General facts about the RTG
Internationality
- Does the RTG have an international focus?
- What is the language of instruction?
- Do you offer extra support for non-German students?
Admission
- What is the ideal educational background of a student entering the RTG with a three-year scholarship?
- What is the minimum requirement for entering the RTG with a three-year scholarship?
- Do I need a GRE test?
- How and when do I apply?
Scholarships
- Who gets a scholarship?
- How and when do I apply?
- How long does the scholarship last?
- Who finances the scholarships?
- What is the financial value of the scholarship?
Supervision
- What type of supervision does the RTG provide?
- Is external supervision possible?
- What does supervision entail?
Course work
- What is the required course work?
- I already did course X at institution Y. Does this count towards my course work?
Graduation
- How do I complete the program successfully?
- What are the standard requirements for a dissertation?
- From which university do I finally get the doctoral degree?
The relationship of RTG and BDPEMS
- In what respect does the RTG differ from BDPEMS?
- How does the RTG relate to the BDPEMS?
- Can I be a member of both RTG and BDPEMS?
- Can I apply to the RTG if I am already a doctoral student of BDPEMS?
Cooperation with other institutions
Doctoral students of the RTG benefit from the cooperation of the RTG and its particpants with:
- Collaborative Research Center 649 "Economic Risk" (CRC649)
- Transregio 15 "Governance and Efficiency in Economic Systems"
- Humboldt Graduate School (HGS)
- Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics and Management Science (BDPEMS)
- Humboldt Graduate School of Business (HGSB)
- Graduate Center of DIW Berlin
General facts about the RTG
What is the RTG?
The RTG offers a full-time, internationally competitive doctoral program based on the unifying research theme "Interdependencies in the regulation of markets."
Who is the RTG?
Through its participating faculty, the RTG represents all major academic institutions in economics in Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, ESMT, WZB, and DIW).
What are the advantages of the RTG?
Grouped around a common research theme, the RTG offers its doctoral students access to leading academic experts throughout Berlin. Moreover, it offers financial scholarships and provides the infrastructure for its doctoral program.
Internationality
Does the RTG have an international focus?
Yes, the RTG offers an internationally competitive doctoral program. An explicit goal is the international placement of its graduates.
What is the language of instruction?
The doctoral program is exclusively in English. This means your course work, your research, supervision, and your dissertation will all be in English.
Do you offer extra support for non-German students?
Yes, in cooperation with the Humboldt Graduate School, the RTG supports international doctoral candidates in their transition to Berlin in all questions related to this process, ranging from applying for a visa to gaining recognition for their international credentials.
Admission
What is the ideal educational background of a student entering the RTG with a three-year scholarship?
A "Ph.D.-track" master's degree in economics with a focus on analytical training and quantitative methods.
What is the minimum requirement for entering the RTG with a three-year scholarship?
A master's degree (or an equivalent degree) in economics (or a directly related field).
Do I need a GRE test?
Yes, as part of your application to the RTG we ask for your GRE scores from the General Test (we do not accept GMAT as a substitute). As a rule of thumb, successful applicants will score at or above the 90th percentile in the quantitative and analytical section of the GRE General Test.
How and when do I apply?
Please submit your application using our online application system (in cooperation with BDPEMS, for more information visit https://bdpems.wiwi.hu-berlin.de/portal/content/admission). The deadline for the intake 2013 is March 31, 2013.
Scholarships
Who gets a scholarship?
The RTG awards scholarships on the basis of academic excellence and research interests.
How and when do I apply?
Please submit your application using our online application system (in cooperation with BDPEMS, for more information visit https://bdpems.wiwi.hu-berlin.de/portal/content/admission). The deadline for the intake 2013 is March 31, 2013.
How long does the scholarship last?
Scholarships last for a maximum of three years and are renewed on a yearly basis.
Who finances the scholarships?
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) finances the scholarships and the overall program of the RTG as part of its program "Graduiertenkolleg." The participating faculty of the RTG awards the scholarships to candidates based on academic excellence.
What is the financial value of the scholarship?
Supporting a full-time doctoral program, the scholarships are currently at €1365,- per month, which should be enough to cover your living expenses in Berlin.
Supervision
What type of supervision does the RTG provide?
Upon entering the program each doctoral student is assigned a mentor, who is a senior student of the group and helps the student to integrate in the RTG.
After the first year, the doctoral student is officially assigned two supervisors, who are part of the RTG's participating faculty.
Is external supervision possible?
Both supervisors are expected to be part of the participating faculty. Only after an official review by the RTG can one of the two supervisors be external. At least one of the two supervisors needs to be part of the RTG's participating faculty.
What does supervision entail?
The supervisors are responsible for the student's progress in course work and research.
Course work
What is the required course work?
Students first have to obtain excellent skills in the general core subjects micro, macro and econometrics. After acquiring these skills, students follow specialized courses in regulation and participate in a yearly summer school organized by the RTG.
I already did course X at institution Y. Does this count towards my course work?
Because of heterogeneity, the formal course requirements of students are agreed upon on an individual basis when entering the RTG and written down in a covenant between the student and the RTG.
Graduation
How do I complete the program successfully?
You complete the program successfully after writing a dissertation that is reviewed by your supervisors and a formal Ph.D. commission.
What are the standard requirements for a dissertation?
The dissertation normally contains at least three independently written research papers on the research subject of the RTG.
From which university do I finally get the doctoral degree?
The university your most involved supervisor is affiliated with will award the doctoral degree.
The relationship of RTG and BDPEMS
In what respect does the RTG differ from BDPEMS?
The BDPEMS offers a general program that leads to a doctoral degree in economics.
The RTG offers a program with a specific research focus that leads to a doctoral degree in economics.
How does the RTG relate to the BDPEMS?
There is a close cooperation with BDPEMS. In particular, BDPEMS offers the core courses in micro, macro, and econometrics. The RTG offers specialized courses that relate to regulation.
Can I be a member of both RTG and BDPEMS?
Yes, as a doctoral student of the RTG, you can also be a member of BDPEMS.
Can I apply to the RTG if I am already a doctoral student of BDPEMS?
Yes, but it is not possible to be funded by the RTG after joining BDPEMS.
