European PhD Network in Socio-Economic and Statistical Studies (aka SESS)

Socio-Economic and Statistical Studies is a network of collaborating PhD programmes in

sociology
economics
demography
and/or related fields.

The objective of the European PhD Network in Socio-Economic and Statistical Studies (SESS EuroPhD) is the scientific training of scholars who intend to dedicate themselves to academic careers or to serve as experts in national or international organizations where they are called to analyse social and economic data and address social issues with a broad perspective.

The network offers an additional layer of skill/experience/expertise on top of what each individual participating PhD programme offers. These additional benefits include student long-term exchanges, short-term staff mobility, an internationalized dissertation writing and defence process, and also possible joint supervision (cotutelle).

The network helps students comply with the requirements for the “Doctor Europeus degree” (i.e., “European Doctorate”):

The student shall spend at least 3 months abroad - working at their dissertation at one of the cooperating institutions other than their home university.
The dissertation shall be written in English.
There are at least two dissertation reviews (written in English) by reviewers from two different cooperating institutions other than the student’s home university.
At least one member of the dissertation defence committee is international (i.e., from a country other than where the student’s university is based).
The language of the viva is English.

The cooperation between participating institutions is strengthened also via:

Co-supervision of dissertations (cotutelle).
Short-term faulty exchanges.
Jointly organized conferences/conference sessions.

SESS conference

There is a short student conference each year, typically in spring semester. Organizational responsibility circulates between participating institutions. Except the travel costs the organizing institution covers the cost of the conference.

Logistics: admissions and money

Each participating institution organizes its own admission procedure. Each student is accepted to one of the participating PhD programmes. No central admission procedure is organized.

Students are financed (subsistence fellowship etc.) by their home institution. Participating institutions may (but are not obliged to) offer incoming fellowships.

Mobility fellowships

Core funding for student and faculty outgoing mobility is provided by the Erasmus+ programme.

Diploma

All students shall notify the local coordinator that they want to be considered for the “Doctor Europeus degree” before submitting their thesis, so that the defence can be organized accordingly. Each participating institutions has slightly different rules to award the “Doctor Europeus degree”.

Admission

Admission procedures at participating institutions

Supervisors

Potential Supervisors at participating institutions

Network + Contacts