Study Programme

The two-year study programme has been designed such that it creates a high degree of cohesion and corporate spirit within the Research Training Group (RTG), on the one hand, and helps widening the scientific horizon of its members beyond the topic of frequency effects. The third year can and should be exclusively devoted to writing up the PhD thesis.

In the second year, the PhD students in the RTG will also have the opportunity (a) to acquire additional skills in teaching courses for higher education (didactic theory and practice for future university teachers), (b) to offer a class for undergraduates or at Master level, (c) to take a practical language class, or (d) to go abroad for a short-term teaching and/or research stay.

In addition, the Hermann Paul School of Language Sciences (HPSL) – in cooperation with the International Graduate Academy Freiburg (IGA) – offers further optional classes, especially skill-oriented ones useful in professional life, which can be attended if needed and deemed interesting. This optional field of study will be complemented by classes offered by Freiburg-based linguists and cognitive scientists under the umbrella of the Hermann-Paul-Centre for Linguistics (HPCL).

The idea of this study format is to develop ideas and scientific creativity within a research environment of flat hierarchies.