Networking with THESIS members gives you the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with like-minded people from a variety of disciplines, institutions and places all over Germany. If you want to make new friends from different scientific backgrounds, join our network!
The organisation
THESIS – The interdisciplinary network for PhD candidates and doctorate holders in Germany – is an independent, widely recognized organization of PhD candidates, postdocs and academics holding a doctorate. It is a registered non-profit association and was founded in 1991. At present, we have several hundreds of members from a large variety of academic disciplines.
Our aim is to promote research throughout supporting the career development of early career researchers. We provide peer support to master the scientific, logistic and personal challenges during the period of your doctorate and the following years of your career.
We cooperate with different organisations and companies, many of them holding special offers for our members. Please see our list of partners for more information.
Local groups, meetings and working groups
As a member, you can join our local groups in more than 20 cities all over Germany. Socialise with other PhD candidates or postdocs, share your personal and academic experiences, discuss the milestones or the first draft of your thesis, and get praxis-relevant career tips and ideas. You can also prepare for your thesis defence with the support of your peers in the community.
We invite you to participate in our regular local get-togethers (Stammtische) and the annual convention (THESIS Jahrestreffen) or to take part in other thematic and social events. Please check our event list for upcoming activities in your area. You can also join one of our working groups or create a new group with other members if you think there are important topics that you would like to collaboratively work on.
A strong voice in research and higher education policy
THESIS gives early career researchers a voice and widespread recognition in national policy debates. It promotes “best practices” for PhD candidates and encourages higher education and research institutions to improve and continually evaluate their standards.
As a founding member of Eurodoc – The European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers – in 2002, we have extended our activities to the European level. Eurodoc aims to be the voice of early career researchers at the European level and THESIS members have ever since its beginning engaged in Eurodoc’s activities. For further information about Eurodoc’s objectives please see their website or contact our Eurodoc delegates.
Becoming a member
Though our working language at THESIS is German, non-native speakers are very much welcome to become a member of our network. Our members and secretariat members will happily help you on in English if you have any questions regarding forms, regulations or any other issues. You can also contact our secretary to find out more about us. We are looking forward to meeting you at THESIS!