The Professional Development Program is targeted at

• doctoral candidates of DRS doctoral programs (year 1-4)
• postdocs of DRS doctoral programs
• postdocs of the DRS fellowship lines HONORS, POINT and COFUND.

The number of courses you are entitled to book per semester might be limited by your doctoral program. Please ask your program coordinator, to what extend you are eligible to participate (see “Do I have to pay for a course?”).

Doctoral candidates of Freie Universität who are not a member of a DRS doctoral program are welcome to register, if places are available. The opening of a course will be announced in the DRS Open Newsletter. To subscribe to the DRS Open Newsletter, please follow this link: Open Newsletter.

Please note: You need to be matriculated at Freie Universität or any other university in order to participate. 

Our Professional Development Program consists of high-quality courses taught by expert trainers and coaches. The DRS therefore asks for a contribution of €100 per participant per course day. This contribution is covered by the DRS member programs and the departments (“Fachbereiche”) of Freie Universität Berlin.

For you as a participant there are no personal costs involved. However, the number of courses you can book per semester might be limited by your doctoral program (see “For how many courses can I register?”).

The number of courses you can register for is determined by your doctoral program. Please contact your program coordinator to find out how many course days you are entitled to book, before you register online.

Doctoral candidates of Freie Universität who are not a member of a DRS doctoral program, may register for two course days per semester. Please note that this only applies after a course has been opened and announced in our Open Newsletter (see “Who can participate in the DRS Professional Development Program?”).

It is crucial for DRS in running and organizing the Professional Development Program to have reliable information about the number of participants. For cancellations, the following rules apply:

1. If you are unable to attend a course you have booked, you must request withdrawal at the latest 14 days prior to the course via email to skills-drs@fu-berlin.de .
2. For cancellations we receive later than 14 days before the beginning of the course, your doctoral program/department will be charged with 100% of the courses costs. The number of course days you are entitled to book will be reduced accordingly.
3. For cancellations we receive at the latest 14 days before the beginning of the course, your doctoral program/department will not be charged. The number of course days that you are entitled to book will not be reduced.
4. Cancellations due to illness are only acceptable on production of a valid medical certificate which you must send by mail or email within one week after the course. In this case your doctoral program/department will not be charged. The number of course days that you are entitled to book will not be reduced.

Dahlem Research School offers and administers its interdisciplinary course program but does NOT award credits for the courses. Each doctoral program has its own rules on awarding ECTS credits for courses taken at DRS.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Participants' data is stored in a database at Dahlem Research School (DRS) for the purpose of recording attendance at workshops, providing statistical information and maintaining training records.
2. Individual training records are made available to each program coordinator at the end of each semester.
3. After you have completed your doctoral studies your program coordinator will issue to you a transcript of records including all courses taken as part of the curriculum of your doctoral program.