Teaching mission statement

The University of Tübingen is committed to the tradition of research combined with teaching, regarding it as a hallmark of the modern university. The University of Tübingen’s aim is therefore to enable students to deal with academic findings in a well-founded and considered manner. Students are introduced to research, involved in research, and encouraged to conduct their own independent research during their studies. They are also encouraged to make their own contribution to a pluralistic democratic society. This applies in particular to the training of future teachers.

This means that our guidelines for solution-oriented research and social responsibility, Research – Relevance – Responsibility, also apply to teaching. With its tradition of bridge-building between disciplines and its emphasis on ethics as an integral part of academia, the University of Tübingen promotes a critical and reflective approach to knowledge as an essential aspect of its research-based teaching. Students are encouraged to take on new tasks in research and to reflect upon them in a research-based and problem-solving manner. The University of Tübingen also provides sufficient space for the development of interdisciplinary skills in addition to subject-specific qualifications. The University ensures that its students acquire knowledge and skills relevant to their careers and society and are able to hone their ability to assess and make judgments. With regard to the formal and content aspects of its degree programs, the University of Tübingen has established a comprehensive quality assurance system reinforcing the primacy of academic expertise while also promoting interdisciplinarity; the University continuously evolves its degree programs on this basis.

Alongside our focus on the threefold priorities of Research – Relevance – Responsibility, the University of Tübingen integrates responsiveness into its teaching and study programs. Responsiveness stands for the ability and willingness to be inspired and stimulated by the manifold options for increasing knowledge and to work with others to take responsibility for mapping out one's studies. Concepts such as service learning and social engagement, i.e., the combination of specialist knowledge and social engagement or application, are formats that integrate civil society in a specific way and are directed toward the common good. In the areas of diversity, sustainability, academic ethics, and economics, the University has taken up student initiatives and, in collaboration with students, has established them as teaching formats.

Productive irritation and a positive approach to challenges are important principles in teaching. They are closely linked to socialization in academia: curiosity, perseverance, tolerance of frustration and ambiguity are not only central features of the research process, they also apply to studies, as the advancement of knowledge and the growth of competence are not alway linear, but may proceed in leaps and bounds. Even experiences of failure are not negative per se; they may be an incentive and a driving force for knowledge. 
As a comprehensive research university, the University of Tübingen offers a full spectrum of teaching formats. All formats promote an open, trusting, and vibrant teaching and learning atmosphere, offer scope for creativity and experimentation, and encourage mutual appreciation while respecting academic freedom.

Our teaching of specialist content and skills, which takes into account the rapid development of knowledge and, against this background, actively promotes interdisciplinarity, is accompanied by interdisciplinary and career-oriented services. Along with the University's obligation to ensure a high level of academic education, helping to build students' characters in awareness of global contexts is one of our key objectives and a central cross-disciplinary task. The University of Tübingen therefore also gives its students the opportunity to take advantage of our wide range of courses in order to address their own academic interests; the value of this cannot necessarily be reduced to a measurable category.

As a traditional brick-and-mortar university, the University of Tübingen emphasizes the importance of direct communication and exchange between lecturers and students in the classroom. Yet the University also makes use of the possibilities offered by online teaching and learning formats and actively pursues their further development. The University expects its teaching staff to not only have the necessary expertise in their subject as well as the required didactic skills, but also to ensure that their teaching and support of students is based on the principles of gender and diversity equality. This includes intercultural competence and a basic sensitivity to the diversity of students in order to avoid unconscious discrimination as far as possible. Here, too, the principle of responsiveness is employed in the sense of a willingness to actively communicate and engage in dialogue. Teachers who observe the principle of responsiveness in everyday university life also serve as role models for students. The University supports its teachers in this role, as they serve as examples of how to combine professional and communication skills with commitment and a willingness to be involved. The quality of communication is also reflected in the way criticism is expressed and dealt with. Criticism should always be related to the matter at hand, should not violate the integrity of the person, and should be expressed in an appreciative manner so that it can be easily accepted as constructive criticism.

In order to meet these diverse requirements, the University offers its teaching staff opportunities for further training in pedagogy and didactics and actively encourages them to take advantage of this training.