Template
for Preparing a Final Report for a Graduate School

1	General Information
The information contained in the final report should provide a comprehensive outline of the graduate school’s research and research training environment, research training strategies and structural aspects; explanations should be concise but given in sufficient detail. The final report should encompass the total funding duration, including, to the extent possible, the period of bridge funding. The report’s data should be consistent with the data given in the annual financial reports and monitoring.

The larger part of the final report (as presented by the graduate school) will be made accessible to the general public: sections 1-6 as well as Appendix A (section 7) will be published via TIB (Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology University Library). 

2	Technical Instructions and Submission
The reports must be submitted in English. Upon request reports may additionally be submitted in German. In this case please contact the DFG Head Office in advance if you have any questions.

Please use the template provided below. The title page may be designed in your preferred style. Please note, however, that pages 2 and 3 must not be altered as these contain keywords in English and German that are relevant for cataloguing the finals reports in the TIB. The structure may be modified if necessary, for instance to differentiate between funding periods. Please complete all tables in this report template unless otherwise indicated. The numbering and headings of the tables may be amended and further tables may be added, if necessary, in sections 1 – 6 (but not in the appendices). 

The most important publications of the graduate school’s researchers should be listed in section 7.1 and in section 8.4.3. The final report should be intelligible, coherent and assessable without the need to refer to additional documents. However, for a more comprehensive description of the current state of the art, additional publications (by the participating researchers and/or others) may be cited. Please note that only published or accepted manuscripts may be cited within the report.

Final reports must be submitted electronically on a CD-ROM / USB memory stick as well as printed and bound in A4 format. Reports should not exceed 100 pages (including sections 1–6).  

Electronic version: Sections 1-6 and Appendix A (section 7) should be contained in one PDF file. Appendix B (section 8), which includes personalised data, should be submitted as a second, separate PDF file. Please include tables of contents with bookmarks in both PDF files to allow for easy navigation. The PDF documents should not include password protection or access restrictions and should allow the documents to be read, copied and printed. Please apply PDF file size-reduction tools according to your requirements.

Printed version: The report and its appendices should form one volume. Please send 3 printed and bound copies of the final report to the DFG Head Office.

You may also send copies of the electronic and/or printed version to the relevant state ministry/ministries, if requested.

Upon receipt by the DFG, you will receive further information on how to transfer the electronic version of the final report to the TIB.

Submission Deadline: 31 October 2019

Submission Address:
Dr. Armin Krawisch 
DFG
53170 Bonn

DFG contacts for general inquiries on graduate schools and the report template: 
Dr. Anselm Fremmer, +49 228 885-2397, anselm.fremmer@dfg.de
Dr. Lea Akkermann, +49 228 885-2874, lea.akkermann@dfg.de

<Template>

Final Report

Graduate School

Title <in English>

Title <in German>

GSC <number>

<Text outside of tables marked in grey should be adapted by the graduate school. The text included in angular brackets “<   >” provides additional information to help complete the template. It should be removed from the final report.>

Excellence Initiative / Exzellenzinitiative

Final Report / Abschlussbericht

Graduate School / Graduiertenschule

Title <in English>

Title <in German>

GSC <number>

Host University/Universities

DFG Project Number: <number>

Funding Periods
<Please enter the funding period(s) of the graduate school, e.g.>
1: 2006/2007 – 2012
2: 2012 – 2019

Final Report for Graduate School

Title <in German>

Title <in English>

GSC <number>

Host university/universities:

Rector/President of the host 
university/universities:

Title first name surname	Coordinator of the Graduate School

Title first name surname	

Signature

Rector/President	Signature

Coordinator	

* Speaker university/universities
<Please highlight the speaker university/universities with an asterisk (*).>

Contents
1	General Information
1.1	Brief summary
1.2	Key data
2	Academic Profile and Added Value
2.1	Research priority and multidisciplinary approach
2.2	Academic aims and contributions to the university’s strategy
3	Research Training
3.1	Experiences and success in promoting doctoral researchers
3.2	Admission, recruitment and status of doctoral researchers
3.3	Research training and supervision
3.4	Integration into the university’s strategy to promote early career researchers
3.5	External visibility and networking
3.6	Gender equality
4	Structure and Sustainability
4.1	Institutional status, organisation and implementation
4.2	Added value through cooperation with other institutions
4.3	Sustainability
5	Overview of the Graduate School’s Resources
5.1	Funding by the university/universities and/or other sources
5.2	Expenditures
6	Comments/Suggestions
7	Appendix A (Non-Confidential)
7.1	Most important publications
7.2	Additional achievements
7.3	Principal investigators and other participating researchers
7.4	Participating institutions and cooperation partners
8	Appendix B (Confidential)
8.1	Recruitments
8.2	Advisory board
8.3	Supervision agreements
8.4	Doctoral researchers
8.5	TIB / GEPRIS

