Focusing on people: Studying psychology in Landau

Packing suitcases, booking flights, getting visas, looking for accommodation - Rasmus Möring has had his hands full over the last few weeks: The Master's student from Landau has been on an internship abroad at the University of Connecticut in the USA for a few days now. The 25-year-old has been dedicated to psychology since his school days.

"I was interested early on in why people behave differently in certain situations. I took a psychology course at school and read a lot about the subject online." After a voluntary social year in Israel, the young man from near Wuppertal moved to Landau to study. He particularly appreciated the good support he received here. "The lecturers always have an open ear if there are any questions," he says.

The Bachelor's degree course has a numerus clausus and only starts in the winter semester. Initially, the program covers basics such as general psychology. "It's about what is common to all people and how general mechanisms work," reports Möring. But the curriculum also includes biopsychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, statistics and experimental design. There are also subjects such as differential and personality psychology "Among other things, it's about where people differ," he adds. There are also subjects from applied disciplines such as clinical psychology and prevention, educational psychology, business psychology and communication and media psychology.

Möring completed his Bachelor's thesis in social psychology under Junior Professor Dr. Selma Rudert. To put it simply, he looked at why people exclude others and investigated how social group affiliations play into this.

Möring is now in his fourth master's semester. After his stay in the USA and before completing his Master's thesis, he hopes to receive an Erasmus scholarship from the European Union for a stay in Sweden. And then? Definitely a doctorate. "But I might do a Master's degree in security policy before that," he says. In general, the career prospects after graduation are very good. Psychologists not only work in therapy, but also in personnel development in companies, public authorities, the social sector or in counseling. (ML)

Source: This article was first published in a special supplement to the daily newspaper "DIE RHEINPFALZ" in May 2023.