GGDDS Modules

The PhD programme will start in January each year. The first semester is dedicated to five teaching modules. During this time, the students will also attend German classes. In May and June the students will visit ZEF in order to refine their proposals and to develop academic networks.

The first year course is meant to end with the approval of the final research proposals. The second year is to be spent conducting field research. hand the third year is meant for data analysis and the writing up of the dissertation.

Teaching and Supervision

The PhD course is one of the main components of the GGDDS program. It is one of the few PhD programs in the University of Ghana that offers courses that provide advanced education and methodological and professional training. The course contains 5 modules that focus on:

economic and social change theories,
governance and institutions
natural resource use and management
qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis
professional skills

Teaching is carried out by a large number of lecturers from ISSER, other departments of the University of Ghana and ZEF. Co-teaching by lecturers from the University of Ghana and ZEF is encouraged and provides an interdisciplinary perspective for students as well as mutual capacity building for lecturers.

GDDS lecturers, institutional affiliation and area of specialization, 2009-2011

Institutional affiliation	Number	Area of specialization
Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER)	14	Population & Migration Health Research Methodology Political Economy Development Economics Project Planning Governance and Democracy Report Writing
Center for Development Research (ZEF)	9	Resource Economics Econometrics Quantitative & Qualitative Research Methods Governance Institutional Theory Natural Resource Management
Other Departments (University of Ghana)	4	Sampling Techniques Governance Environmental Valuation Techniques
Other Institutions (CIM and GDI)	2	Reform of Land Institutions in Ghana Climate Change and Development Quantitative Research Methods

One of the outstanding characteristics of the GGDDS consists of supporting African PhD students in their home country and providing for adequate training and a conducive research environment thus helping the students to attain an excellent academic standard.

Effective supervision is crucial for successful dissertation projects. To ensure high-quality supervision, the GGDDS cooperates with supervisors from ISSER, the University of Ghana and other Ghanaian Universities. Supervisors are given incentives for timely supervision and students have to regularly report on the progress of their work and the feedback from the supervisors.

Program of the PhD-Course 2011

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Timetable Students' visit to Germany in June and July 2011

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Program of the proposal- Workshop of the Ghanaian German Program of Development(ISSER/ZEF), Thursday, 7th july 2011,Room 3.032

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