2013 as a branch of the SFU Vienna. As the largest private university in Austria, the SFU offers its students the opportunity to complete parts of their studies there, at their place of birth and work, or at one of the other branches in France, Italy and Slovenia. This combines a change of professional perspective and international experience with all the advantages of being able to study continuously at the same university.

The mission of the Sigmund Freud Private University: We not only create careers, we promote personalities

• The mission of the SFU is guided by four basic motives:
• Cultivating the intellectual legacy of Sigmund Freud
• The cultivation of humanistic values in an increasingly utilitarian social and academic environment
• The emphasis on personality as the foundation (rather than a sideline) of education
• The solidarity and responsibility towards the university city of Berlin and its citizens

With the study of psychotherapy science, the SFU has realized Sigmund Freud's vision of establishing psychotherapy as an academic subject for the first time worldwide. A strongly humanistically oriented degree in psychology completes the offer in this regard. The humanistic approach can already be seen in the admissions process and stretches from the structure of the curricula to the didactic concepts of the individual fields of study. The university's own outpatient clinic not only serves the practical training of the students, but also makes a contribution to the public welfare-oriented provision of psychotherapeutic and psychological services in Berlin. Particular attention is paid to the needs and opportunities of people with a migration background.

accreditation

AQ AustriaThe Sigmund Freud Private University is a private university accredited under Austrian law. It offers courses in Vienna as well as at the locations in Linz, Berlin, Ljubljana, Milan and Paris. The academic degrees that are awarded in the individual courses are Austrian degrees that are recognized in the European higher education area.