Structured developement of young talent

Training highly-qualified educational experts for research and practical application was the goal of LEAD from the start. As a pure Graduate School in the beginning, LEAD set standards with its structured doctoral program and established targeted support for junior researchers early on. Over the years we have continually expanded the program, so it now includes new formats and postdocs. There is now an intensive cooperation between LEAD and the Graduate Academy, which provides numerous offers for all PhD students at the University of Tübingen; in the early days of LEAD these had to be offered directly by us.

After their doctorates, our PhD students have the option of becoming members of the Tübingen Postdoctoral Academy for Research on Education (PACE), which supports postdocs immediately after they gain their PhD. This involves preparing them with targeted mentoring and workshops, coaching and seminars for independent, interdisciplinary research in the field of empirical educational research and potential employment as a professor or for a leading position in education-related areas.

Faster doctorates and accademic success

From 2012 to mid-2022 LEAD produced 86 successful doctoral students, who took an average 3.4 years on their theses – well below the German average of 4.25 years. Seven graduates hold or have held a post as professor or assistant professor. At 75 percent, the ratio of alumni who remain in academia after their doctorate (at least for a while) is high. LEAD’s PhD students publish comparatively early on in high-level journals, and many of them have been awarded prizes for their research.