List of Abbreviations
<If you use abbreviations, please include a list of abbreviations and their corresponding definitions after the table of contents.>

1	
1	General Information
1.1	Brief summary
<Please provide a concise, comprehensive summary of no more than 3000 characters (including spaces), covering the main academic (scientific) objectives of the graduate school as well as the focus and aims of the doctoral training programme. An additional version should also be provided in German. These summaries will be used to provide general information about the school in GEPRIS, the DFG’s online project database.>
1.2	Key data
1.2.1	Host, speaker and participating university/universities and institutions 
<Please complete the table listed below.>
Table 1: Participating institutions
Host university/universities	Location	
University A*		
University B		
Participating university/universities and non-university institutions (if applicable) 1)	Location	

* Speaker university/universities are highlighted with an asterisk (*).
1) Institutions that were funded by the graduate school through the Excellence Initiative. Cooperating universities/institutions that were not funded through the Excellence Initiative but contributed their own funds to the graduate school are listed in Appendix B, section 8.1.

<Please do not list the participating departments, institutes or other organisational subunits within each institution; a detailed list of these should be provided in Appendix A, section 7.4. A complete list of all PIs and other participating researchers should be included in Table 8 of Appendix A. 
Please note the following definitions: 
Host university: an institution that graduates doctoral members of the graduate school and is funded by the school.
Participating university: an institution that is funded by the graduate school through the Excellence Initiative but does not graduate its members.
Cooperating university/institution: an institution that contributes funding to the graduate school. Do not include cooperating universities/institutions in the table listed above but instead include them in Appendix A, section 7.4.>

1.2.2	Number of participating researchers 
<Please provide the number of all academic members (supervisors, doctoral researchers and, if applicable, postdoctoral researchers or undergraduate students) in the following table (only data, rationales may be provided in the following sections where appropriate). Please also provide the (estimated) percentage of graduate school supervisors and doctoral researchers in relation to all professors/doctoral researchers at the host university’s participating institutes/ departments.>
Table 2: Number of participating researchers 
Status	Number1)	%	
Senior professors/supervisors (PIs) and additional participating researchers)			
Junior professors/supervisors (PIs and additional participating researchers)			
Doctoral researchers2) (irrespective of their source of funding)			
Postdoctoral researchers (irrespective of their source of funding)		
Undergraduate students <if applicable>		
Other academic members <if applicable>		
<1) If the number of participating researchers fluctuated during the DFG-funded period, please record the relevant numbers and dates in separate columns. 
2) All participating persons pursuing doctoral research at the graduate school, irrespective of their source of funding.>

2	Academic Profile and Added Value 
2.1	Research priority and multidisciplinary approach
<Please describe and explain:
•	the research area(s) encompassed by the graduate school and the multidisciplinary composition/approach 
•	the most significant advances (or lack thereof) in recent years characterising the general research field(s) in which the graduate school has been and will be active 
•	research activities in this/these field(s) by members of the graduate school or institutes/institutions participating in the graduate school. 
The descriptions of the academic profile and benefits should be understandable, coherent and assessable without the need to read additional documents.> 
2.2	Academic aims and contributions to the university’s strategy
<Please describe how the graduate school has benefitted and will continue to benefit the university, and the medium-term and long-term impact of the graduate school on the university’s/universities’ research activities and the research field in general. (Please refer to sections 3 and 4 where appropriate.)
The descriptions may include: 
•	the aims and effects of the graduate school referring to their initial and renewal proposal. To what extent have the original aims (with respect to academic/scientific and structural aspects) been achieved?
•	the impact of the graduate school on the research profile of the host university/universities and its role within the current research profile 
•	the added value for the post funding period and the long-term impact and future priorities 
•	to what extent the graduate school has become a model for other university doctoral training programmes or institutes 
•	the status quo of doctoral training at the host university, compared to the situation before receiving funds through the Excellence Initiative, including the number of doctorates awarded each year in the relevant subject area(s) (inside and outside doctoral training programmes) and the average duration of doctoral research in the relevant subject areas. 
(These aspects may also be described in detail in the following sections where appropriate.)
If several universities host a graduate school together, they must demonstrate the synergy and structural added value the collaboration generated at each university, as well as the institutional long-term effect the strategic collaboration had or is expected to have.
If applicable, consider the role of the cooperation partners with respect to the academic objectives of the graduate school along with this.
Please list the major aims, measures and results in Table 3, differentiating between those relating to the previous funding period(s) and those planned for the future (where applicable). >
Table 3: Major aims and measures
Aims	Measures	Results 	

