Faculties
Four Faculties and two cooperating universities work together for teacher education at the University of Cologne. They offer a wide range of degree programmes and conduct excellent research.
Studying to become a teacher at the University of Cologne is special because we do both: conduct interdisciplinary research while maintaining disciplinary strength. This is essential in lieu of the complexity of tasks in today’s world.
Faculty of Human Sciences
The Faculty of Human Sciences focuses on people in education, childhood, development, and social context(s). Within teacher education at the University of Cologne, it is responsible for the educational science element of the teacher education programmes (not including vocational college), special education as well as the social science and arts subjects for almost all types of schools.
A large number of research institutions and centres, including the Inclusive University School (IUS) as the university's own research school, guarantee innovative research in specific subject areas and research into schools and teaching. These cover issues relating to digitalization, inclusion, or teacher professionalisation, among others.
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is one of the largest institutions for the humanities within Europe. It offers a wide range of subjects and courses in all teacher education programmes. It is the largest teacher education Faculty at the University of Cologne. Its institutes and seminars provide prospective teachers with research-based specialized training and impart didactic skills.
Collaborative research and key profile areas, federally funded research and numerous research centres testify to the Faculty's research strength. For example, the Research Centre for Humanities Didactics (IFDG) at the Faculty strengthens teaching methodologies and their mutual interdisciplinarity, particularly related to teaching, skills and professionalization research.
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences is characterized by strong research and international cooperation in the life sciences, physics, materials research, and humans and the environment. Within teacher education, it supports student teachers in developing their professional competencies and didactic skills to inspire children and young people in STEM.
Research and training in this faculty is strengthened through close partnerships with the medical field, the Max Planck Institutes, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich. In 2025, the Excellence Initiative of the federal and state governments reinstated the Faculty's outstanding position by funding several Clusters of Excellence.
Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences
The faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences trains business professionals and leaders with a strong sense of social responsibility. It enjoys a reputation for high quality of research and teaching; this achievement is consistently reflected in their top university rankings.
The degree programme in business education (formerly Diplom-Handelslehrer*in) is part of a long tradition. This programme embodies the established connection between commercial colleges and teacher education. Subject-specific expertise covers commercial and administrative vocational education and the distinctive features of the vocational college. Teaching at this faculty is enriched by an internationally comparative research perspective on schools and businesses.