Study and Train to Become a Psychotherapist

The subject-specific focus of the four-semester master’s program is in-depth academic knowledge, profound knowledge of research methods, specific disorders and psychotherapeutic therapies as well as applied psychotherapy work. The degree program implements the requirements for master’s programs set forth in the licensing regulations for psychotherapists (Approbationsordnung) so that you are well prepared for a job in psychotherapy. With the module on health psychology, health prevention and health intervention are added to the psychotherapy-focused curriculum. Students gain valuable knowledge for their future professional activity.

The program is highly practice-oriented. During your studies, you are already required to take part in psychotherapeutic treatments. This takes place in the modules that cover professional qualification activity II (berufsqualifizierende Tätigkeit II) – in-depth practice of psychotherapy, and professional qualification activity III (berufsqualifizierende Tätigkeit III) – applied practice of psychotherapy, in accordance with the Licensing Regulations for Psychotherapists.

Cooperations with psychotherapeutic institutions, whether in inpatient or outpatient care or a partial hospitalization program, ensure the quality of and the access to suitable internship positions.

With a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, you are entitled to submit a request for being admitted to the licensing exam (Zulassung zur Approbationsprüfung) as psychotherapist to the relevant state examination office (Landesprüfungsamt). However, your degree also qualifies you to work in diagnostics and intervention in institutions with a focus on counseling, rehabilitation, or prevention as well as in psychotherapy research and clinical neuropsychology.

The program structure offers you an overview on your program to help you plan. In the module catalog, you will find everything you need to know about the contents and examination forms of the individual courses and modules.

In accordance with Section 18 of the Licensing Regulations for Psychotherapists (PsychThApprO), you are required to complete extensive pre-professional placements in both inpatient or day-patient care and outpatient care during your master’s program. These placements take place as part of professional qualification activity III – applied practice of psychotherapy (berufsqualifizierende Tätigkeit III, BQT III). You can find detailed information on the BQT III page.

The specific rules for BQT III are set out in the regulations on professional qualification activity III – applied practice of psychotherapy (Ordnung über die berufsqualifizierende Tätigkeit III – angewandte Praxis der Psychotherapie; available in German only).

To give you as much flexibility as possible in your third and fourth semesters, the cohort is divided into groups for BQT III. While one group completes its inpatient or day-patient placement, the other completes its outpatient placement at the same time.

Please note that opportunities for studying abroad in the master’s program in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Mannheim are limited due to the comparatively tightly structured curriculum. As a result, if you wish to study abroad for one or two semesters, it will be unavoidable to extend the standard period of study. However, this does not mean that a stay abroad during your master’s program is impossible. It simply needs to be well planned so that you can complete the curriculum without extending your studies too much. Whether courses completed at the partner university can be recognized is assessed on a case-by-case basis. They must be compatible with the modules and the Licensing Regulations for Psychotherapists (PsychThApprO).

If you have any questions about studying abroad, please contact the program management team.

Bachelor’s degrees in psychology recognized under professional law

• Template: Confirmation of Degree (PDF, 112 kB)

This template is the current version issued by the Fakultätentag Psychologie (association of German psychology departments). To avoid any problems when your documents are reviewed, please use only this version for the 2026 application year!

Please note for your application:If your recognition under professional law is already stated on your Transcript of Records or degree certificate, you do not need to submit the template. In this case, upload your Transcript of Records or degree certificate in the application portal in the section for proof of recognition under professional law.

Bachelor’s degrees in psychology that are not recognized under professional law 

(e.g., non-reformed bachelor’s degrees in psychology from Germany, possibly with additional qualifications, or degrees from universities abroad)

If you are studying or have studied psychology at the bachelor’s level abroad, or in a non-reformed bachelor’s program in Germany, possibly with additional qualifications, your degree may be recognized as equivalent, as long as your studies meet the requirements of the PsychThApprO.
To help us check the equivalence of your degree, please submit all of the following forms together with your application. Please use only these versions, as they have been agreed with the state authority of Baden-Württemberg (Regional Council of Stuttgart):

• Template: Confirmation of Degree (PDF, 112 kB)
• Annex 1: Program Content (PDF, 230 kB)
• Annex 2: Confirmation of Orientation Internship (PDF, 175 kB)
• Annex 3: Confirmation of Professional Qualification Activity I (PDF, 213 kB)
• In addition, if you have already completed one or both internships at the time of application: a certificate or internship reference from the respective institution

Please note: All required documents must be complete and filled in correctly. If any information is incorrect, the Regional Council of Stuttgart must refuse admission to the licensing examination, and you cannot be granted a license to practice as a psychotherapist.

