Project Details
Projekt
GSC 260: Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS)
Subject Area
Condensed Matter Physics
Astrophysics and Astronomy
Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
Particles, Nuclei and Fields
Astrophysics and Astronomy
Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
Particles, Nuclei and Fields
Term
from 2007 to 2019
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 49599460
The Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS) was launched as an honors graduate programme in October 2006. It is run jointly by the Bonn and Cologne physics departments in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy and the Research Centre Jülich. The Deutsche Telekom Stiftung contributes financial support. Drawing on the research and education capacities of the physics/astronomy departments in Bonn and Cologne combined, the BCGS offers access to a much broader spectrum of physics education and early research training than either university alone could provide.
The BCGS fields of research are:
(1) particle and nuclear physics,
(2) astronomy and astrophysics and
(3) condensed matter, statistical physics and photonics. Directed at the top 30 percent of the physics graduate students of the two universities, the BCGS aims to attract excellent students by offering an advanced study programme with additional educational challenges and early integration into departmental research groups. The latter is fostered, e.g., by research internships taken upon entry to the graduate school. Block courses and full-day seminars on special topics add to intensive learning. Bonn-Cologne joint curricula are implemented by lectures/seminars, which are taught in alternating locations or transmitted to the partner university by video.
BCGS students are privileged by the opportunity to study in the stimulating atmosphere of a network of peers and sharpen their social and communicative skills. They receive extra financial support, on top of the standard remuneration, in the form of a monthly stipend. Admissions are 30 per year, resulting in a total body of 150 students. For students holding a bachelor's degree, the school's programme begins with an "excellence master class" and leads in five years directly to the doctoral degree.
Students are trained in a strongly international environment and benefit from the graduate school's international research connections. At least once during their five-year graduate studies, students make an extended visit to a foreign institution. An elaborate mentoring/advising system helps the students organise their time efficiently and study in a focused manner. Thesis committees are set up at the beginning of the PhD research phase. Career options are disseminated in a series of events called "Science meets Business".
The BCGS fields of research are:
(1) particle and nuclear physics,
(2) astronomy and astrophysics and
(3) condensed matter, statistical physics and photonics. Directed at the top 30 percent of the physics graduate students of the two universities, the BCGS aims to attract excellent students by offering an advanced study programme with additional educational challenges and early integration into departmental research groups. The latter is fostered, e.g., by research internships taken upon entry to the graduate school. Block courses and full-day seminars on special topics add to intensive learning. Bonn-Cologne joint curricula are implemented by lectures/seminars, which are taught in alternating locations or transmitted to the partner university by video.
BCGS students are privileged by the opportunity to study in the stimulating atmosphere of a network of peers and sharpen their social and communicative skills. They receive extra financial support, on top of the standard remuneration, in the form of a monthly stipend. Admissions are 30 per year, resulting in a total body of 150 students. For students holding a bachelor's degree, the school's programme begins with an "excellence master class" and leads in five years directly to the doctoral degree.
Students are trained in a strongly international environment and benefit from the graduate school's international research connections. At least once during their five-year graduate studies, students make an extended visit to a foreign institution. An elaborate mentoring/advising system helps the students organise their time efficiently and study in a focused manner. Thesis committees are set up at the beginning of the PhD research phase. Career options are disseminated in a series of events called "Science meets Business".
DFG Programme
Graduate Schools
Applicant Institution
Universität zu Köln
Co-Applicant Institution
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Spokespersons
Professor Dr. Johannes Berg, since 5/2014; Professor Dr. Martin R. Zirnbauer, until 4/2014
Participating Researchers
Professor Dr. Markus Braden; Professor Dr. Klaus Desch; Professor Dr. Andreas Eckart; Professor Dr. Jan Jolie; Professor Dr. Friedrich R. Klein; Professor Dr. Marek Kowalski; Professor Dr. Joachim Krug; Professor Dr. Norbert Langer; Professorin Dr. Berenike Maier; Professor Dr. Klaus Meerholz; Professor Dr. Ulf-G. Meißner; Professor Dr. Karl M. Menten; Professor Dr. Hans-Peter Nilles; Professor Dr. Achim Rosch; Professor Dr. Peter Schneider; Professor Dr. Hans Ströher; Professor Dr. Jürgen Stutzki; Professorin Dr. Ulrike Thoma; Professor Dr. Martin Weitz
