In line with the Department's philosophy, you will be allowed to write your thesis on a rich variety of topics within the general framework of education sciences. Our Professors will guide you in defining the most relevant questions referring to education and training in various contexts such as school, –from Kindergarten to High-school or University–, families, culture or workplace.

Depending on the topics you'll work on, your dissertation will have a stronger empirical focus or a more theoretical, fundamental accent. In any case however, you'll be asked to ground your work in a strong theoretical perspective, and to conduct a thorough literature review on the subject.

Doctoral students in education at the University of Fribourg are given the possibility to attend various doctoral programmes, offered by our Department in conjunction with partner Universities in Switzerland, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel or Zurich.

Before registering, you'll have to contact a Professor in the list below and discuss your intentions and interests with him or her. Although most of them do accept dissertations to be written in English, not all of them do so. In some cases, you might be asked to compose your thesis in French or in German, the two official languages of the University.

Professors who are eligible to supervise theses

• Prof. Jean-Louis Berger

Areas of specialisation:
– Self-regulated learning
– Motivation to learn and to teach
– Metacognition
– Vocational Education and Training
– Assessment

Dissertations will have to be written in French or in English.

• Prof. Pierre-François Coen

Areas of specialisation:
– Assessment, self-assessment
– Teacher training
– Educational technology
– Musical education/training

Dissertations will have to be written in French.

• Prof. Philippe Genoud

Areas of specialisation:
– Social relationships in school and in the classroom
– Emotional aspects of learning
– Classroom climate
– Educational measurement

Dissertations will have to be written in French.

• Prof. Claudia Leopold

Areas of specialisation:
– Educational psychology
– Self-regulated learning
– Multimedia learning with visual tools

Dissertations will have to be written in German or in English.

• Prof. Cathryn Magno

Areas of specialisation:
– Comparative and international education
– Education and governance
– Migration, human rights, and gender in education

Dissertations will have to be written in English.

• Prof. Veronika Magyar-Haas

Areas of specialisation:
– Qualitative-empirical research on education and inequality
– Social scientific research on body and emotions
– Well-being, participation, agency and vulnerability in childhood and youth
– Research on multilingualism in early childhood

Dissertations will have to be written in German or in English.

• Prof. Tania Ogay

Areas of specialisation:
– Family-school relationships
– Professional practices in intercultural contexts
– Intercultural training of professionals

Dissertations will have to be written in French, in English or possibly in German.