What does the program offer you?
Through your studies at our institution, we can assure the acquisition of your doctorate at a proven center for research excellence. This ensures that your academic studies meet the highest of academic standards. All participants have regular contact with the university teachers responsible for their program and are given the opportunity to engage in collaborative intensive research. Cross-faculty courses and colloquia offer forums for interdisciplinary dialogue and represent a further firmly-established component of postgraduate studies.
If you are admitted to the PhD program but are not a member of a graduate training group ("Graduiertenkolleg"), nor of the International Giessen Graduate School of the Life Sciences (GGL) (http://www.uni-giessen.de/cms/fbz/zentren/ggl), you will experience difficulties achieving the credit load required for the successful completion of the PhD degree. Therefore, it is advisable to join at least one of these programs, as well.
German and international doctoral candidates, participating in the program, jointly attend courses from the accompanying curriculum. Teaching includes visiting lectures given by academics and scientists. The vast majority of these lectures are delivered in English. Normally, students follow a curriculum of established graduate programs with a thematic focus, a practice which is highly recommended. Such programs are offered by specific research training groups or the GGL (see above).
The structured format of your postgraduate studies provides many advantages and, as a participant, you are not a lone combatant in the jungle of scientific research; rather, you can be sure that your university will provide intensive guidance counselling, expected from a top-class institution. Your studies in the research topic of your choice are supplemented and deepened by program-integrated curricular courses. Besides providing insight into cross-disciplinary topics, these serve to teach methodological and presentation techniques to prepare you for future career responsibilities. Greater structure also produces greater transparency. This means, the success of your doctorate no longer solely depends on the "more or less informal" relationship between you and your academic supervisor.