Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies

The main area of our studies is the past and present of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Particular emphasis is placed on the period since 1800 and the fundamental transformations that followed, which still influence the present in many ways. Therefore, in our graduate school, historians, art historians, philologists, and social scientists work closely together. We are interested in the specific characteristics of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, in the particularities of the countries, the societies, and the cultures of this region. In addition, we study the entanglements with other parts of the world. Pursuing the idea of integrated area studies, we collaborate with related disciplines (e.g. American, West European, Japanese, Chinese, Turkish, and Ottoman studies). We support the claim that Eastern and Southeastern Europe cannot be understood in isolation but only within the context of its interrelations with other world regions. Our research is interdisciplinary and focuses on three areas: basics and forms of social and political change cultural orders infrastructure, migration, and transfers of knowledge Our courses give the doctoral researchers opportunities to enhance their theoretical and methodological knowledge, extend their research in their academic field and to exchange ideas with other academics. At the same time, the programme is designed to give enough time for individual, concentrated studies on the researchers' own dissertation projects. Some of the general teaching events include theory and methodology seminars, colloquia and the summer school. The study groups are central to our doctoral programme. Like the Graduate School itself, these groups are interdisciplinary and focused around particular themes. We encourage international exchange. Our PhD candidates may spend two semesters researching abroad. In turn, international visiting fellows come to Regensburg to make use of our extensive academic facilities and to engage in academic dialogue. Alongside the academic qualification, we have created a mentoring programme and continuously organise career workshops to help our doctoral candidates with developing the necessary skills to build a successful career, whether in academia or beyond.