“Both subjects are highly relevant in today’s society”
In 1998 the University management merged the departments of Psychology and Sport and Exercise Sciences into a single faculty. It was not a love match, as subject advisor for psychology Dr Christel Dirksmeier and Dean of Studies and motion scientist Professor Heiko Wagner recall. Despite slight differences in teaching styles, both point out in the following interview how much their self-image has in common.
You both coordinate the teaching activities in your respective subjects independently from one another. But what do you share in common?
Heiko Wagner: Of course, there is. Both subjects are research-oriented with projects that have a practical application and social relevance. We train young people so they can later help others in various areas and phases of their lives.
Christel Dirksmeier: But we do take different approaches. Most degree programmes in psychology adhere to a stringently structured curriculum in order to comply with professional legal requirements. For the bachelor’s and master’s degree programme in psychology with specialisation in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, the course content is prescribed by the Approbation Regulations for Psychotherapists. Due to their varying structures, one cannot take the same approach to study and teaching in both subjects.
Heiko Wagner: We have more freedom – at least with regard to our non-teaching degree programmes. In the bachelor’s and especially our master’s programme, we strongly emphasise teaching relevant methods and sport science expertise. It’s about exploring the subject matter in depth. Because we aren’t subject to approbation regulations, we have more leeway when it comes to teaching. Generally speaking, the main difference between psychology and sport/exercise sciences lies in their “core business”.
What do you mean by that?
Heiko Wagner: Teaching degree programmes comprise the majority of study courses in the field of sport and exercise sciences. In other words, we train the teachers of tomorrow. The BSc and MSc programmes are also popular, but space is limited to 30 and 20 students per programme, respectively.
Christel Dirksmeier: Most of our courses are offered as part of the bachelor’s programme and master’s programmes. The psychology department also participates in teaching degree programmes as part of Educational Studies. Since the winter semester 2023/24, our colleagues from the Institute for Psychology in Education and Instruction (IPBE) and the Institute of Education have been jointly responsible for two focal areas of special and inclusive education. In terms of content, there is really a big difference when preparing students to teach at schools, pursue research, take up a therapeutic occupation or work in another psychology-related area of application.
Where do you see the most significant differences, and who exactly do your programmes appeal to?
Heiko Wagner: Young people who want to study to become sport teachers have to be generalists. They have to learn a wide range of subject matter in the areas of didactics, history and sport sociology. They immerse themselves in biomechanics, physics, statistics, training science, and they acquire expertise in biology and sport medicine. In short, it’s about obtaining in-depth, specialist knowledge in many different areas.
Christel Dirksmeier: In the bachelor’s programme, in particular, students often come with wrong expectations about the kind of academic training that awaits them. Many students arrive hoping to apply psychological methods in their studies at an early stage. But before you can do that, you first need a broad basis of knowledge. The focus of the first four semesters is on training students in methodology – with respect to both statistics and diagnostics. Then comes the basics of psychology – general and biological psychology, as well as develop-mental, social and personality psychology. This broad scope is quite challenging.
What kind of qualities and interests should psychology students bring with them to university?
Cristel Dirksmeier: We are looking for young people who are interested in academically exploring human experience and behaviour, and the psychological methods, content and questions that always involve human beings. For example: how does human thinking, learning and language acquisition work? And they should want to critically examine and discuss the literature, theories and methods. An excellent school-leaving certificate is no guarantee that one will meet these prerequisites.
But it’s almost impossible to gain admission to a psychology programme without a perfect GPA in one’s school-leaving examination ...
Christel Dirksmeier: That’s true for the University of Münster. Almost every single student in our bachelor’s degree programme got a 1.0 in the Abitur – the grade point average required to gain admission to the programme. We are noticing, however, that students are increasingly feeling overwhelmed and mentally exhausted. This is due to the fact that there is a lot of pressure to succeed in the bachelor’s programme, because one must have an excellent final grade to gain admission to the master’s programme.
Are you seeing something similar in sports?
Heiko Wagner: The situation is indeed similar in our Bachelor and Master of Science programmes. For those enrolled in teaching degree programmes, a different skill set is required. To work as a sports teacher, it’s important to cover a variety of aspects – a high degree of professional competence in different areas, and, of course, special athletic abilities. It’s also challenging to maintain an overview of all the interests and needs of 30 energetic children in gym class at one time.
Christel Dirksmeier: Diversity is another topic I often think about. Over 80 percent of the students enrolled in almost all degree programmes in the winter semester 2025/26 were women. It’s a bit concerning when almost every psychologist and therapist is female. For professional practice, it would be important to have a greater number of male graduates.
Do you know where your graduates end up working?
Christel Dirksmeier: The majority of them do something related to therapeutics. But there are many other options, for example, working at large companies in the area of personnel selection and HR development, or in counselling positions. Others go on to earn a doctorate or find employment in organisations involved with data science, for example. One graduate is the sports manager of our hometown football club Preussen Münster, Ole Kittner.
Heiko Wagner: Most of our graduates end up teaching at schools. Others stay at the University and get their doctorate. I know of graduates who find jobs at companies that analyse movement profiles on the football pitch. The data helps the clubs improve player performance.
Christel Dirksmeier: Many organisations in Münster and the surrounding areas benefit from our graduates’ skills – be it at schools, clubs or businesses.
Text: Hanna Dieckmann