Essex Summer School in Social
Science Data Analysis and Collection
GESIS - German Social Science
Infrastructure Services
ICPSR Summer Program, Michigan
Summer School in Methods and Techniques, Ljubljana
PhD Program
The IMPRS-SPCE provides an attractive research environment for talented graduate students. The three-year curriculum of the IMPRS is divided in two phases. The course work in the first year is to ensure that students enter the phase of writing their dissertation with firm methodological skills and a solid theoretical background. Activities in the second and third year are to provide a structure of guided independence, allowing students to concentrate on their research and providing feedback through exchange with peers, advisors and other scholars. A
four-month stay at a foreign research university is to expose students to a different research environment and add to the internationalization of their research experience.
Students may also opt to pursue a double doctorate ("cotutelle")
from the University of Cologne and Sciences Po, Paris.
Further training in specialized research methods is provided depending on existing competence and need deriving from research projects. At the end of their first year, students take specialized short courses offered by the ECPR Summer Schools in Essex and Ljubljana, the Zentralarchiv für Empirische Sozialforschung in Cologne, the Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA) in Mannheim or comparable institutions. Training in methods will not be restricted to the first year but may take place during all three years of the program.
In addition students participate in a biweekly Research School colloquium. At the end of their first year students must have completed their course program and hand in a first year paper for their doctoral thesis in June. Based on their achievements the faculty decides whether a student is accepted into the second phase of the program.
The second phase lasts two years, during which students concentrate on thesis research and writing. In addition several activities are offered that constitute the curriculum of the school during this phase.
Pending their advisor's approval, students in the second phase have an opportunity to spend up to four months at the School's American, British, French or Italian partner universities. They may also spend time at other foreign research institutions, depending on availability and on the topic of their research.
Every summer a Max Planck Summer Conference on Economy, Politics and Society is organized for students in their second and third year. The Summer Conference is an opportunity for students to present their work in progress to peers and senior scholars.
During semesters the biweekly colloquium offers students an opportunity to present their ongoing research and receive feedback from faculty and peers.
Students may participate in courses on German as a second language and in general courses on academic publishing, scientific writing in English, and special computer programs.
The first year
During their first year students focus on graduate course work and on writing a proposal for their doctoral thesis. Courses are based on the skills they bring from their previous studies and on the additional qualifications they need for their dissertation project. Special emphasis is placed on improving methodological skills and on deepening knowledge in economic sociology and political economy. As a rule, course work in the first year includes a maximum of four seminars. At present the following seminars are taught: Economy and Society I, Economy and Society II, Foundations of Institutional Theory, Logic and Design of Political and Social Research, especially Comparative Research, Organizational Theories, Comparative Political Economy, and Comparative Political Institutions.Further training in specialized research methods is provided depending on existing competence and need deriving from research projects. At the end of their first year, students take specialized short courses offered by the ECPR Summer Schools in Essex and Ljubljana, the Zentralarchiv für Empirische Sozialforschung in Cologne, the Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA) in Mannheim or comparable institutions. Training in methods will not be restricted to the first year but may take place during all three years of the program.
In addition students participate in a biweekly Research School colloquium. At the end of their first year students must have completed their course program and hand in a first year paper for their doctoral thesis in June. Based on their achievements the faculty decides whether a student is accepted into the second phase of the program.
The second and third year
The second phase lasts two years, during which students concentrate on thesis research and writing. In addition several activities are offered that constitute the curriculum of the school during this phase.
Pending their advisor's approval, students in the second phase have an opportunity to spend up to four months at the School's American, British, French or Italian partner universities. They may also spend time at other foreign research institutions, depending on availability and on the topic of their research.
Every summer a Max Planck Summer Conference on Economy, Politics and Society is organized for students in their second and third year. The Summer Conference is an opportunity for students to present their work in progress to peers and senior scholars.
During semesters the biweekly colloquium offers students an opportunity to present their ongoing research and receive feedback from faculty and peers.
Students may participate in courses on German as a second language and in general courses on academic publishing, scientific writing in English, and special computer programs.
Print