			
			
3	Research Training
3.1	Experiences and success in promoting doctoral researchers 
<Please describe accomplishments in research training and comment on factors relating to the doctoral programme, such as the drop-out rate, time to degree, and achievements/success stories. If possible, include a statement about the subsequent careers of the alumni. Detailed data should be provided in tables in Appendix B, section 8.4.> 
3.2	Admission, recruitment and status of doctoral researchers
<Please describe briefly the graduate school’s recruitment strategy and process. To what extent have the school’s original aims been achieved? Have modifications been made since the school’s inception? How will recruitment be pursued now that DFG funding has expired?
The description should include: 
•	recruitment results, e.g. regarding the location (university) of the previous degree, disciplinary background, the composition of disciplines, number of applications, gender balance, etc. (additional tables may be included in Appendix B, section 8.4) 
•	the status of all doctoral researchers at the graduate school, as well as their positions and integration into the research environment, the university and the graduate school itself.> 
3.3	Research training and supervision
<Please describe the graduate school’s strategies with regard to research training and training measures as well as supervision and mentoring. To what extent have the original aims been achieved? Please also explain how these strategies will be further developed and implemented in the future. 
If applicable, please refer to:
•	the extent to which you changed your original strategies
•	the graduate school’s opportunities for undergraduate or postdoctoral qualification 
•	the non-university partners’ role in the research training programme
•	the examination and review procedures and any additional qualifications (e.g. interim exams) if required
•	examples of supervision agreements (in English) in Appendix B, section 8.3.
•	further measures and activities, e.g. public outreach activities, additional support, strategies for creating a corporate identity or for developing and creating a doctoral culture.>
3.4	Integration into the university’s strategy to promote early career researchers 
<In this section you can describe: 
•	how the graduate school relates to other doctoral programmes at the university (integration, demarcation, synergy)
•	how the graduate school’s programme interfaces and will interface with undergraduate studies in the participating disciplines within the host university’s programme
•	how the graduate school’s programme interfaces and will interface with career strategies for the postdoctoral phase and what opportunities were/are available to outstanding early career researchers at the school’s location, e.g. tenure-track options. 
Please refer to section 2 where appropriate.>
3.5	External visibility and networking 
<In this section you can describe: 
•	national and international networking and collaborations, including benefits to doctoral researchers
•	the international activities of the doctoral researchers (participation in conferences, foreign research activities, etc.)
•	special measures for integrating international doctoral researchers.>
3.6	Gender equality 
<Please describe: 
•	the gender equality situation at the host university/universities within the graduate school and the participating departments using quantitative indicators
•	whether and how the school’s and university’s objectives regarding gender balance and gender equality have been achieved.> 
4	Structure and Sustainability
4.1	Institutional status, organisation and implementation
<Please describe the structure of the graduate school and its development. Please also comment on how the graduate school is or will be structured and embedded into the university after expiration of DFG funding. 
This should also include: 
•	how the graduate school, the research training strategy and the status of the doctoral researchers (see section 3.2.) are anchored in the statutory regulations governing the university’s structure and the awarding of doctoral degrees; if applicable, mention any amendments to these regulations that became necessary in accordance with the programme and structure of the graduate school.
•	the degrees offered by the graduate school and, if applicable, new degrees introduced by the graduate school 
•	how the graduate school is and will be governed, organised and managed internally  
•	the mechanisms for allocating central funds (e.g. general funds, funds for publications, travel, colloquia, visiting researchers and temporary substitute clinician positions)
•	if applicable the role of the advisory board and its contribution to the management and development of the graduate school.
Should a joint graduate school, involving several universities, have been established, please describe any additional regulations that needed to be implemented due to the joint status (e.g. cooperation agreements). Please also indicate whether the graduate school awards joint degrees.>
4.2	Added value through cooperation with other institutions 
<Please describe how cooperation with other institutions has benefitted and will continue to benefit the structural development of the host university.>
4.3	Sustainability
<Please describe measures implemented to guarantee sustainability of the graduate school and its further development following completion of DFG funding. Please also indicate which DFG-funded measures (including staff) have been transferred to university funding (referring to section 5.1). Please take into account the aims, measures, and problems addressed during the total funding duration with special emphasis on the last funding period. >
5	Overview of the Graduate School’s Resources 
5.1	Funding by the university/universities and/or other sources 
<If applicable, please give an overview of all resources provided to the graduate school from the host university/universities, the participating institutions and/or third parties. The overview should only include those resources that will be provided directly to and be primarily utilised by the graduate school.>
5.1.1	Staff
<Please list staff who have worked in the graduate school. Please distinguish between personnel financed (at least partially ≥ 50 % and at least 1 month) by the school’s resources and by other means (see Table 4). The data of the monitoring “Stammdatenerhebung” may be used.> 

