Doctoral Programs and Graduate Schools

The Jena Graduate School "Human Behaviour in Social and Economic Change" (GSBC), funded by the Federal Programme "ProExzellenz" of the Free State of Thuringia and hosted by the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena (FSU Jena), is an interdisciplinary doctoral school aiming at providing the best research environment. The research approach together with other disciplines including psychology, economics, sociology, applied ethics and law, offer deeper insights into how individual behaviour and structural changes are related.

The Graduate College 'The Economics of Innovative Change' is a distinguished PhD programme in Economics, offered by the Department of Economics of the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. The programme results from the former DFG Research Training Group 1411 which has been financed by the German Research Foundation from 2006-2017. We offer a comprehensive PhD-level training to 10-15 outstanding young graduates. The programme is international and highly committed to quality in teaching and research. All academic activities of the PhD programme are conducted in English.

The graduate college 'The Economic Impact of Digital Transformation' is an interdisciplinary doctoral program with extensive doctoral training. PhD students are expected to complete their PhD projects within 3 years. The first year is devoted to improving theoretical knowledge and skills, while the second and third years focus on dissertation research. The program offers a structured course program including a 2-week summer school per year. The program serves as a platform for collaboration, as an intermediary for joint scientific activities and as a forum for the exchange of knowledge. In addition, it provides senior expertise for the training of young scientists in all necessary fields of competence: thematic, methodical and transferable skills such as networking, science management, time management and career planning.

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The aim of the programme is to stimulate the scientific debate on the basic ideas of the social market economy and to stimulate their creative further development against the background of the current challenges facing politics, society and the economy.

The Jena Doctoral Program in Economics is designed for doctoral candidates aiming for a successful career in academia or institutions that require high-quality doctoral training, including international organizations, think tanks, research institutes, government agencies, central banks, and financial institutions.