Study Program
The qualification program of the RTG 2070 is designed to prepare the PhD Students for a variety of professional avenues within and outside academia. It is balanced between scientific training for the RTG's research projects and skill courses addressing a wide range of needs for the academic and non-academic job market.
The RTG does adhere to the rules developed for the PhD program Behavior and Cognition (BeCog) . Students with a background in natural sciences are enrolled in this PhD program, while students from the humanities are members of the Graduiertenschule für Geisteswissenschaften Göttingen (GSGG).
The curriculum of the RTG will follow the structures of BeCog:
Thesis Committee:
Students are supervised by an interdisciplinary Thesis Committee of three Principle Investigators of the RTG 2070 board. They will discuss their work progress, results and future plans at least once a year with the members of their committee. The first meeting should be held 6 month after beginning of the PhD.
Modules:
The doctoral students have to obtain a total of 20 ECTS-Credits in the following five modules:
Scientific Reflection: The purpose of this module is to encourage students' reflections of the developments in their scientific fields as well as critical discourse of their own work and the relevant literature through a be-weekly
Methods: This module encompasses training in various methodological approaches (e.g. eye-tracking, EEG, Bioacoustics) as well as a special focus on mathematical modeling, data handling and statistics.
Teaching: This module reflects the importance of teaching for an academic career. Students will co-supervise undergraduate students in their research projects to gain both teaching experience and leadership skills.
Presentation: Students are required to present their work at at least two scientific conferences. This will introduce the doctoral students to the international scientific community and train their intellectual skills in scientific discourse with international colleagues.
Key qualification: These are general skills applicable in a wide range of contexts and may prepare students for diverse career paths. While the University of Göttingen offers a number of key qualification courses through its central institute for languages and key qualifications (Zentrale Einrichtung für Sprachen und Schlüsselqualifikationen ZESS), we will additionally organize specialized courses, which take into account the scientific background and the future career paths of our students. These courses will also complement the other activities and will include, for instance, workshops for teaching in an international classroom, leadership and management skills (motivation, conflict management, etc.), self-assessment training, media training, and grant-writing.
Dissertation:
Adapted to the standards applied to today's junior scientists, it is our goal that students prepare a publications-based dissertation including an extensive introduction and discussion.
Defense:
The thesis defense is held in English and consists of two parts. Students will present their work in a 30 minutes talk, which is followed by 30 to 60 minutes of questions by a six-member evaluation committee and the audience.
