Redefining Psychological Education through Psychoanalysis, Research, and Global Dialogue
Thank you for connecting with us at NAFSA 2025. At the IPU Berlin we are proud to offer a distinctive, research-driven academic experience rooted in psychoanalytic thought and guided by a global, interdisciplinary perspective.
International Psychoanalytic University Berlin
Welcome to the IPU Berlin
CHE Ranking 2025
Best Berlin university for a psychology degree.
German Science Council
Institutionally accredited and successfully reaccredited in April 2025.
Psychoanalytic perspective
Since accreditation officially the only German psychoanalytic university.
State-recognized university
in the heart of Berlin.
Why the IPU Berlin?
Located in Germany’s dynamic capital, the IPU Berlin is a state-recognized private university that brings together academic excellence, innovative research, and a strong commitment to international cooperation.
- Accredited & Recognized Degrees
- Personalized, Research-Based Education
- Early Clinical and Practical Experience
- Global Network of Academic Partners and Collaborations
What Sets Us Apart
At the IPU Berlin, we teach psychoanalysis as a modern science — one that views humans not only through a biological lens, but also as cultural and historical beings shaped by the unconscious. Our mission is to restore depth and context to psychological education.
We foster:
- Transdisciplinary Dialogue
- Integration of Theory, Practice & Research
- Self-Reflective and Critical Learning Environments
- International and Intercultural Collaboration
Institutional Highlights
- In January this year, the IPU Berlin was granted the independent right to award doctorates – a major milestone that underscores our growing research strength and academic standing.
- In May's CHE Rankings, the IPU Berlin earned top marks from undergraduate students in psychology, outperforming national averages in nearly every category and affirming our commitment to academic quality and student support.
- Global Thought Leadership: Renowned scholars continue to shape our academic life, including Jessica Benjamin, who presented a keynote event on Recognition, Witnessing, and Memory, engaging audiences in deep psychoanalytic and socio-political reflection.
- The Horst Kächele Visiting Professorship welcomed Mark Solms, Heidi Levitt, and Christopher Muran, who taught at the IPU and led a series of high-profile webinars and lectures on the latest global developments in psychotherapy research.
These recent achievements reflect the IPU Berlin’s role as a dynamic center for progressive, interdisciplinary, and internationally engaged psychological education.
Our Master's Programs
- MA PSYCHOLOGY – CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
A rigorous program focused on psychoanalytic and psychodynamic clinical training, preparing students for complex careers in therapy and research.
- MA PSYCHOLOGY – ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
A new, multidisciplinary program exploring transformation in organizations through environmental, health, and applied psychology lenses. Ideal for students aiming to drive change in business, healthcare, and policy sectors.
- ERASMUS MUNDUS JOINT MASTER: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF TRANSFORMATION
This international program prepares a new generation of psychologists to lead transformation in areas like conflict, cooperation, and environmental psychology. Students gain hands-on experience across Germany, Portugal, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Estonia, engaging directly with global social challenges.
What our students say
For me, what is special about studying psychology at the IPU is its psychoanalytic orientation. Psychoanalysis is an integral part of studying right from the first semester of the Bachelor's degree onwards. Beyond the theoretical contents, this is also evident in the attitude of many lecturers who are psychoanalysts themselves. The result of this is a practical approach that is often supported by case material in the form of videos, audio recording or transcripts that, for example, stem from the IPU's university outpatient clinic.
After a frustrating abundance of statistics and behavioral therapy in my Bachelor, I switched to the IPU for my Master. Initially, I was critical of whether the university would deliver what it had promised. At the end of my studies, I can say: It is what it claims to be. We dealt intensively with various schools within psychoanalysis, from Freud to Kohut and Kernberg to Klein, Yalom and many more. I particularly liked that many lecturers themselves work as psychotherapists. In the seminars, they would share anonymized cases of their work and where they were successful or had failed.
