Uni-Tübingen

Transdisciplinary Competences

Are you studying at the University of Tübingen? Do you want to develop yourself personally, enhance your study profile and be well-prepared for the future demands of the labor market? Then you have come to the right place. Here, you will find a wide range of offers designed to help you gain transdisciplinary competencies.

On Bachelor’s degree programs at the University of Tübingen, the acquisition of transdisciplinary competencies (also known as key qualifications) is even embedded in the curriculum, i.e., it is required by the exam regulations and thus mandatory to a certain extent:

For Master’s students, this is the exception; please consult your exam regulations. Nevertheless, we recommend our TCP Master’s courses to enhance your personal profile.
Our offers are also suitable for doctoral and postdoctoral students, particularly those who wish to pursue a career outside the university.

Transdisciplinary competencies can be acquired at the University of Tübingen by completing:

In addition, our Career Service helps students to manage the transition from studies to work successfully and to acquire the necessary transdisciplinary competencies. Here, the focus is on career orientation, networking, application procedures and job research.

What are transdisciplinary competencies?

Transdisciplinary competencies are knowledge, skills and abilities, which are not restricted to individual disciplines. However, they help to cope successfully with the many demands that arise throughout life, in different roles and complex situations.
The facilitation of transdisciplinary competencies arises from a comprehensive concept of education, which aims at both situation-related qualification requirements and the support of personal development and career orientation.

The transdisciplinary fields of competence include:

1. Orientation abilities and knowledge transfer

General education, developing skills in transdisciplinary thinking in (global) contexts and the ability to reflect on acquired knowledge as well as to deal with complex cultural, technical and social changes, developments and new problems. Successful interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cooperation both in studies and in professional practice call not only for disciplinary knowledge, but also abilities in strategic orientation and in the transfer of knowledge.

2. Cognitive, communicative and social competencies

In addition to contextual, logical, abstract and strategic thinking, both the ability to acquire and evaluate well-founded information and (creative) problem-solving skills are crucial for an individual to be open to and capable of lifelong learning. Along with skills in self-awareness and leadership, the ability to express oneself in speech and writing, presentation techniques, capacities for conflict-solving and teamwork, a willingness to innovate as well as planning and project management competencies are important soft skills that improve employability – in the sense of the ability to act flexibly and appropriately in dynamically-changing situations.

3. Personal development and individual skills

In the framework of a comprehensive educational concept, central transdisciplinary competencies include self-determination, self-reflection and self-assessment, critical thinking, aesthetic experience and precise perception, flexibility and adaptability, creativity, social and empathetic behavior including critical reflection, respect for differences of opinion and tolerance of ambiguity, conscientiousness, and sound moral, professional and scientific ethical judgment.

For more information, please consider the statute (German Version only) of the Transdisciplinary Course Program and Career Service, Official Announcements (47, No. 6, March 18, 2021).