International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE) – (Ph.D.)

Contents

The IMPRS-SPCE provides an attractive research environment for talented graduate students. The three-year and three months curriculum of the IMPRS is divided in two phases. The course work in the first year is to ensure that students enter the phase of writing their dissertation with firm methodological skills and a solid theoretical background. Activities in the second and third year are to provide a structure of guided independence, allowing students to concentrate on their research and providing feedback through exchange with peers, advisors and other scholars. A four-month stay at a foreign research university is to expose students to a different research environment and add to the internationalization of their research experience. Students may also opt to pursue a double doctorate ("cotutelle") from the University of Cologne and Sciences Po, Paris.

The first year

During their first fifteen months students focus on graduate course work and on writing a proposal for their doctoral thesis. Courses are based on the skills they bring from their previous studies and on the additional qualifications they need for their dissertation project. Special emphasis is placed on improving methodological skills and on deepening knowledge in economic sociology and political economy. At present the following seminars are taught: Economy and Society I, Economy and Society II, Logic of Social Inquiry, Research Logic and Research Design in Contemporary Politics, Sociology of Markets, Comparative Political Economy, Comparative Political Institutions, Transnational Economic Governance, Transnational Institutional Dynamics, Complex Organizations, Foundations of Institutional Theory, and Social Network Analysis.

Further training in specialized research methods is provided depending on existing competence and need deriving from research projects. At the end of their first year, students take specialized short courses offered by the ECPR Summer Schools in Essex and Ljubljana, the Zentralarchiv für Empirische Sozialforschung in Cologne, the Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA) in Mannheim or comparable institutions. Training in methods will not be restricted to the first year but may take place during all three years of the program.

In addition students participate in a biweekly Research School colloquium. At the end of their first summer students must have completed their course program and hand in a first year paper for their doctoral thesis in September. Based on their achievements the faculty decides whether a student is accepted into the second phase of the program.

The second and third year

The second phase lasts two years, during which students concentrate on thesis research and writing. In addition several activities are offered that constitute the curriculum of the school during this phase.

Pending their advisor's approval, students in the second phase have an opportunity to spend up to four months at the School's American, British or French partner universities. They may also spend time at other foreign research institutions, depending on availability and on the topic of their research.

Every summer a Max Planck Summer Conference on Economy, Politics and Society is organized for students in their second and third year. The Summer Conference is an opportunity for students to present their work in progress to peers and senior scholars.

During semesters the biweekly colloquium offers students an opportunity to present their ongoing research and receive feedback from faculty and peers.
Students may participate in courses on German as a second language and in general courses on academic publishing, scientific writing in English, and special computer programs.

Funding details

Students receive a monthly scholarship of 1200 EUR covering their living expenses that will increase by 100 Euro each year. The IMPRS aims to expand the program to four years. No tuitions will be charged. Upon acceptance into the second phase the scholarship will be extended for another two years. Doctoral students at the IMPRS have a fully equipped shared office, full access to the libraries and research facilities of the MPIfG and the Department of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Cologne, and research funds to conduct their projects.

Faculty

The faculty is made up of professors and associate professors from the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and the University of Cologne.
Professors

• Jens Beckert (Sociology)
• Carsten Burhop (Economic History)
• Mark Ebers (Organization Studies)
• André Kaiser (Political Science)
• Wolfgang Streeck (Sociology)
• Christine Trampusch (Political Science)

Associate Professors

• PD Dr. Martin Höpner (Political Science)
• apl. Prof. Dr. Sigrid Quack (Sociology)

Head of Junior Research Group

• Dr. Cornelia Woll (Political Science)