What is a certificate?

Specialized trainings at college and university level are certified through certificates. They are proof of completion of a program through which additional professional skills have been acquired. The certificate will not be graded, but it attests to a collaborative focus in your studies and/or extracurricular commitment.

What can I do with a certificate?

Certificates can be part of your job application. The certificate you will be awarded demonstrates that you have acquired skills in the field of collaborative research. To a future employer this will demonstrate that you have acquired additional cooperative, intercultural, and problem-solving skills during your studies.

Certificates can also be part of your application for (student) grants and scholarships. Some grant programs require that you demonstrate civic or social commitment. The certificate demonstrates your interest in furthering intercultural understanding, advancing international cooperation, and creating sustainable learning environments.

Postgraduate programs (Master, PhD) require different amounts of credits earned during your previous studies for admission. Depending on the institution and its study program, certificates may count as a commitment equivalent to credits earned. The graduate certificate will attest that you worked on additional activities outside of your regular study program and it will show your “workload in hours" — this can be converted into a value of credits (for example credits in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, Semester Credit Hours, African Credit Transfer System, etc.), however, recognition of the certificate in the form of credits is determined by the institution to which you apply.

What do I have to do to earn the certificate?

Much of what you have to do will hopefully be fun. For the most part, you have to follow through with the Collaborative Anthropology program, which means: visiting a few extra workshops, attending the Summer School in 2024, and committing to collaborative research for your final thesis in a transnational research team. Please find a preliminary overview on the list of requirements for B. A., B. S., or equivalent programs here and for M. A., M. S., equivalent, or higher degree programs here.

Whom can I partner up with for collaborative research?

During the program, you will participate in events that will get you in touch with students from partner universities or research institutions. These events will allow you to get to know each other and to build research teams of 2–4 students. Once you have partnered up, you will develop and present your joint research design during a joint virtual workshop. Students from all participating institutions will get the opportunity to take part in our virtual events.

Currently, these include the following:

• Environmental Science Program at Sitting Bull College, Ft. Yates, ND, USA
• Postgraduate Program in Social Anthropology at Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
• Department of German Studies in Lomé, Togo
• Graduate and Postgraduate programs at the Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL), Niamey, Niger
• Faculty of Humanities at Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
• Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Goethe University in Frankfurt a. M., Germany.

Do I need to travel to engage in collaborative research?

You can travel and we will support you organizationally to do so, but you are not required to travel. If you cannot travel and/or cannot do fieldwork at the same site with a research partner, you can still participate. In that case, collaborative research can take the shape of a collaborative research design or can come in the joint analysis of data. Collaborative research encompasses many possibilities that will depend on the circumstances, parties involved, etc.. The program enables us to experiment with different kinds of collaboration, which will lead us to think together the potential and challenges of international research partnerships.

I am a student in Frankfurt. Will I receive any credit points for participating in the certificate program?

For B. A. students enrolled in Frankfurt, participation in the CollabAnthro certificate program counts as completion of the module "Schlüsselkompetenzen" (BA-Ethn-06), for which you will receive 9 CP in total. In order to receive the credit points, you need to have registered for the CollabAnthro certificate program and need to have completed it, which includes visiting the regular virtual meetings, participating in the workshops and in the summer school.

I am a student in Frankfurt. Can the counseling session with the project coordinator be accredited within my regular study program?

Besides functioning as your application, the counseling session is intended to provide you with information on the program and serves as a space to ask questions and prepare you optimally for participation.

For B. A. students enrolled in Frankfurt, this counseling session does neither replace the compulsory counseling session after completion of the first study year (“Studienverlaufsberatung") nor counseling with one of the thematic or regional experts at the Department for Social and Cultural Anthropology before or during the project cycle (“Projektvorbereitung und -durchführung"). However, participating in the certificate program counts as full completion of the module "Schlüsselkompetenzen" (BA-Ethn-06) in the BA program.

For M. A. students enrolled in Frankfurt, this counseling session does not replace the compulsory counseling sessions with the thematic or regional experts at the Department for Social and Cultural Anthropology throughout semesters one till four (“Individuelle Projektberatung", MA-SKA-01).

I am a student in Frankfurt. Which courses from my regular study program can I visit with a focus on collaborative theory, methodology, or epistemology?

For B. A. students in Frankfurt, the seminar “Theory of Fieldwork" (“S Theorie der Feldforschung") and practice “Research Methods" (“Ü Forschungsmethoden") are part of the regular curriculum and need to be attended to complete module BA-Ethn-11. Students participating in the certificate program are encouraged to attend these courses when offered with a focus on collaborative theory and methodology (this will be the case from summer term 2023 on forward). The courses may be offered in English. Attending these courses counts equally for the regular completion of the B. A. program as well the certificate program.

For M. A. students in Frankfurt, “Project-related Social and Cultural Anthropology" (“S/Ü Projektbezogene Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie") and “Research Colloquium" (“Ko Forschungskolloquium") are part of the regular curriculum. As such, they are credited for modules MA-SKA-03 or MA-SKA 04. Students participating in the certificate program are encouraged to attend these courses when offered with a focus on collaborative Social and Cultural Anthropology (this will be the case from winter term 2023/24 on forward). Attending these courses counts equally for the regular completion of the M. A. program as well the certificate program.

I am a student in Frankfurt. Can I submit a thesis which I have written together with my research partners?

Yes. The thesis can be submitted in the form of a group thesis, if the contribution of the individual student to be assessed is clearly distinguishable and assessable on the basis of the indication of sections, page numbers, and other objective criteria that allow a clear delimitation. The contribution must demonstrate that the student is able to work on a topic comprehensively and in depth within a given period of time in accordance with the objectives laid out in your study and examination regulations. In accordance with the study and examination regulations, necessary word/sign count of the thesis will be larger, if written jointly.

Whom can I contact for further information?

Please contact the coordinator of the Collaborative Anthropology program at Goethe University in Frankfurt: Timo Rossmann.