Doctoral Programs / Doctoral Groups

In contrast to doctoral schools and doc.funds funded by the FWF, doctoral programs/ doctoral forums are understood as associations of five to a maximum of fifteen supervisors (faculty) and doctoral candidates working on a common research topic or approach. The aim of doctoral forums is to ensure a research-intensive environment in which regular exchanges between members (e.g., through joint scientific events, initiatives such as journal clubs/reading circles, research-oriented courses) create a peer culture that enables higher-quality dissertations.

In addition, membership in a doctoral forum should enable doctoral candidates to become more involved in the activities of the field-specific scientific community (through publications, participation in and organization of scientific events such as workshops, guest lectures, summer schools) and increase their career opportunities (through reference letters, collaboration on projects, support with publications).

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The current doctoral programmes at the University of Graz are being phased out and will be transitioned into doctoral forums. The Rectorate’s policy on the establishment of doctoral forums at the University of Graz can be found here.

Doctoral Forums

Provided that the quality criteria set out in the Rectorate’s guidelines on the establishment of doctoral forums are met, doctoral forums will be admitted to the Research Careers Campus as associate members.
As associate members, the doctoral student forums may apply to the Research Careers Campus for funding for academic events in which their doctoral students participate. The management of the Research Careers Campus decides on funding subject to the availability of funds.

The University of Graz currently has the following doctoral forums (speakers in brackets):

Complexity of Life (Prof. Dr Guilherme Maia de Oliveira Wood)

European Private Law (Prof. Dr Walter Doralt)

Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (Prof. Heidrun Zettelbauer)

Human Factor in Digital Transformation (Prof. Dr habil. Jörn Kleinert)

Culture – Text – Action (Prof.Dr Christine Schwanecke)

Medialities in Historical Contexts: Cultures of Knowledge and the Arts in the 17th and 18th Centuries (Professor Dr Stefano Saracino)

Human Rights and Democracy from an Interdisciplinary Perspective (Associate Professor Mag. Dr Gerd Oberleitner)

Migration – Intersectionality – Heterogeneous Societies (Professor Dr Annette Sprung, Associate Professor DrNadja Grbic, Priv.-Doz. Dr Andrea Strutz)

Philosophy (Lecturer (Priv.-Doz.) Mag. Dr. Guido Melchior)

Language Didactics and Language Teaching Research (Professor B.A.^, M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D. Sarah Jane Mercer)

South-Eastern Europe (Professor Dr Florian Bieber)

Transformations of the Human (Professor Dr Anne-Kathrin Reulecke)

Trans-Mediterranean Interconnections (Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ursula Gärtner)

Visual Cultures and Intermediality (Associate Professor Dr Klaus Rieser)

Currently, the following Doctoral Programs are also still active at University of Graz (speakers in brackets):

Ancient Cultures of the Mediterranean (Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Spickermann)

Synergies in Business Law (Univ.-Prof.ⁱⁿ Dr.ⁱⁿ Tina Ehrke-Rabel)