PhD / Doctorate •

Degree

Dr

In cooperation with

Institute for Employment Research (IAB)

Teaching language

• English

Languages

English

Full-time / part-time

• full-time

Programme duration

6 semesters

Beginning

Winter semester

Application deadline

The call for applications for new scholarships will be published on the IAB homepage sufficiently in advance. Usually, the application deadline is in mid-March of each year.

Tuition fees per semester in EUR

None

Combined Master's degree / PhD programme

No

Joint degree / double degree programme

No

Description/content

GradAB is a joint interdisciplinary doctoral programme of the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the School of Business, Economics and Society of Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. It is specialised in labour market research. GradAB provides comprehensive support to outstanding young researchers from the fields of economics, sociology, and other social sciences by offering scholarships as well as a course programme and individual assistance.

Students are provided with a workplace at IAB, which is the research institute of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) in Nuremberg. Based on unique data resources, the IAB conducts state-of-the-art labour market research in order to lay the scientific foundations for the implementation of labour market policy measures. Applicants to the GradAB doctoral programme are granted access to IAB's excellent data resources on employment and social security, which enables them to address a wide variety of research questions theoretically and empirically.
The course programme promotes theoretical and empirical methods of labour market research at an advanced level.

Course organisation

The English-speaking study programme comprises compulsory and elective compulsory courses. In the first semester, the graduates attend three compulsory modules to give a foundation to their studies of theories of the labour market and methods of empirical research.
Compulsory module I:
Statistics and econometrics
Compulsory module II:
The sociological and economic basis of labour market research
Compulsory module III:
Good scientific practice

After having completed the compulsory modules, students are required to choose elective compulsory modules to consolidate their knowledge and to attain in-depth insights into advanced labour market theories, recent empirical research findings, and advanced empirical methods.
The elective compulsory modules are structured around four areas:

Institutions, micro and macro theories of the labour market

Social structure, education, and distribution

Internationalisation and the labour market

Methods of empirical research

The elective modules are taught by the heads of the IAB research departments and by well-known national and international labour market researchers from the fields of economics and sociology.

The graduates are free to combine the elective compulsory modules from the four areas mentioned above according to their own research interest. Up to 50% of the credits for electives can be achieved in external courses and summer schools.

A Diploma supplement will be issued

No

International elements

• International guest lecturers
• Integrated study abroad unit(s)

Integrated study abroad unit(s)

The programme includes integrated study abroad units. There is a budget of 1,800 EUR per year for participation in scientific conferences, summer schools, further training and for other dissertation-relevant expenditures.

Special promotion / funding of the programme

• Other (e.g. state level)

Course-specific, integrated German language courses

No

Course-specific, integrated English language courses

No

Tuition fees per semester in EUR

None

Semester contribution

FAU does not charge tuition fees. However, each semester students must pay semester fees consisting of student services fees (42 EUR) and a fee for the basic semester ticket (74 EUR).

Costs of living

According to a study by the German National Association for Student Affairs, students in former West Germany who no longer live with their parents have an average amount of more than 930 EUR per month at their disposal. However, monthly expenditures for personal lifestyle vary a lot. The study shows that approx. 25 per cent of the students asked have less than 700 EUR while 10 per cent have more than 1,300 EUR per month. For former West Germany, the study revealed the following details regarding average expenditures:

• Rent, including bills (in the Erlangen-Nuremberg area): 325 EUR (250 to 600 EUR)
• Food: 168 EUR
• Clothing: 42 EUR
• Transport (public transport and/or car): 94 EUR
• Learning materials (depending on the subject): 20 EUR
• Health insurance, doctors, medicine: 80 EUR
• Telecommunications: 31 EUR
• Leisure activities, culture, sports: 61 EUR

Funding opportunities within the university

Yes

Description of the above-mentioned funding opportunities within the university

There is a wide range of scholarships available for outstanding students. In addition to requiring applicants to have excellent grades, most scholarship programmes have additional conditions regarding cultural, political, religious, or social involvement. If you have any questions about the application procedure or selection criteria, you can contact the Student Advice and Career Service (IBZ) or speak directly to FAU’s liaison officer for the scholarship organisation you wish to apply to.

https://www.fau.eu/study/prospective-students/financing-your-studies

Academic admission requirements

We expect a Master's degree in social sciences, economics or a related subject, a special interest in and enthusiasm for issues of labour market and occupational research, and personal qualities that promise success in completing the programme.
Preference will be given to dissertation proposals that would profit in a special way from being attached to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and from which IAB itself might profit in a special way.
The application has to contain an outline of the project in which, above all, the following must be addressed:

the reasons for selecting the topic and its place in current research

major problems and issues

the theoretical approach and methodical considerations regarding implementation

a work plan/schedule

bibliography

Language requirements

Fluent written and spoken English

Application deadline

The call for applications for new scholarships will be published on the IAB homepage sufficiently in advance. Usually, the application deadline is in mid-March of each year.

Submit application to

By e-mail: [email protected]

Possibility of finding part-time employment

Admission to the GradAB programme means that you receive a scholarship of 1,350 EUR per month. Additionally, GradAB scholarship holders are allowed to work up to 10 hours a week either at our university (e.g. teaching) or in one of the research departments of the Institute for Employment Research.

Additional family allowances are available.

Accommodation

The cities of Erlangen, Fürth, and Nuremberg offer a very good standard of living. They are popular places to live, meaning that accommodation is in high demand but often in short supply. This is particularly the case during the period before the start of a new semester. We therefore recommend that you start looking for accommodation as soon as possible. If you are flexible and also look in the surrounding area, you will have a better chance of finding somewhere affordable to live. The region has an excellent public transport system, so you should not have any problems getting to your place of study or work.

It is worth checking the available accommodation on the Internet every day, as new accommodation becomes available on a day-to-day basis. It pays to be flexible when it comes to the price, location, and available facilities of your accommodation.

Student Services Erlangen-Nürnberg runs its own student accommodation in Erlangen and Nuremberg. You will be informed about how to apply for a room in Student Services accommodation while you are in the process of applying to be admitted to FAU.

Structured research and supervision

Yes

Research training / discussion

Yes

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