The Graduate College programme is designed to support and enhance the research work of the individual fellows, to further develop participants' professional qualifications, and to broaden the interdisciplinary horizons of their projects. The fellows actively participate in the planning, preparation and design of the programme.
The research colloquium, held once a fortnight during the semester, serves as a regular meeting for the participants. The content and form of the research colloquium is variable: aside from offering a format for presenting and discussing the individual research projects, it offers practice in developing research methods and development and concentration of the central, interdisciplinary topics of the Center of Excellence (through participating university and guest instructors) in the form of workshops and the preparation, evaluation and documentation of conferences. The research colloquia are obligatory seminars which provide a common meeting point for all fellows.
Further, a teaching programme in accordance with the requirements of the Center of Excellence is offered. These are normally designed by two advisors of the Center of Excellence (offered as electives). Further, fellows working on thematically related topics meet in largely self-organized work groups. The work groups are open in form; simultaneous participation in various work groups and the periodical reconstitution of the groups is possible. This working format not only allows a free exchange of content (e.g. through discussions on specific topics, literature, conference reports), it also allows the fellows to prepare and organize workshops.
The Center for Excellence hosts public conferences which the fellows help to organize and host. Fellows are also encouraged to attend external conferences related to their fields of interest. They also have the possibility to participate in the regular courses offered by the Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg. At the beginning of each semester fellows receive an overview of the relevant seminars offered by the participating university instructors. In consultation with the respective departments, post-doctoral fellows also have the opportunity to offer their own courses.
The Center for Excellence cooperates with the department of personnel development and further education at the Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg. The fellows are also encouraged to participate in seminars offered by this department for further professional development (e.g. scientific presentations, English for special purposes, IT, didactics of higher education). At the beginning of their fellowships, participating faculty members shall consult individually with fellows concerning participation in these areas. Fellows also have the possibility to gain professionally oriented qualifications by completing internships in participating and cooperating institutions and research projects of the Center of Excellence.