If you want to familiarise yourself with special education without making it your main discipline at bachelor level, this minor study programme will enable you to enrich, expand and diversify the knowledge acquired in your major study programme.
This programme consists of two parts: an introduction to the theoretical foundations of special education, with courses in general special education and differential special education; and an introduction to the theories of development, with courses introducing you to factors, mechanisms and conditions that influence individual typical and atypical development.
This programme does not lead to a professional diploma in special education and social pedagogy, which requires opting for studies in special education and social pedagogy as a single discipline. However, it may be of value later in your training, for example in order to join the master programme in special education.

60 ECTS credits as a minor study programme

Students who choose this study programme must enrol with the Department in the first three weeks of the first semester.

The following Swiss school-leaving certificates grant admission to bachelor programmes at the University of Fribourg:

• Swiss academic Maturity Certificate
• Federal vocational or specialised Baccalaureate + supplementary examination of the Swiss Maturity Commission (passerelle)
• Bachelor Degree from a Swiss university, from an accredited Swiss university of applied sciences (HES/FH) or from a Swiss university of teacher education (HEP/PH)

A complete list of all further recognised Swiss school-leaving certificates is to be found on the webpages of swissuniversities (in French and German only): https://studies.unifr.ch/go/fr-admission-swisscertificates; https://studies.unifr.ch/go/de-admission-swisscertificates
Foreign upper secondary school-leaving certificates are recognised only if they correspond substantially to the Swiss Maturity Certificate. They must qualify as general education. Foreign school-leaving certificates are considered to be general education if, among other things, the last three years of schooling include at least six general education subjects, independent from each other, in accordance with the following list:

1. First language
2. Second language
3. Mathematics
4. Natural sciences (biology or chemistry or physics)
5. Humanities and social sciences (geography or history or economics/law)
6. Elective (computer sciences or philosophy or an additional language or an additional subject from category 4 or 5)

The general admission requirements to the bachelor programmes at the University of Fribourg for holders of foreign school-leaving certificates as well as the admission requirements for individual countries are to be found on the webpages of swissuniversities: https://studies.unifr.ch/go/en-admission-countries
In addition, foreign candidates must present proof of sufficient language skills in French or German.
All guidelines are available at (only in French and German): https://studies.unifr.ch/go/adm-guidelines

The assessment of foreign school-leaving certificates is based on the «Recommendations for the Assessment of Foreign Upper Secondary School-Leaving Certificates» adopted by the Chamber of universities of swissuniversities on 11.11.2021 (https://studies.unifr.ch/go/swissuniversities21fr; https://studies.unifr.ch/go/swissuniversities21de). The admission requirements are valid for the respective academic year. The Rectorat of the University of Fribourg reserves the right to change these requirements at any time.