Academic Track in Göttingen
The 3rd-semester Research Track in Göttingen is meant for those students with a genuine interest in research (and see themselves going for a PhD) as well as those who like to tackle concrete and real-world-problems, for example, in project management, and want to further improve their research skills. It is applying a laboratory-approach in its core courses.
The central element of our Research Track is our “ResearchLAB: Imagining Europe Differently” (10 ECTS). This seminar is to open a space for students to critically assess approaches to current challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students are asked to identify challenges they want to deal with in the seminar (i.e., the war in Ukraine, climate change or migration).
The ResearchLAB can be linked by the students with the “Empirical Analysis of European Politics” (7 ECTS). The class will offer additional tools for the methodological toolbox of the students, here now in a more in-depths way than (usually) possible in the methodology seminar. It will teach quantitative methods not only for those who are into that field, but are good also for students who want to pursue a qualitative project, if only to better situate their case in the broader research field of European Studies. In this seminar, we will get hands-on experience on how these datasets are generated and the databases structured, learn about their advantages and limits, and how they can be used to answer substantive questions about multilevel politics. Applications include quantitative research designs that use existing datasets, but also the use of quantitative data to identify interesting cases for study, or case studies that trace European policies from the proposal to the final legislative act.
In a nutshell, the research track at the University of Göttingen offers students the opportunity to develop their individual profiles further. They will not only get to work on current challenges for Europe in innovative ways, but in doing so also have to reflect upon position as researcher.
Adding to these classes in which the students develop research projects and improve their methodological skills, they have the opportunity to choose two electives in order to broaden their overview of topics in current research on Euroculture and shape their own profile by choosing two mandatory electives. These electives are clustered into “Society” (M. EuCu.54), “Culture” (M. EuCu.55), “History” (M. EuCu.56), “Economy” (M. EuCu.57), “Politics and Law” (M. EuCu.58). Each of the two will be offered for 4 ECTS. As part of these modules, the participating disciplines of the Euroculture programme in Göttingen offer classes out of which the students have to choose two. The variety of courses ensures the students’ opportunity to deepen their knowledge in their field(s) of interest. The specializations also provide the students with the opportunity to generate ideas for an MA thesis or a further academic career and can be an advantage when seeking a job.
Academically, the research track gave me the opportunity to study quantitative methods, which I had not encountered at any of my previous universities. Additionally, thanks to recommendations from the coordinators, I was able to gain admission into another Master’s program following my Euroculture degree.
Göttingen itself is a wonderful city, rich in academic life and home to a diverse international student community. I always look forward to the chance to return.”
Your own Research Project
(Core Class, 10 ECTS, Supervisor: Dr. Lars Klein)
- Challenge-based teaching
- Students identify a challenges they want to deal with in the seminar (i.e., the war in Ukraine, climate change or migration).
- Students pool their knowledge from their respective backgrounds to reflect upon, frame and discuss the issues at hand.
- They can then conceptualize alternative approaches and solutions.
(Core Class, 7 ECTS, Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Simon Fink)
- Offers additional tools for the methodological toolbox of the students
- Teaching quantitative methods not only for those who are into that field, but are good also for students who want to pursue a qualitative project, if only to better situate their case in the broader research field of European Studies.
- Students will get hands-on experience on how these datasets are generated and the databases structured, learn about their advantages and limits, and how they can be used to answer substantive questions about multilevel politics.
- Applications include quantitative research designs that use existing datasets, but also the use of quantitative data to identify interesting cases for study, or case studies that trace European policies from the proposal to the final legislative act.
“Studying in Göttingen was for me like being on a holiday where you work hard and are surrounded by great people. Working hard and being on holiday seems to contradict each other and yet, Göttingen makes it work. The green surroundings, the small and beautiful city, the relaxed atmosphere at the campus. It all makes it feel like a holiday. This encouraged by the informal and very pleasant interaction with the Euroculture team.”
Sharpening your Profile and Building Expertise
Examples from the last years:
- “Understanding Europe” (Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Simon Fink):
The weekly seminar is meant for students to get further acquainted with a social science perspective on European studies and to sharpen their scholarly profile. Social science research on Europe will be applied to current social and political problems, and students will learn to critically evaluate real-world problems with a social scientific perspective.
- Living with diversity: Comparative Perspectives on the political rights of indigenous people and national minorities
- Politics of Globalization
- Curse or gift? Natural resources in intrastate conflicts
- Pandemic and Politics
- Theorizing State Power
Examples from the last years:
- Comparative Welfare State Research - Proseminar
- Cities and Migration, 1850s-2000s
Examples from the last years:
- Humans, Robots, Androids
- Climate Fiction: Writing, History, and Ethics in a Planetary Age
- Intercultural Hermeneutics
- Postcolonial Rewritings of Shakespeare
Examples from the last years:
- Critical Histories and the Problem of Space
- Afghanistan in the 20th and 21st century: Global and regional aspects
Example from the last years:
- Immigrant Entrepreneurship