Table 4: Staff 
Staff	Funded by the graduate school	Funded by other sources	
	Number of persons	
Academic staff	f	m	total	f	m	total	
Professors (W2-W3)							
Professors (W1)							
(Junior) group leaders							
Postdocs (including temporary substitute positions for clinicians)							
Doctoral researchers 							
Research associates/other academic staff 							
Guest researchers							
Non-academic staff 							

5.1.2	Infrastructure 
<Please describe the graduate school’s (new) infrastructure (listed in Table 5) and its future integration into the university/universities (if applicable).>
Please list major infrastructure measures undertaken since the graduate school’s initiation and the approximate instrumentation sums.> 
Table 5: Major infrastructure measures since the graduate school’s set-up 
Infrastructure measure
<include approx. time of construction>	Costs (such as new investments)* (in €K)	Funded by	
E.g. rooms for offices/doctoral researchers, lab buildings		University/State/City/ /Foundation…	

5.2	Expenditures 
<Please list the items for which DFG funding was used. All sums should be given in €k (rounded to the nearest thousand). For items not listed, please insert additional lines.>

Table 6: Graduate school expenditures 
	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Sum	
in €k	
Professors (W2-W3)								
Professors (W1)								
(Junior) group leaders / and postdocs								
								
Doctoral researchers 1)								
Other staff								
Sum (staff)								
Research equipment 2)								
Other costs 3)								
Total [€k]								
1)	Including fellowships
2)	> €10,000 per item
3)	Including minor research equipment (< €10,000 per item)
<If new (junior) professorships were funded, please explain when these new positions/professorships were transferred to university funding. How did this transfer take place (e.g. filling of vacant positions at an earlier date, additional professorships, etc.)?
In Table 7, please list all major research instrumentation exceeding €150,000 per item that was acquired with the school’s funds during the total funding time.>
Table 7: Major research equipment provided by the graduate school since the school’s set-up
	Year of  purchase 	Amount [€k]	
Major research instrumentation exceeding €150,000 per item			

			
Total [€k]			
6	Comments/Suggestions
Here you are welcome to make comments, suggestions and recommendations regarding the funding scheme and programme management as well as aims, implementation and administration of the Excellence Initiative.

7	Appendix A (Non-Confidential)
7.1	Most important publications 
<Please list up to 100 publications you believe to be the most important that were authored by the members of the graduate school. They should be listed by the date of publication in descending order (i.e. the most recent publication first). Publications should represent the research done with support from the school. Please state the DOI (digital object identifier) for each publication. Only published or accepted manuscripts may be cited.>
7.2	Additional achievements 
<Please list what you consider to be the most relevant achievements of the members of the graduate school (e.g. research awards, patents, etc.).>
7.3	Principal investigators and other participating researchers
Table 8: PIs and other participating researchers 
First name 
Surname (male/female)	Position	Institute	Time period	

				

				

<Please list the PIs and other participating researchers from the participating universities and non-university research institutions who significantly contributed to the school. New researchers hired as of the first or following funding periods should be marked with an asterisk (*). Researchers who have left the host university or other participating institutions should be marked with (#).>
7.4	Participating institutions and cooperation partners
<Please list in Table 9 all institutions that participated in the graduate school as well as the most important partners (e.g. industry, service providers, cultural institutions, museums, schools, etc.) with which cooperation was established or continued. Please distinguish between continued cooperation and newly established cooperation since the first funding period. New cooperation partners should be marked with an asterisk (*) and include the year the cooperation was formally established. Cooperation that has ended should be marked with (#).> 

Table 9: Detailed list of the participating institutions and the most important cooperation partners 
<In comparison to section 1.2.1., Table 1 please list here the participating departments, institutes or other organisational subunits within each institution.>
Institutes of the host university/universities	Location	

Institutes of the participating universities 1) (if applicable) 	Location	

Non-university institutions 1) (if applicable)	Location	

Most important cooperation partners 2) (if applicable)
	Location	

1)	Institutes that were funded by the graduate school.
2)	Institutions or individuals that were not funded by the school but contributed their own resources to the school (e.g. research partners, industrial cooperation partners, other service providers, museums, cultural institutions, applications partners, etc.).