Bachelor’s degrees from non-university higher education institutions in Germany and abroad

If the institution where you are studying is not a state university, you must submit proof with your application that your institution has equivalent status to a university. The following are accepted as proof: 

• proof of institutional accreditation by the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat)
• a note of equivalence (issuing authority and date of the decision) on your Transcript of Records or degree certificate
• a confirmation of equivalence from your institution (issuing authority and date of the decision)
• a copy of the decision issued by the ministry of the respective federal state confirming that your institution is equivalent to a university

The following private universities with their main campus in Austria are verifiably (last accessed: December 15, 2025) equivalent to a university, so applicants from these institutions do not need to provide separate proof of equivalence:

• Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität (campuses in Vienna and Berlin)
• Karl Landsteiner Privatuniversität für Gesundheitswissenschaften GmbH
• UMIT TIROL – Private Universität für Gesundheitswissenschaften und -technologie GmbH

Applicants who are studying or have studied psychology at the bachelor’s level at one of these private universities therefore do not need to submit separate proof of equivalence with their application.

• Final grade or, if you have not yet graduated, the average grade of your bachelor’s program based on the examinations completed so far
• Result of the admission test
  • Taking the admission test for the master’s programs in psychology at the University of Mannheim is optional.
• Additional qualifications relevant to the program, including:
  • practical work experience gained through employment, jobs, or internships in health care, in an educational or pedagogical field, or in research and teaching in these or other areas of psychology
  • contributions to scientific conferences and publications

Selection Statues

You can find further details on the selection procedure and the legally binding requirements of the program in the selection statues.

The following information is aimed at students who have studied a non-professionally recognized Bachelor's degree in Psychology. This applies in particular to applicants from abroad, but also to students who have studied a non-reformed Bachelor's degree in Psychology in Germany, possibly with additional qualifications.

In order to be admitted to a Master's degree program in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, you must have completed certain knowledge and internship requirements of the licensing regulations for psychotherapists as part of modules of your regular degree program or in the form of additional qualifications during your Bachelor's degree program.

The relevant modules and internships must have been completed during the Bachelor's degree course, not after it has been completed. Accordingly, it is not possible to obtain admission despite missing (partial) achievements and then make up for them during the Master's degree program!

The following list gives you an overview of what you need to bring with you from your Bachelor's degree in order to fulfill the professional part of the admission requirements for the Master's degree in Psychology Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (see also PsychThApprO, §§ 12–15 and Annex 1).

• Fundamentals area:

Fundamentals of psychology for psychotherapists (min. 25 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) General psychology with consideration of cognitive processes in the areas of language, learning, memory, emotion and motivation
b) Differential psychology and personality psychology
c) Developmental psychology
d) Social psychology
e) Biological psychology
f) Cognitive-affective neuroscience

Fundamentals of pedagogy for psychotherapists (min. 4 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) upbringing and education
b) the significance of social and cultural factors for educational processes
c) pedagogical interventions and intervention settings
d) legal as well as family and socio-political regulations with effects on educational and psychological interventions

Fundamentals of medicine for psychotherapists (min. 4 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) anatomy
b) structure and function of the nervous system
c) selected clinical pictures, in particular internal, neurological, orthopaedic and paediatric clinical pictures
d) biological components of mental disorders and symptoms
e) Genetics and behavioral genetics
f) Basics of somatic differential diagnostics

Fundamentals of pharmacology for psychotherapists (at least 2 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) pharmacodynamics
b) Pharmacokinetics
c) Psychopharmaceuticals
d) Pharmaceuticals

• Specialization in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy:

