Social Sciences and Humanities  

Graduate Centre Social Sciences and Humanities

Welcome to the Graduate Centre Social Sciences and Humanities at the Research Academy Leipzig.

The Graduate Centre assembles various disciplines of the University of Leipzig, such as humanities, social sciences, economics and regional studies all under one roof.  The Graduate Centre also provides the framework for a structured, interdisciplinary and internationally oriented Ph.D. education.  There are currently nine classes under the auspices of the Graduate Centre, including two DFG (German Research Foundation) Graduate Schools, two bi-national Ph.D. programs, and also a regional Ph.D. program that is supported by business/economics researchers from Dresden, Halle and Leipzig.

The focus of the academic and scientific programs of the various classes of the Graduate Centre are global and transnational networking, the examination of the spatiality of social behaviour and its resultant cultural makeup, political and economic processes of integration, mutual influence and border-crossing.  A unique selling point of the Graduate Centre is the result of regional scientific diversity and expertise, which encompasses all the regions of the world.

The advising of the individual doctoral research projects within each of the classes is carried out by specialists from a wide range of fields.  Significant importance is also placed on comprehensive exchange between the disciplines, which occurs annually at the Summer School. 

All the classes have a common foundation in that they, on the one hand, each offer a curriculum respective their main research emphasis and, on the other hand, present opportunities to acquire soft-skills.

At the present time, there are over 170 doctoral students who are conducting research at the Graduate Centre.  Individual advising is accomplished by over 50 participating professors from six different faculties of the University of Leipzig, as well as from multiple research institutes outside the university. 

Further information about the research programs and the structure of the qualification process can be found on our website.