The Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies is a cooperative venture organized by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich and the Universität Regensburg. The School is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of the German Excellence Initiative and started in November 2012. The holders of PhD scholarships will be expected to successfully conduct an independent research project which contributes to the Graduate School’s research fields. Participation in the Graduate School’s seminars and qualification program is mandatory.