Graduate school •

Description/content

GRADE is the central institution for the support of early career researchers at Goethe University. It offers multidisciplinary qualification programmes, guidance, and support to researchers during the early stages of their career. GRADE sets standards for structured doctoral education and supports junior researchers from all faculties. It follows international standards in graduate education and is constantly improving its services in line with the needs and interests of doctoral candidates and postdocs. GRADE is to ensure the high-quality provision of professional development training to researchers in the early stages of their careers, while at the same time contributing to the university's strong academic reputation.

GRADE - At a Glance

• Individual Advice
  Are you not yet sure about starting a PhD project? Are you having difficulties with your doctoral studies? The GRADE team supports you during your decision-making processes and helps with problems during your doctoral studies.
• Structured Doctoral Education
  We provide a comprehensive qualification programme to all doctoral candidates of Goethe University and support you individually to organise your doctoral studies.
• Ready for Your Career
  Get prepared for your career inside or outside academia and gain insights into various professional fields. Build your future network with GRADE.
• Personal Coaching
  The coaching sessions provide individual support, for instance, in orientation phases, in crisis situations or with a specific problem (e.g. difficulties with the supervisor).

GRADE Qualification Programme
We offer a variety of workshops to doctoral candidates and postdocs covering research-related skills. In addition, our programme offers training and guidance for one's individual career development. GRADE has no set curriculum so that one can select the workshops in accordance with one's individual needs.

GRADE Personality Tools
With a comprehensive range of personality development tools, such as workshops teaching communication skills, reasoning, problem-solving strategies in science, or simply showing how one can optimally budget energy, GRADE strengthens personal qualities and helps to transform weaknesses into strengths.

GRADE Inter-/Transdisciplinary Tools
Without neglecting basic research, junior researchers should train themselves to consider everything from its finest detail to its entirety. Interdisciplinary work is encouraged so that junior researchers can assess the value of their own work in relation to the whole.

e-Learning
“Good Academic Practice”
“Studying and Then Earning a Doctorate?”

For Master's students
Information event “Studying and Then Earning a Doctorate?”
Exposé writing in humanities and social sciences
Individual advice/guidance

Faculties

• Faculty 01: Law
• Faculty 02: Economics and Business Administration
• Faculty 03: Social Sciences
• Faculty 04: Educational Sciences
• Faculty 05: Psychology and Sports Sciences
• Faculty 06: Protestant Theology
• Faculty 07: Roman Catholic Theology
• Faculty 08: Philosophy and History
• Faculty 09: Linguistics, Cultures, and Arts
• Faculty 10: Modern Languages
• Faculty 11: Geosciences and Geography
• Faculty 12: Computer Science and Mathematics
• Faculty 13: Physics
• Faculty 14: Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacy
• Faculty 15: Biological Sciences
• Faculty 16: Medical Science

Financial support

No

Structured research and supervision

Yes

Research training / discussion

Yes

Career advisory service

Get on the right track - Career Talks

Within the GRADE Career Talks, one can connect with experts from business, academia and the non-profit sector. Participants will gain insights into various career paths, enabling them to make the best possible decisions concerning their future career. Besides gaining these fascinating insights, one can establish contact with participants in similar situations and exchange expectations and wishes in a relaxed atmosphere.

Individual Coaching

Individual support is offered, e.g. during orientation phases (e.g. self-positioning, self-management, prospects for the future) and in situations in which it is necessary to clarify a question or solve a specific problem.

Support for international students and doctoral candidates

• Specialist counselling
• Cultural and linguistic preparation

General services and support for international students and doctoral candidates

Specific support is offered for international candidates: Welcome Service | Starting Scholarships | Completion Scholarships | German Language Classes | Social Events. GRADE offers a social events programme comprising trips to cultural and historical sites around Frankfurt to provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange. In particular, the social events bring international doctoral candidates and postdocs together to exchange experiences from different cultures and interdisciplinary academic fields. Furthermore, international candidates have the chance to apply and improve their German language skills in an informal and comfortable environment. During our events, we visit a variety of cultural and historical sites to learn more about German culture, regional habits and the historical importance of the respective sites.

