Combining structure, independence and internationality in doctoral studies Studying for a doctorate is by nature very challenging, and PhD candidates benefit from the opportunity to collaborate with their peers, academic staff, and international partners. BIGSSS-departs (doctoral education in partnerships) is an innovative EU funded programme designed to support early stage researchers while also widening their perspective on the social sciences. The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) was established in 2002 and since 2007 it has operated with support from Germany’s national research funding agency (DFG), offering PhD candidates the opportunity to pursue their academic interests in a supportive environment. Studying for a doctorate is by nature very challenging, with students expected to engage in independent research over an extended period; the BIGSSS-departs COFUND programme was established in 2016 to continue BIGSSS’ supportive system. “The programme implements a lot of what we have learned as a graduate school over the past few years. First of all, for its length – it lasts 42 months rather than 36, which is a much more realistic time span for what you have to do in a social science PhD,” says Dr Christian Peters, Managing Director at BIGSSS. A second key feature is the international nature of BIGSSSdeparts. PhD fellows in the programme come from 15 different countries and a mandatory stay abroad at one of the network partners is an essential part of the curriculum. A further important distinction is the structured nature of BIGSSS-departs, with PhD candidates receiving a monthly salary and regular supervision during the course of their research, while also having the opportunity to form supportive relationships with their peers. This is different to earlier doctoral training in Germany, where young researchers typically worked in close proximity to their supervisor, typically in quite small environments, without many people around for regular professional exchange. While ultimately a student is responsible for writing their own PhD, Dr Peters believes it’s still important that they have the opportunity to share problems, challenges and ideas. “That’s where structured programmes clearly have advantages over the traditional German way of pursuing a PhD,” he says. “The idea of a graduate school, and of a programme like BIGSSS-departs, is that you bring people together so that they share their working days and their experiences of the challenges of writing a PhD.”
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Independent research The wider goal at BIGSSS is to encourage independent research and open up new perspectives on the social sciences through the exchange of ideas and knowledge in political science, sociology and psychology. Research in these disciplines by nature involves an element of theoretical investigation, yet Dr Peters is keen to stress that this must be built on firm foundations. “We always want to look at the provenance of the social facts - but also at their manifestation out there in the field. We want our fellows to consider theories by looking at the empirical matter,” he explains. “In that respect, research methodologies play an essential role at BIGSSS.” A balance needs to be struck here between establishing a common research framework and
giving young researchers the academic freedom they need to establish their own independence and build their careers. The first semester in the programme is about trying to create this common ground, e.g. through a preparatory forum in social science methodology. “BIGSSS embraces diversity. There is so much out there to look at, so much need for differentiation. But we also need to establish a framework in order to function well as a graduate school. It is necessary to have coherence and to balance the diversity of individual research projects with finding an intellectual and conceptual environment where people can learn from each other,” outlines Dr Peters. “However, it’s not the case that only one approach is considered to be valid in BIGSSS.” While PhD fellows are not expected to have a concrete plan for their entire doctorate at
BIGSSS-departs fellows, faculty and staff at the graduate school’s annual summer retreat in May 2018.
EU Research
Fellows presenting their research to representatives of the partner organisations at BIGSSS-departs networking event in February 2018.
the beginning of the course, they do need to have an interesting research question of empirical significance and a vision of how they will pursue that project. “What is it that you want to explain? How are you going to do that?” Once a student has narrowed down their area of research during the earlier part of the programme, they can then look to gather relevant data. “They go into the field, raise the data themselves or do secondary data analysis. They look at surveys and conduct interviews. They also go abroad to collaborate with experts in their field and experience a different scientific environment,” says Dr Peters. “Then they come back and write up in the third year. That’s the typical lifecycle.”
healthy egoism in any research project and in my experience it’s consequently hard to implement hybrid approaches. When looking at the same phenomenon, a sociologist may address certain questions differently to a social psychologist for example,” he says. “But rather than melting away diversity by inflating the value of hybridity, we should train our transfer capacities. In my understanding, inter-disciplinarity is about researchers from other areas looking at your project and enabling a discussion, with learning effects on all sides. Also, it’s possible – and sometimes indispensable – to apply more than one research method or theoretical approach.” A fresh perspective on their project can open researchers’ eyes to new ideas on how to treat sources, enhancing the quality and originality of research. It also helps early stage researchers develop their research, analysis and communication skills, which may prove very valuable in their future careers, whether that’s in academia or elsewhere. “The labour market is in need of people with a social sciences background,” says Dr Peters. “Any institution, be it academic, public, profit or non-profit, needs conceptual and communicative skills that can be applied on
BIGSSS embraces diversity. There is so much out there to look at, so much need for differentiation. But we also need to establish a common framework in order to function well as a graduate school. Inter-disciplinary research The opportunity to spend time abroad at one of the 13 academic and non-academic partner organisations in BIGSSS-departs is an important aspect of the programme, encouraging fellows to consider alternative perspectives and share their findings with researchers from other disciplines. While students need to master the core elements of their own discipline, Dr Peters says they are encouraged to collaborate with researchers in other areas. “With our large and diverse faculty, we consider ourselves as a harbour of inter-disciplinarity,” he explains, admitting that there are some limits. “There is a In-house faculty and peers support BIGSSS PhD fellows in developing their projects in regular research colloquia.
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human interaction. This is what you’re trained for as social scientist. We’re used to making sense of complex situations and we can help organisations to work effectively.” While a doctorate sets students on the path towards a career in academia, competition for positions at universities is intense, and Dr Peters says many graduates look to take their career in a different direction. “BIGSSS is happy about our very low drop-out rates and the generally high level of job placement. After completing their PhD, many of our fellows go into the third sector, consulting, politics, or they go and work for foundations.”
BIGSSS Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences Project Objectives
BIGSSS-departs is a 42 month structured PhD programme which provides close supervision of dissertation work accompanied by a demand-tailored doctoral curriculum. BIGSSS-departs is a full-time PhD programme in which fellows commit themselves to their own dissertation projects and the full academic programme of the BIGSSS curriculum. BIGSSS-departs fellows pursue a freely chosen dissertation project in one of BIGSSS’ three thematic fields: (A) Global governance and regional integration (B) W elfare state, inequality and quality of life (C) Changing lives in changing socio-cultural contexts
Project Funding
Funded by the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Goverments.
Contact Details
Managing Director, Dr Christian Peters Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) University of Bremen P.O. Box 33 04 40 D – 28334 Bremen Germany T: +49 (0)421 218 66400 E: cpeters@bigsss-bremen.de W: https://www.bigsss-bremen.de
Dr Christian Peters
Dr Christian Peters has been Managing Director of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences since 2013. After graduation with a doctorat cotutelle at l’Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Paris/Sorbonne) and TU Dresden, he started his career as a research manager at the ZEIT Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius in Hamburg. He has research interests in political culture, populism studies and the relationship of religion and power in post-secular societies.
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