Economics combines disciplinary rigor with applied references that are more directly relevant to politics than almost any other subject. Research areas such as labor market research, monetary policy, regulatory theory and taxation are based on a common theoretical and empirical methodology. In addition, there are numerous fields of business administration that are also closely related in terms of methodology and investigate economic life on the corporate side. The economic sciences always interact with political discussion partners and the public. Especially in Berlin, the capital of Europe's largest economy, a high-quality education in economic sciences is of particular importance.
Economic methodology has developed considerably in the last few decades. The subject has reached a high degree of mathematical formalization and includes numerous newer specialized areas such as Economics of Education or Behavioral Economics, which are only considered to be subfields of economics at all thanks to the development of newer methods. It is hardly feasible for a single faculty to introduce its young researchers to current research on its own. Against this background, FU Berlin, HU Berlin, TU Berlin, University of Potsdam, ESMT Berlin, Hertie School and the WZB Berlin decided to found the Berlin School of Economics (BSoE) in September 2019 - a cooperation that is unique in its scope and size throughout Europe. Based on its two successful predecessor programs Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics and Management Sciences (BDPEMS, founded in 2003) and Berlin Economics Research Associates (BERA, founded in 2016), the BSoE offers structured programs for doctoral students as well as postdocs and junior professors in the economic sciences in Berlin and Brandenburg. The BSoE partner institutions are thus deepening their long-term cooperation and presenting themselves to the public with a highly visible concept for the training of young academics.
The PhD Program forms the core of the BSoE. New BSoE doctoral candidates are recruited internationally in a structured selection process. As is common in doctoral programs in the economic sciences, all BSoE doctoral candidates undergo a comprehensive course program at the beginning of their program membership, which covers the basics of both theory and methodology. At the same time, this course phase also serves to provide orientation on the doctoral topic and the search for suitable supervision by the BSoE Faculty, which consists of over 70 researchers from the participating institutions. In order to ensure the necessary freedom during the course phase, the doctoral students are financed by a scholarship during this program phase. In the subsequent research phase, doctoral candidates usually switch to a position as a research assistant. In addition to the doctorate, program membership concludes with extensive preparation for the international job market, where BSoE alumni regularly achieve very good placements. In addition to the size of the BSoE network, the three (smaller) business administration tracks in Accounting, Finance and Management are another unique feature of the BSoE PhD Program.
The funding of the BSoE with the Einstein Doctoral Program Award from 01.10.2020 to 30.09.2023 made it possible to support eleven BSoE doctoral candidates with a scholarship for one year each. The funding also allowed internationally renowned scientists to be invited to Berlin for block courses and talks and to increase the number of personnel at the BSoE office, which is based at HU Berlin. All measures implemented with the funds from the Einstein Doctoral Program Award will continue to be funded by the BSoE partner institutions after the end of the funding period. The Einstein Doctoral Program Award thus made a substantial contribution to the promotion of doctoral candidates and the establishment of a permanent structure. As a result, it strengthened the visibility of Berlin as a science and research hub.