The Cologne Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences (CGS) is the integrated doctoral programme of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences (WiSo-Faculty) at the University of Cologne. The aim is to provide excellent training for young academics in teaching and research. The doctoral students come from the fields of business administration, economics, sociology, political science, econometrics/statistics, business psychology, and energy economics.

There is close cooperation with the graduate school of the Max Planck Institute in Cologne (International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy - IMPRS-SPCE), the Max Planck Institute in Bonn (International Max Planck Research School for Research on Collective Goods - IMPRS BeSmart) and the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute.

Becoming a Doctoral Student at our WiSo-Faculty

Doctoral students typically become a member of our faculty by applying either via

•  open research positions at a chair/department or
• Calls for Application for CGS scholarships

1.) Open research positions are announced both via Stellenwerk or on the chair/department's homepages throughout the year. These are mostly 75% TV-L 13 positions and include some teaching load. Doctoral students are covered by social security. In case you are interested in a research position at a certain chair/department, please have a look for open positions on the chair's/department's homepage or contact the department's office. The CGS ist not involved in this hiring process. 

2.) The application period for the scholarships is December 15^th - March 15^th every year for programme start in October. The process is organized  as outlined here (Management)  or here (Social Sciences) or here (Economics).  With the CGS scholarships, the WiSo Faculty supports outstanding graduates. Scholarship holders are assigned to the faculty’s four Key Research Initiatives (KRIs) and find their supervisor during the applications process. Hence, applicants are not required to contact potential supervisors beforehand. The link between scholarships to the KRIs is intended to foster excellent scientific education in the core research fields of the faculty and to additionally strengthen these areas. CGS scholarships are endowed with €1515 per month for three years that are tax-free plus a research budget of €3000. Typically, scholarship holders can take up an additional research assistant job if they want. 

Find out More

For further specific information on the programmes, funding and on how to apply, please see the respective discipline-specific pages.