The Graduate School of Geosciences (GSGS) was founded on 1 January 2014 as one of three graduate schools funded as a part of the Institutional Strategy of the University of Cologne with funding from the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments.
After a positive evaluation in June 2015, the Institutional Strategy Steering Committee decided to continue funding the GSGS until the end of the phase of the Excellence Initiative (October 2017).
After a further positive evaluation by the Dean and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, the Rector decided in March 2017 to make the GSGS a permanent structure of the university, supported by central university funds (since 1 November 2019). We were grateful to receive further Institutional Strategy funding during the transition period.
On 12 February, 2021 the statutes of the GSGS were published. They are based on a joint model developed by the Board of the Graduate Schools of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in close conjuction with the Faculty's Doctoral Regulations that have been in place sind 12 March, 2020.