The English/American studies segment of the dual-subject bachelor's degree programme conveys various professionally relevant skills that are not only significant for the vocational goal of teaching, but which are also in high demand in other professional fields.
Students acquire not only general knowledge but also in-depth academic knowledge in the fields of literature, media, culture, (language) history, and communication in an Anglophone context, based on individual examples. This specialised knowledge forms a solid basis for intellectually demanding tasks in one’s professional life.
Through the consistent use of English as the language of instruction during their studies and a possible stay abroad, students deepen their English language skills.
The acquired language skills, together with knowledge of specific English-speaking regions or countries (and any other necessary qualifications), provide students with more employment opportunities not only in German but also international institutions and companies.
Through thematic seminars and a stay abroad, students learn the ability to assess and identify foreign cultural issues and to deal sensitively with people from other cultures.
This intercultural competence is of great value in an increasingly globalized world, where one may be working in diverse teams or in international fields of activity.
Group presentations and the creation and evaluation of texts promote critical reflection on one's own work and the work of other students. Working in changing student groups strengthens the ability to deal with different personalities and to represent, justify, and evaluate one's own points of view. In this way, students acquire skills that are necessary for project work and teamwork in general in one’s professional life.
When preparing term papers, presentations, and the bachelor's thesis, students learn how to obtain information on various topics in a targeted and efficient manner.
In a working world with an abundance of information options, this competence is highly relevant for both autonomous and collaborative tasks, in order to prepare well-considered and reflected decisions. In addition, this quality enables students to acquire further knowledge on their own, at a scientific level, at any time - whether in their own field or in another subject area.
Students can use their methodological skills (analysing texts, understanding meta-levels, and comprehending statements in their respective context) to assess, determine, and evaluate various means of communication and facts and circumstances in a differentiated manner. Together with their acquired research skills, students are also well-equipped with the important ability to create proposals for making well-founded decisions and deriving consequences and/or results in a professional context.
Presentations, term papers, and other types of written texts, including the bachelor's thesis, train students to express themselves in the English language in an appropriate manner, both orally and in writing, and to compile and present information.
These are particularly important qualifications for positions in journalism, public relations, and press work, as well as for the museum sector (e.g. for the creation of catalogue texts) and the editing sector.
During the bachelor’s degree programme, students learn to manage their own working time, independently, for the preparation and follow-up of courses, assignments,b and examinations. By organising joint presentations and group work in seminars, students also practise how to organise team processes efficiently.
Working independently and coordinating team projects efficiently are highly valued attributes in all fields but particularly for introductory level management positions and other fields in which a high degree of autonomy is expected.
Frequent group work during the course of studies requires students to cooperate with one another. The stay abroad particularly strengthens the ability to approach strangers and to form new teams and friendships.
In professional fields where good relationships, trust, and networks are particularly important, this quality is invaluable, for example in journalism or corporate communications, but also in politics as well as the cultural sector, in other words, wherever people need to be successfully won over and relationships with them need to be cultivated and maintained.