Disorder Theory (min. 8 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
(a) general and specific pathology of mental and psychologically co-related disorders in childhood, adolescence and adulthood, including infancy, early childhood and older age
b) Epidemiology and comorbidity
c) clinical-psychological diagnosis and classification
d) Models of the development, maintenance and course of mental and psychologically related disorders in childhood, adolescence and adulthood, including infancy, early childhood and adulthood, taking into account the different disorder models of scientifically tested and recognized psychotherapeutic procedures and methods                                                                                                                     

General psychotherapy procedures (at least 8 ECTS)

The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) the scientifically tested and recognized psychotherapeutic procedures and methods
b) recognized characteristics for the evaluation of scientific evidence of scientifically tested and recognized psychotherapeutic procedures and methods as well as evidence-based new developments      

Preventive and rehabilitative concepts of psychotherap. Action (min. 2 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) characteristics and function of prevention and rehabilitation, taking into account the concerns of different age and patient groups
b) Prevention programs and rehabilitation approaches, taking into account the needs of different age and patient groups                            

Professional ethics and professional law (at least 2 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) ethics in research and practice
b) professional legal requirements of psychotherapeutic action
c) social law requirements for psychotherapeutic care                                                                                                                   

• Methods and diagnostics:

Scientific methodology (without Empra/Expra!) (min. 15 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
a) History of psychology and psychotherapy
b) Methods and scientific concepts for researching human behavior and experience including epidemiological research, methods for patient observation
c) descriptive and inferential statistics as well as statistical methods of evaluation research
d) planning and conducting scientific studies
e) Data collection and data analysis using digital technologies

Psychological diagnostics (min. 12 ECTS)
The following areas of knowledge must be covered:
(a) general diagnostic procedures and methods
b) diagnostic procedures and methods for behavioral observation, including procedures and methods for patient observation
c) indications and diagnostic processes in people of all ages and patient groups
d) characteristics of classification systems including their sources of error
e) psychometric principles of measurement as a prerequisite for test theories and test constructions
f) Psychological and psychopathological assessment taking into account differential diagnostic findings
g) Language and interaction in the diagnostic process as well as interviewing methods                                                                                                                    

• Practical work placements / internships:

Research-oriented internship I – basics of research according to §13 PsychThApprO (experimental psychology internship/ empirical internship, min. 6 ECTS)    
The following criteria must be met:
a) takes place in research facilities at the university or at research facilities that cooperate with the university
b) is carried out under qualified supervision and in small groups (max. 15 participants). The course is carried out in blocks or during the course of study.
c) students must also actively participate in exemplary scientific studies and contribute to their planning and implementation.  

Orientation internship according to § 14 PsychThApprO (min. 5 ECTS, min. 4 weeks/ min. 150 hours)
The following criteria must be met:
a) takes place in interdisciplinary healthcare facilities or
in other facilities in which counseling, prevention or rehabilitation for the maintenance, promotion and restoration of mental health are carried out. The support or guidance must be provided by one of the following groups of people Psychotherapists, psychological psychotherapists, child and adolescent psychotherapists, psychologists, medical specialists or psychotherapists in training (PiAs).

You can also find a checklist of the requirements for the orientation internship on the website of our internship office (currently being updated).                                                                                                                                       

Professionally qualifying activity I according to §15 PsychThApprO (min. 8 ECTS, min. 6 weeks and 2 days/min. 240 hours)
The following criteria must be met:
(a) BQT I may take place in the following institutions or areas, provided that psychotherapists*, psychological psychotherapists* or child and adolescent psychotherapists* work there:
1. in psychotherapeutic, psychiatric, psychosomatic or neuropsychological care facilities
2. in prevention or rehabilitation facilities that are comparable to the facilities mentioned in number 1
3. in facilities for people with disabilities
4. in other areas of institutional care

b) BQT I must have been carried out under qualified supervision

c) at least 60 ECTS credits must have been acquired before completing BQT I.

You can also find a checklist of the requirements for BQT I on the website of our Internship Office.    