8	Appendix B (Confidential)
8.1	Recruitments 
<Due to data protection rules, this detailed list of recruitments should not be provided within the first part of the final report (sections 1–6 and Appendix A), since it will be made accessible to the general public.
Please distinguish between recruitments mainly financed by the resources of the graduate school itself (see Table 6) and recruitments financed by other sources. 
Please provide additional information on unsuccessful attempts to recruit members of the graduate school (Rufabwehren).>

Table 10: School-specific recruitment: (junior) professors and (junior) group leaders appointed during the graduate school’s total funding duration
Surname,
first name	Gender	Previous position & location1)	Recruitment position	Institute
(if applicable)	Start/end date2)	Tenure aspects3)	Source of 
future funding 4)	
Positions financed [≥ 50 %, ≥ 1 month] by the graduate school	
XY	f		Professor					
ZP	m		Group leader					
			Junior group leader					
			Junior professor					

Positions financed by other sources [> 50 %, ≥ 1 month]	

								
								
1)	Please indicate institution, city and country.
2)	Please indicate each individual’s starting and end dates (if applicable). 
3)	Tenure aspects: Please indicate whether the positions were temporary, permanent or had a (competitive/non-competitive) tenure option.
4)	If the person will stay within the school/the university after funding expires, please indicate the source of funding for this specific position (e.g. university, endowment, third party funding, state, etc.).

8.2	Advisory board 
<Please list the names of institutions and functions (if applicable) of the members of the advisory board. Please also indicate their dates of membership.>
8.3	Supervision agreements
<Please include samples of supervision agreements in English (if available).> 
8.4	Doctoral researchers
8.4.1	Members
<Please provide a list of all doctoral researchers who were members of the graduate school during the first and second funding periods (irrespective of their source of funding). If doctoral members were affiliated after a BA, German FH (university of applied science) or similar degree (e.g. for a fast track), please indicate this in a separate column. Structure the table as follows in landscape format.
The data of the monitoring “Stammdatenerhebung” may be used.>

Table 11: Doctoral researchers
No.	Name  	Thesis (title)	Main supervisor1) 
(names) 	Co-Supervisors/ thesis committee1) (names) 	Start of doctoral phase2)	Member of GSC from - to (date)2)	Date of doctorate3) (month/
year)	
1.								
2.								
…								
…								

								

								

								

								

								
1) Please note that the main supervisor does not have to be one of the principal or participating investigators (listed in appendix A, Table 8). 
2) See also DFG Monitoring (Erhebung)
3) Date of final doctoral exam (e.g. “Disputatio”/“Rigorosum)
8.4.2	Origin and gender balance
<Please list the geographical origin of the graduate school’s doctoral researchers (referring to the location of the institution from which they obtained their previous degree) by world region or (if appropriate) by country as well as the gender balance. Structure the table as follows:> 
Table 12: Geographical origin of doctoral researchers
Geographical origin	Number of doctoral researchers	Percentage of all doctoral researchers	Number of female doctoral researchers	Percentage of female doctoral researchers	
Host university/universities					
Other German universities					
World region or country					
…					
8.4.3	Achievements 
<Please provide numbered lists of all publications by the doctoral researchers and a separate list of other relevant achievements (awards, patents, etc.) concerning them. Only published or accepted manuscripts may be cited; manuscripts at any other stage (e.g. planned, submitted, under revision, conditionally accepted, forthcoming, etc.) will not be accepted.>
8.5	TIB / GEPRIS 
<The non-confidential sections 1–6 and Appendix A of the final report will be published via TIB (Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology University Library). Upon receipt of the final report by the DFG, you will receive further information on how to transfer the electronic version to the TIB. In accordance with data protection guidelines, please avoid including personal data in sections 1–6 and in Appendix A. Where personal data are requested (especially Table 8), you must receive written consent from the individuals concerned in advance indicating their agreement to having their data published. The graduate school may decide to include Table 8 in Appendix B. Please note that in signing the final report, the rector/president and the graduate school’s coordinator confirm that this consent has been received.> 

The authors hereby <please tick the appropriate box>

☐	agree
☐	do not agree 

to having their final report (sections 1–6, Appendix A) be made accessible to the general public via TIB (Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology University Library). 

<The DFG will also publish the summary in English and German (1.1) as well as the list of the most important publications (7.1) via GEPRIS, the DFG’s online project database (http://gepris.dfg.de)>

The authors hereby <please tick the appropriate box>

☐	agree
☐	do not agree 

to having the summary and the list of the graduate school’s most important publications be made accessible to the general public via GEPRIS, the DFG’s online project database (http://gepris.dfg.de/en).