Gender and Diversity Skill Area

General Professional Skills Courses as Part of Bachelor’s Degree Programs at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin)

Who are the courses designed for?

• The module “Gender and Diversity: Core Social Categories in the 21st Century” is targeted at students who are interested in a professionally relevant, theoretically sound, interdisciplinary additional qualification.
• The module “Gender, Diversity, and Gender Mainstreaming” is aimed at students who have a basic background in Gender Studies and would like to acquire knowledge of organizational sociology and the practicalities of equal treatment for their future professions.
• The module “Diversity Management” is designed for students who seek to develop skills in conflict management and team development as well as communication and organizational skills for positions in an organization. Furthermore, this course is especially important for students who would like to work at internationally active companies or plan a professional stay abroad
• Module “Gender und Diversity: Projects and Cooperations“ (new since Winter Semester 2018/19)
• Module “Gender and Diversity in the International Context” (new since Winter Semester 2018/19)

How are the modules structured?

Each module consists of a project seminar and a two-day training workshop, which aims to sensitize participants to how they deal with ascribed social differences, aided by outside input, discussion, and group-based and interactive methods. Here, the students are given the opportunity to rethink their own perspectives and expand the scope of action in order to acquire new decision-making skills.This type of teaching simultaneously conveys theoretical knowledge, gives students initial realistic professional experiences, and encourages them to reflecting upon their own values, modes of behavior, and communication styles – a prerequisite for education in the professional skills required today.

Completion Requirements

In the General Professional Skills Courses for bachelor’s degree programs, students may earn 30 credit points alongside the 150 credit points earned from the modules offered in their field of specialization. You can find general information on this here.

If you successfully complete a module from the gender and diversity skill area, you may receive 5 credit points. The modules are not designed to be sequential, so you may attend them in any order. When you do so, you must participate in the scheduled classes and complete a written module exam (an essay or term paper, approx. 2400 words) of at least satisfactory quality.