In addition to the formal admission requirements, you should meet two criteria that are essential both for the Master of Education program and for your future career as a teacher:

• A passion for mathematics. Because only if you feel passionate about something, you can inspire that same passion in others!
• The willingness and desire to work closely with children, adolescents, and young adults of different age groups and to engage with their individual cognitive abilities and learning needs.

The entrance requirements for the master’s degree program in teacher education for Gymnasium include a teaching-related bachelor’s degree with a specialization in teacher education for Gymnasium in the same subjects from a university in Rhineland-Palatinate, or an equivalent degree.

Important information for all students who have not completed a Bachelor of Education (for teacher education for Gymnasium) in Rhineland-Palatinate.

If you have not yet received your bachelor’s degree certificate by the application deadline, but have earned at least 135 credits in your bachelor’s program, you must apply by the set deadline with a transcript (issued by your university) of all coursework and exams completed to date, including your average grade to date.

Applicants who have not obtained a university entrance qualification at a German-speaking institution or a degree in a German-speaking course must provide proof of sufficient German language skills. These must correspond to level DSH-2 of the “German Language Proficiency Examination for Admission to Higher Education for Foreign Applicants” and must be demonstrated by the end of the first semester after enrollment at JGU.

Good to know: The legally binding basis for selection, admission and enrollment is the text of the entrance requirements as specified in Section 2 of the currently valid examination regulations and, where applicable, in the appendix.

The examination regulations provide further details.

The Master of Education in Mathematics at JGU is divided into five sections:

1) Pure Mathematics

You can choose from different areas of mathematics, depending on your preference. This may include, for example, the following subfield:

• Analysis
• Algebra
• Algebraic curves and Riemann surfaces
• Computer algebra
• Function theory
• Topology
• Number theory
• Introduction to functional analysis
• Elementary differential geometry and manifolds
• Fundamentals of partial differential equations

2) Applied mathematics

Here, too, you can choose from several subfields, whereas you take a fundamentally different perspective on certain phenomena compared to the previous section. This is why some elective subfields overlap with those mentioned above (see section above, “Pure Mathematics”):

• Analysis
• Computer algebra
• Function theory
• Introduction to functional analysis
• Elementary differential geometry and manifolds
• Fundamentals of partial differential equations

This is complemented by certain other subfields, such as

• Numeric of ordinary differential equations
• Stochastics

3) Specialization

This section serves to consolidate your individual profile, which is why you are free to choose how you would like to structure the content of your specialization. Here, you can select courses that build on the topics covered in the two previous sections or cover a different subject area, provided that the content is related to the courses you have already selected.

The specialization generally consists of a lecture and a seminar.

4) The Development of Mathematics: Historical and Thematic Perspectives

In this course, you will engage deeply with the cultural history of mathematics and, above all, explore the origins of mathematical problems and thought processes. Exciting topics await you:

• The development of number systems
• The discovery and study of irrational numbers
• Construction problems using a compass and straight edge
• The three classical unsolved problems and ancient analysis
• The theory of conic sections in antiquity and the early modern period
• Geometric models in astronomy and cosmology
• The birth of algebra in the Islamic tradition and its introduction to Europe
• Geometric optics and extreme value problems
• The treatment of infinitesimal quantities at the time of the emergence of infinitesimal calculus

5) Subject didactics

In this section, you will learn about selected challenges in upper secondary (Sekundarstufe II) mathematics education through a lecture and a seminar.

Good to know: In addition to the five sections mentioned, there may be another one – your master’s thesis. This section is optional, as you are free to choose in which of your two subject areas you write your master’s thesis as part of the Master of Education degree program.

Internships

In the Master of Education program, you will complete a 15-day internship at a Gymnasium during the lecture-free period (March – April or August – October). The academic focus is on teaching in the upper level of the Gymnasium. This practical experience will complement your theoretical training, help you practice your pedagogical skills in the classroom, and give you direction for your future career.

Further information can be found on the website of the Teacher Education Center and on the pages of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate on school internships.

Students interested in completing additional voluntary internships – including those in other professional fields – can find more information on the Career Service website.

Stays abroad

Would you like to live abroad for a semester or a year? Do you want to learn another language and get to know a new culture? Or gain a different perspective on your particular subject? A stay abroad provides you with the perfect opportunity to achieve this and is possible with every degree program – either self-organized or by taking advantage of one of the popular exchange programs. This is made possible by various cooperation agreements and partnerships with foreign universities.

For more information on this topic, please visit our websites on studying abroad. Visit our student exchange platform for an overview of cooperating universities in your field.

This program of study does not require you to spend time abroad, but you nevertheless have the opportunity to do so.

The Master of Education is the prerequisite and preparation for working as a teacher at a Gymnasium in Germany.

In addition to teaching, you will have numerous career opportunities in extracurricular and adult education, but also in jobs where your mathematical skills play an important role. You can also pursue a career in many sectors of the economy, such as banking or insurance, as well as in research and development departments in numerous industrial sectors, especially in light of the increasing use of artificial intelligence.

In order to work as a teacher at a Gymnasium, you must complete a teacher traineeship (Referendariat) after earning the Master of Education degree. The first, university-based phase of your teacher education ends with the recognition of your B.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees as the First State Examination. The second phase, the teacher traineeship, generally lasts 18 months in Rhineland-Palatinate and concludes with the Second State Examination.

After completing your teaching degree, you are certainly not limited to a teaching position or to subject-specific lessons. You can also work in a variety of professional fields beyond teaching in public schools.