About us
The University of Bayreuth is a hub of international and interdisciplinary research. African studies have been a priority at the University of Bayreuth since its foundation in 1975.
The Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) brings together African and European academic networks and fosters partnership not only between the University of Bayreuth but also among universities in Africa. It provides training opportunities for doctoral candidates, the Junior Fellows, that are one of a kind in this field in Germany and are laid down in the Graduate School’s Doctoral Regulations:
- multi- and interdisciplinary research with a multi-disciplinary mentorship of one supervisor and two mentors
- clearly structured individual research, training and coaching
- specialist academic training with a focus on interdisciplinary and employment-oriented transferable skills
- individual career planning and a Gender and Diversity Programme
- early integration into the international academic community
- shorter time-to-degree with structural and financial encouragements
- assistance in academic and organisational matters
BIGSAS offers a Dr phil. and Dr rer. nat. as well as joint supervision and degrees with a cotutelle contract and sandwich models. The professors - Members and the Associated Members - of BIGSAS work in multiple academic disciplines, among others Anthropology, Geography, History, Law, Linguistics, Literature, Media Studies, Sociology and Political Science.
BIGSAS builds on:
- long-term experience in research on Africa;
- close cooperation with African colleagues;
- in-depth experience in doctoral training since 1984;
- a library with more than 186,000 books on Africa, 33,000 titles of audiovisual material, 200 periodicals, 5,000 maps and a growing number of e-books and e-book collections;
- an open-minded environment that fosters intercultural understanding between individuals and internationalisation between institutions.