The academic program includes a detailed curriculum. During the first year, the following mandatory courses (accompanied by oral or written exams) are being offered:

• Computer Applications in Chemistry (lecture with practical excercises, exam)
• Business Management in Chemistry (lecture, exam)
• Modern Experimental Techniques (practical course)
• Project Development (oral exam)
• German course for students, who do not have sufficient knowledge in this language.

Furthermore, students are required to develop a detailed written research proposal on the topic of their PhD research. This proposal will be defended as part of the preliminary oral examination taken at the end of the first year. This exam must be passed to enter the second phase of the PhD program, which concentrates on the research project and the preparation of the PhD Thesis. The program concludes with the doctoral exa-
mination, which is conducted as a thesis defense. The doctoral thesis may be written in English or German, and the doctoral examination can be performed in either of these languages.

Each student has an individual advisory committee (the “Dissertation Committee”) which consists of the principal doctoral advisor and two additional advisors selected from the GSC-MS faculty roster. These three mentors will monitor the student’s academic progress, offer guidance and support in all questions regarding the course program and scientific work, as well as provide access to the research infrastructure available. The mentoring system has been designed to foster interdisciplinary interactions and scientific collaborations among the research groups of the GSC-MS.