Important information for prospective students from abroad: Psychotherapists, psychological psychotherapists or child and adolescent psychotherapists licensed in Germany must work in the institutions where internships have been completed that are to be recognized as equivalent to the BQT I!

In principle, it is still possible to transfer to a master’s program in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Germany with a bachelor’s degree in psychology obtained abroad. However, this has become considerably more difficult than before. To be admitted, the program you completed at the foreign university must cover the requirements and content of the Licensing Regulations for Psychotherapists (PsychThApprO). The decisive factor is the extent to which your academic achievements from your foreign bachelor’s program can be recognized as equivalent. This decision ultimately lies with the responsible health authorities, usually the state examination offices (Landesprüfungsämter). At present, the recognition of internships completed abroad may be particularly critical, especially the internship that is to be recognized as professional qualification activity I (berufsqualifizierende Tätigkeit I). This internship must not only have been completed during your studies, but also at a relevant institution where psychotherapists, psychological psychotherapists, or child and adolescent psychotherapists who obtained their license to practice in Germany are employed (see Section 15 PsychThApprO).

In the worst case, your academic achievements from your bachelor’s degree obtained abroad will not be recognized. You would then have to complete another bachelor’s program in Germany that has been restructured in line with the psychotherapy reform.

The admission test is an optional selection criterion used to further assess your subject-specific aptitude. To take the test, you need knowledge acquired in a bachelor’s program in psychology or an equivalent degree. The test is offered once a year and is valid for the application year in which you take it.

More Information

A maximum of 20 additional points can be awarded for additional qualifications relevant to the program. All achievements that meet the following criteria will be assessed:

Practical work experience

• Practical work experience gained through employment, jobs, or internships in health care, in an educational or pedagogical field, or in research and teaching in these or other areas of psychology will be taken into account.

Time component and scoring 

• A maximum of 10 points can be awarded for practical work experience. Activities are awarded the following points if they have been completed and documented to the following extent by the time of application:
  • At least 150 but fewer than 300 working hours: 2 points
  • At least 300 but fewer than 450 working hours: 4 points
  • At least 450 working hours (no upper limit): 6 points (6 points is therefore the maximum that can be awarded for a single activity)
• You can list a maximum of 5 practical activities in your application. The maximum of 10 points can only be reached by combining different activities. Possible combinations include, for example: 5 activities of at least 150 but fewer than 300 working hours each (= 5 × 2 points), or 1 activity of at least 300 but fewer than 450 working hours (= 4 points) plus 1 activity of at least 450 working hours (= 6 points). If you carried out different activities at the same institution over a longer period, they can only be counted as separate activities if you submit separate proof for each activity.

Required proof

• Certificates and other documents, such as the “Proof of extracurricular achievements (PDF)” provided by the Application and Admissions Office of the University of Mannheim, are accepted as proof. Employment contracts and other documents stating an intention to take up practical work are not accepted. 
• All proof must be submitted with your application.

Scientific conference contributions and publications

Scoring 

• A maximum of 20 points can be awarded for scientific conference contributions and publications. Contributions are awarded up to the following points if, by the time of application, they have at least been accepted for publication (not “under review,” not “revise and resubmit”) and fall into one of the following categories:
  • Contribution to a scientific psychology conference: up to 10 points. Internal university conferences and conferences held by university-owned research institutes are excluded.
  • Publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal: up to 20 points.

Required proof

• For contributions to a scientific psychology conference: excerpts from the conference proceedings (abstract book) and/or written confirmation of the contribution from the conference organizer. All other forms of proof are not sufficient, for example written confirmations from co-authors, listings in your CV, or mentions in employment or internship references or letters of recommendation.
• For publications already published in peer-reviewed scientific journals: a precise description and full citation of the publication. For publications accepted for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals: written confirmation from the journal’s editor that the publication will be published. All other forms of proof are not sufficient, for example written confirmations from co-authors, listings in your CV, or mentions in employment or internship references or letters of recommendation.
• All proof must be submitted with your application.

The application period for the current application year can be found here.

An application for the M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy is generally only possible for the respective fall/winter semester.

Please submit your application online to the University of Mannheim. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the Admissions Office.