INCHER Graduate School Details

Objectives:
One of the main objectives is to improve the participants' subject- and research-related knowledge, skills, and competencies. Students can earn credits for successfully completing courses focusing on INCHER specific research areas and themes, skill training in research methods, courses in their dissertation-specific subject area, and any other (in consultation with the supervisor).

Applications:
All doctoral candidates who are supervised by INCHER-affiliated professors are eligible to apply to the INCHER Graduate School, regardless of their source of funding or whether they are employed at INCHER. The graduate school is an additive and voluntary offer. It complements the individual supervision of INCHER doctoral students and gives them the option of pursuing a structured doctoral training in social sciences and economics. Participation in the INCHER Graduate School is not a pre-requisite for pursuing a doctorate at INCHER.
Contact for applications

Skills:
INCHER Graduate school courses for doctoral candidates are designed to enable them to deepen their knowledge and skills in their own discipline and learn new concepts and methods promoting creativity and interdisciplinary research. The courses give them an opportunity to interact and exchange ideas and experiences with professors, fellow researchers, and other doctoral candidates at different stages of the research process. This small-scale research community facilitates their integration into academic, social, and cultural environment, especially for internationally mobile doctoral candidates.

Working language:
The Working language is English. Nevertheless, single events can be held in German, if all participants agree.

Credits:
Students can earn credits for successfully completed courses. An independent contribution to the course is expected as requirement for receiving credits. For each successfully attended course, participants get a respective certificate of attendance. These are a prerequisite for acquiring the final certificate of INCHER Graduate School in either its “small” or its “large” variant.

Mentorship:
To support their integration into the INCHER research community, a mentor is assigned to each new doctoral candidate. Mentors may either be from an older cohort of INCHER doctoral candidates or exxperienced researchers at INCHER.

INCHER Early Career Publication Award:
The INCHER Graduate School regularly awards a research prize for an outstanding scholarly achievement by a doctoral candidate. In addition to the material reward, the research award serves to make particularly good performance visible to third parties (e.g. in the CV).  For each successfully attended course within the INCHER Graduate School framework, participants get a respective certificate of attendance.

Lecturers:
Internationally reknown researchers are invited as lecturers for courses that cannot be provided by INCHER members.

Courses:
INCHER Graduate School courses are independent and tailor-made courses for INCHER doctoral candidates. Regularly on offer are courses focusing on INCHER specific research areas and topics, as well as skill training in research methods, courses in dissertation-specific and other subject areas. Offerings also include reading courses in areas of research literature relevant to INCHER, as well as professional and career development training. This may include, for example, training in academic writing as well as writing research grant applications.

Further non INCHER courses that may be attended by INCHER Graduate School participants:
- Courses offered by the Kassel International Graduate Program Social Sciences (KIGG) in Fachbereich 05, the Graduate School in Economic Behavior and Governance (GS EBGo) in Fachbereich 07 and the Competence Center for Empirical Research Methods.
- Courses offered as part of the cross-location MAGKS Inter-University Doctoral Program in Economics at the Universities of Marburg, Aachen, Düsseldorf, Gießen, Göttingen, Kassel and Siegen.
- Courses offered by the Graduate Academy of the University of Kassel and other courses in which relevant research-oriented skills are developed.
- Other course offers with a methodological or content focus, e.g. courses from other graduate programs open to external participants, and doctoral colleges or research institutions (e.g. GESIS).
- Summer schools suitable for the topic of the INCHER Graduate School.

Doctoral colloqium:
The doctoral colloquium, which takes place regularly, is a fundamental part of the INCHER Graduate School. It is organized as a block event twice per semester in order to make it easier for external doctoral candidates and other researchers to participate. Starting with the second year of their doctorate, all doctoral candidates at the INCHER Graduate School should present their work at least once a year as part of this colloquium. The presentation is followed by an extensive discussion, which is opened by another doctoral candidate as an assigned discussant. The doctoral candidates at the INCHER Graduate School as well as their supervisors are expected to participate actively and regularly in the doctoral colloquium. Regular active participation and own presentations are required conditions for obtaining the final certificate.

INCHER colloquium and brown bag lunch:
The INCHER Graduate School coordinates its offers in terms of time and structure with the lecture events offered by INCHER. These currently include the research colloquia and the brown bag lunches. The doctoral candidates are invited to take part in these events as well as to present their own results. In this way, it is ensured that the Graduate School is embedded in the larger research discourse at INCHER. The INCHER Graduate School is, thus, an extension of INCHER research initiative and community.

Networking and participation in conferences

INCHER Graduate School participants are encouraged to develop research collaborations outside of the University of Kassel. All doctoral candidates at the INCHER Graduate School should present their research results at least once at a peer-reviewed conference before submitting their dissertation. As far as possible, research stays and conference participation are financially supported by INCHER.