A degree programme for digital education professionals
05/19/2026Digital technology is playing an increasingly important role in education and experts are in demand. A new degree programme at the University of Würzburg prepares them for this in the best possible way.
Identifying plants using a smartphone, illustrating scientific relationships using digital simulations, planning experiments in dialogue with AI agents or creating worksheets with AI: There are no limits to the use of digital technology in education. And current developments in the field of artificial intelligence clearly show that this trend is far from over.
However, for the digital transformation in education to succeed, experts with very specialised skills are needed: they should combine technological expertise, didactic knowledge and teaching practice. A new degree programme at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) provides the necessary foundations. It combines technological content with didactic approaches and thus creates a sought-after qualification profile.
A programme for teacher training and Bachelor students
"Emerging Educational Technologies for Science Technology Engineering Mathematics STEM", or EET4STEM for short, is the name of the new degree programme. STEM corresponds to what is known in Germany as MINT - mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology.
It is aimed at students studying to become teachers of STEM subjects as well as students of computer science or computer science-related programmes who develop educational technologies in interdisciplinary teams. This dovetailing opens up new perspectives for both sides: teacher training students gain an insight into software development processes and modern AI-supported learning environments, while computer science students develop a deeper understanding of didactics and can position themselves in a dynamically growing digital education market through this independent profile development.
Additional studies and Master's programme
EET4STEM is available in two versions: The additional study programme can be started in parallel to the regular teacher training course or computer science-related Bachelor's degree course as early as the fourth semester. The Master's degree programme can be studied consecutively after a suitable Bachelor's degree or building on the additional degree programme.
"Until now, there have been no conclusive concepts in which the interdisciplinary skills of students with an affinity for computer science and those in the teaching profession are promoted in a targeted and project-oriented manner," says Professor Thomas Trefzger, Head of the MIND Centre at JMU (which created the degree programme as a collaboration between the subject didactics departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and physics) and spokesperson for the new degree programme. EET4STEM closes this gap by creating an interdisciplinary study programme structure that promotes the most capable students across disciplines.
Applications are now open; the application deadline for the additional or Master's degree programme for the winter semester 2026/27 is 15 July 2026.
The programme is aimed at particularly talented and high-performing students studying to become secondary school teachers with at least one STEM subject as well as students who have successfully completed a Bachelor's degree in computer science and computer science-related courses.
Further information can be found here
Bavarian Elite Graduate Programme
The Master's degree programme is a special offer from the Free State of Bavaria: an elite degree programme under the umbrella of the Elite Network of Bavaria. Elite study programmes are characterised by a number of features: Excellence of the academics involved, innovative subject areas, high academic standards as well as outstanding individual support, modern forms of teaching and learning and wide-ranging additional programmes. This should make the programme highly attractive for particularly talented students.
As a member of the Elite Graduate Network, students on Elite Graduate Programmes receive not only an outstanding academic education but also extensive non-material support: from soft skills seminars and various network events to events at the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing or as part of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference, for example.
