Graduate School - Germany

Germany

The establishment of Graduiertenkollegs in Germany started in the early 1990s funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the German Research Foundation. Unlike the American model of graduate schools, a Graduiertenkolleg consists only of a PhD programme. In contrast with the traditional German apprentice model of pursuing a PhD, a Graduiertenkolleg aims to provide young researchers with a structured doctoral training within an excellent research environment. A Graduiertenkolleg typically consists of 20-30 doctoral students, about half of whom are supported by stipends from the DFG or another sponsor. The research programme is usually narrowly defined around a specific topic and has an interdisciplinary aspect. The programme is set up for a specific period of time (up to nine years if funded by the DFG). The official English translation of the term Graduiertenkolleg is Research Training Group.

In 2006, a different type of graduate school, termed Graduiertenschule, was established by the DFG as part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative. They are thematically much broader than the focused Graduiertenkollegs and consist often of 100-200 doctoral students.