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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
Term from 2007 to 2019
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 49599460
 
Final Report Year 2019

Final Report Abstract

The Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS) is a joint graduate school of the Bonn and Cologne universities. The research profiles of the two physics departments in Bonn and Cologne are largely complementary, resulting in a graduate school covering a broad range of research; from astrophysics, biophysics and condensed matter research to particle physics, quantum optics and string theory. The BCGS runs a five-year integrated program, which leads students with a bachelor's degree through an MSc phase to doctoral studies. The BCGS was launched in 2006 with a small class of so-called “honors students'”, who were chosen on a competitive basis. The honors students received scholarships, mentoring, and travel grants. They also had the opportunity to participate in research internships. Since 2012, the BCGS comprises almost all physics and astrophysics graduate students in Bonn and Cologne, while continuing to support a competitive class of honors students. The integrated model of a graduate school, which combines the MSc and PhD into a single program, has turned out to be particularly attractive to international students. It allows them to gain graduate qualification within the German system based on a broad range of courses, before choosing a particular research area for the PhD. Today, a third of our MSc students come from abroad, in part attracted by highly competitive "qualifying scholarships" covering the cost of living during the MSc phase. The teaching program of the BCGS is characterized by the principles of "research early on" during the MSc phase and "continued learning" during the PhD phase. The combination of research and learning is realized through research internships (MSc) and so-called intensive weeks on current topics of research. In addition, the BCGS offers a wide range of advanced courses given by our BCGS lecturers, regular faculty, and by external speakers. A mentoring scheme and networking events like the BCGS weekend and poster sessions promote a sense of shared identity among our students. The BCGS has also shaped the research community in the two physics departments. Strategic faculty appointments were made in astrophysics, biophysics, and quantum optics, often complementing existing experimental groups with new theoretical groups and vice versa.

Link to the final report

https://dx.doi.org/10.2314/KXP:1698293607

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