In the winter semester 2001/2002, the PhD programme “Economics” was introduced for the doctoral students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences. The aim of this doctoral programme is research-oriented additional education. The students learn to classify and apply the scientific methods in economics and they acquire in-depth scientific and technical knowledge. In addition, students develop the skills needed to conduct interdisciplinary work, team work and an effective scientific approach.
The PhD programme “Economics” is under the umbrella of the Göttingen Graduate School of Social Sciences (GGG). Founded in 2005, the GGG summarizes the graduate education through five faculties (Faculty of Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology to provide the doctoral students a structured education of high quality and with excellent support. The GGG uses the broad subject range of its five founding faculties to provide the PhD students with a wide range of methods and interdisciplinary approaches as well as a multitude of disciplinary concentrations. One of these offers is the methods summer. The doctoral students earn the doctoral degree of the respective supporting faculty of the programme.

This structure provides graduates the opportunity to acquire additional knowledge in their field and neighbouring disciplines in order to broaden their skills not only for their thesis but beyond. For this purpose, the GGG conducts in the context of the research foci of the participating departments also various doctoral programmes in which the graduates can maintain extensive exchange due to the closeness of content and methodology.

The PhD programme “Economics” has been fundamentally revised since the summer semester 2011. The study programme was divided into different areas and modularized. The new structure also encourages the key skills of graduates. Newly formed supervising committees improve their support.

Overall, the PhD programme is oriented to the “Guidelines and Criteria for the Accreditation of Doctoral Programmes in Lower Saxony” of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture of March 12, 2009. The programme was accredited in July 2011 by the “Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency” (ZEvA). ”

Please see the website of the GGG for detailed information on the graduate school:

• www.ggg.uni-goettingen.de