About the course
The SW-Course is designed for future students of social sciences at universities of applied sciences. It provides social science and pedagogical foundations with a strong focus on practical applications and prepares you specifically for the application-oriented approach of universities of applied sciences.
In addition to the subject content, you'll also develop an understanding of social contexts and learn methods of empirical social research that will play an important role in your later studies at a university of applied sciences.
Course structure
- Introductory Phase (1st Semester) – Social sciences fundamentals and research methods
- Main Phase (2nd Semester) – Deepening knowledge and specific preparation for the assessment test
The SW-Course subjects in detail
The SW-Course provides the social science foundations for study at a university of applied sciences. Sociology covers social theory, social systems and empirical research; psychology introduces the fundamentals plus developmental and social psychology; education studies add educational theory and teaching methods.
German and English are geared towards academic work: reading specialist texts, presenting results in writing, using terminology confidently and working with international literature. That is exactly the way you will work in seminar papers and placement reports later on.
What a typical week looks like
The SW-Course is full-time study in a fixed class group with a fixed timetable, offered by Studienkollegs that prepare students for universities of applied sciences. Lessons combine theory with case examples: reading texts, interpreting studies and statistics, discussing, and justifying your own position.
Attendance is normally monitored and you write tests throughout the semester. Beyond subject knowledge, what counts most is presenting complex relationships clearly and in structured German — which is why writing regularly from the start pays off.
What the Feststellungsprüfung tests in the SW-Course
The two semesters end with the Feststellungsprüfung (FSP). It covers German plus the core subjects of your course — in the SW-Course usually social science subjects such as sociology, psychology or education. Each Studienkolleg decides which subjects are examined and whether an oral exam is added.
The certificate entitles you to study in the social sciences field group at universities of applied sciences. Whether you can later move to a research university, and under what conditions, is regulated differently by each federal state and institution — clarify this in advance if a university degree is your aim.
Which degree programmes the SW-Course opens up
The SW-Course leads to social work, social pedagogy, educational science, health and care management, rehabilitation sciences, special needs education and social management. These programmes usually include practical phases in social institutions and work closely with real cases.
The SW-Course is offered by only a handful of Studienkollegs. Check our overview to see which institutions currently run it; if no suitable location is available, the G-Course or the W-Course may fit your goal instead, leading into the humanities/social or the economics field group.