GSHS offers integrated and needs-oriented support to doctoral degree candidates
3 December 2020
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has established the Gutenberg Graduate School of the Humanities and Social Sciences (GSHS), a new integrated and needs-oriented program for doctoral degree candidates in the humanities and social sciences. "The new graduate school extends the facilities our university provides with regard to the promotion and mentoring of young research talents. It complements our existing graduate programs in the natural and life sciences," emphasized Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, JGU Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics. "Mainz University offers an extraordinarily broad spectrum of subjects that include very research-driven fields in the humanities and social sciences as well as correspondingly wide-ranging opportunities for studying for a doctorate. The GSHS enhances their quality, attractiveness, and visibility."
The Gutenberg Graduate School of the Humanities and Social Sciences focuses specifically on the needs of young researchers in the humanities and social sciences. "While doctoral candidates in the natural and life sciences are often closely integrated into their professors' research groups, our postgraduates in the humanities and social sciences frequently work on their own. Many of them would like to have more interaction with other doctoral candidates – including those working in other subject and discipline areas," said the Director of the GSHS, Professor Alexandra Schneider. "In view of this, the demand for an integrated, needs-oriented program is particularly high in this context."
Consultation, further training, networking
The new graduate school, which addresses about one third of all JGU doctoral candidates, is meeting precisely these demands. "The GSHS offers a comprehensive range of services all from a single source. Our administrative office provides advice on doctorate-related issues while our website has information on continuing education options, organized partly by ourselves and partly by our cooperation partners on campus," said Dr. Jeanne Ruffing, GSHS Managing Director. Furthermore, workshops will enable doctoral candidates to network across disciplines and acquire additional qualifications, which will not only help them write their dissertations in the most effective way, but also to transition to a profession once they are finished. Another special focus is the optimal setup of the doctoral entry phase by informing about qualification measures and scholarships on offer.
In 2019, more than 1,250 doctoral candidates were registered in the core subjects and faculties addressed by the GSHS, while more than 150 doctorates were successfully completed.
Membership of the GSHS will be voluntary and free of charge for postgraduates and not associated with any specific obligations. The GSHS will be funded by resources provided by the Rhineland-Palatinate Research Initiative.