List of doctoral programmes and other offers

GRADE Centers are the unique feature of our academy. They combine interdisciplinary areas of research with the subject-related support and guidance of early career researchers. The currently active GRADE Centers are:

• GRADE Aging - Interdisciplinary research on ageing well and with dignity in the face of demographic change
• GRADE BioMed FIRST - Translating experimental fundamental research into clinical applications
• GRADE Brain - Understanding the brain from molecules to networks and computation
• GRADE CompuMath - Understanding, proving and computing
• GRADE Education - Understanding resources, environments and processes of teaching and learning
• GRADE Gender - Analysing gender differences, gender orders and gender relations in light of current challenges
• GRADE GPE - History, Philosophy, Anthropology
• GRADE GSEFM - Providing a scientific basis for policy
• GRADE Hadron and Ion Research
• GRADE IQbio - Integrated quantitative multiscale life sciences
• GRADE Language - The blueprint of the human language faculty
• GRADE Medical Scientific Education
• GRADE Normative Orders
• GRADE PPD Humanities
• GRADE Rechtswissenschaft (Law)
• GRADE RuTh - Research in the field of Religions Studies and Theology
• GRADE Social Sciences
• GRADE Sport Sciences
• GRADE Sustain - Theoretical and methodological approaches to the research of sustainable human-environment relationships

GRADE - Participation

Everyone who is aiming to complete doctoral studies at Goethe University Frankfurt or is already accepted as a PhD candidate by one of its faculties can take advantage of the GRADE services at no charge.

Goethe University Frankfurt

GRADE - The (Post) Graduate Academy of Goethe-Universität Frankfurt

structured | career-oriented | personal

About the university:

Goethe-Universität is frequently ranked among Germany's leading institutions of higher education. Although the current organisation was founded as a university in 1914 by prominent citizens of Frankfurt, its actual origins go back to 1763. With currently approx. 47,000 students, including approx. 7,300 international students, the university prides itself on a rich tradition of intellectual and cultural excellence. Numerous Nobel laureates in science and medicine, including Max Born, Paul Ehrlich, and Max von Laue, were among the students and teachers at the university. It is home to the world-renowned Frankfurt School, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's Institute for Social Research, and three Clusters of Excellence in life sciences, medicine, and social sciences. Several Max Planck Institutes are situated on its campuses, too. Goethe-Universität has enjoyed the teaching of philosophers and theologians, such as Paul Tillich, Martin Buber, and Jürgen Habermas. The university has 16 faculties, including Law, Economics and Business Administration, Social Sciences, Educational Sciences, Psychology and Sports Sciences, Philosophy and History, Theology, Linguistics, Cultural Studies and Arts Studies, Modern Languages, Geosciences and Geography, Computer Science and Mathematics, Physics, Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Biological Sciences, and Medical Science.

5,500 Number of doctoral candidates university-wide
25 Percentage of international doctoral candidates
University location

GRADE – Easy to Reach

GRADE is located on Westend Campus of the Goethe-Universität. You find us on the third floor of the SKW-Building, Rostockerstr 2, 60323 Frankfurt am Main.

The public transportation stop / station is "Holzhausenstraße" or "Miquel-/Adickesallee", and we can be reached by bus (lines 32, 36, 64 and 75) and underground train (U1, U2, U3, U8).

Location of the university: 

Since the Middle Ages, Frankfurt am Main has been a major trade and finance centre at the crossroads of Europe's trade routes. Today, as the leading financial marketplace in continental Europe, Frankfurt is the seat of the European Central Bank and of international banks such as the Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. Thus, Frankfurt is at the centre of European monetary policy and the European Monetary Union. Major public banking institutions, including the Deutsche Bundesbank and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, one of the EU's leading public credit institutions, are based in Frankfurt, as is the world's fourth-largest stock exchange, the Deutsche Börse AG. The stock exchange also houses the world's largest and most modern all-electronic derivatives exchange: Eurex.
The region benefits from an outstanding telecommunication and transportation infrastructure. Frankfurt Airport is the leading airport in continental Europe and offers excellent connections within Europe and overseas. Frankfurt's dense transportation network ensures a seamless connection to all road and rail links. Frankfurt is an international meeting point. It is home to the oldest trade fair in the world, the world-renowned Frankfurt Book Fair. It also offers many cultural attractions, among them two opera houses, concert halls, theatres, and a great variety of museums and art galleries. Situated on one of Europe's great rivers, the Main, Frankfurt is a vibrant city with many recreational facilities catering to the city's international population.
Cosmopolitan in nature, Frankfurt is home to a large community of expatriate workers and offers a wide choice of entertainment in the English language, from cinema to theatre, literature, and sports. About half of Frankfurt's citizens are foreign-born. There are a multitude of ethnic-based associations, and food from around the world is easily available. Frankfurt is a city in the heart of Europe: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, and Zurich can all be reached by high-speed rail in less than four hours.

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