Study Agenda

The doctoral graduate program offers a study schedule that will introduce the participants comprehensively to the problems of the program and will provide a frame for the intensive discussion of their own research. The theme of "Opening and closure of markets and social systems" is not the object of a single discipline, but rather forms a problem area that can and even has to be regarded from various disciplinary viewpoints. Therefore, the production of interdisciplinary references assumes particular importance. The interaction of the disciplines involved in the graduate program wants to counteract an exaggerated specialization, promote learning about other research contexts and problem orientations, transfer acquired knowledge into the participants' own research work and make the result of this work available for discussion across the individual sectors. To do so, the appropriate events and discussion forums will be offered and workshops will be organized in cooperation with external experts.

The graduate program's study schedule stretches over three years. During the initial phase (1st year), the necessary background knowledge will be worked out in the framework of the program, which will help the participants to develop their dissertation projects. Regular support will be ensured by a doctoral colloquium (for details see below), which will be a permanent institution and will offer a discussion forum across the different themes. At the beginning of the program, it will be important to give the participants systematic assistance as to the demarcation and/or orientation and design of their projects along with guidelines for scientific research, which are tailored to the level of knowledge of the participants. The support will be consolidated by graduate seminars (for details see below). The further success of the individual projects will be secured by a workshop (for details see below) with external academics or experts, e.g. from European and supranational institutions, at the end of the first year.

The consolidation stage (2nd year) serves the elaboration of first and essential parts of the dissertation. To accompany the profound impact of the projects in this year, not only further graduate seminars and the ongoing doctoral colloquium will take place. Rather, a further interdisciplinary workshop during the second half of the consolidation stage wants to offer an incentive for presenting important parts of the projects to external experts, too.

In the final stage (3rd year), gaps in the different projects will be closed, revisions will be made and the final cut will be added in view of the corresponding feed-back from discussions and the advisors. On the one hand, the regular support of the doctoral colloquium and the consolidation in the graduate seminars will ensure essential support. On the other hand, the success of the individual projects should be transmitted to the interested public of external experts by way of a concluding workshop, which will then rather take the character of a conference.

Full Study Agenda (German, pdf, 135kb)