Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The best way is to email us at training(at)gesis(dot)org.

Please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to provide you with advice!

You can find a list of all our upcoming courses here. For each course, the course website gives additional detail on the course content and prerequisites.

Please refer to the course you booked on the course web page. On each web page, you will find detailed information on the course content, including a day-to-day schedule and software requirements. Moreover, most lecturers explicitly list preparatory readings that help you prepare for the course.

First, please make sure that you know where—that is, in which city and building—your course takes place. There are two GESIS locations, one in Mannheim and one in Cologne. Courses that are held in Cologne include the GESIS Spring Seminar, the GESIS Summer School, and some workshops. The GESIS Fall Seminar and other workshops are held in Mannheim. 

In Cologne, the GESIS building is within walking distance (about five minutes) from Cologne’s main station and easy to find. The address is Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8. 

In Mannheim, our courses take place at the GESIS building at B6, 4-5 (yeah, there are no street names in the city center of Mannheim but the (in)famous squares). 

For further information on the course locations and how to get there, please follow this link. 

Please note that we cannot provide accommodation for participants of our courses. Both Mannheim and Cologne offer a rich choice of hotels, bed and breakfasts, as well as private apartments or rooms. Apart from using the usual platforms for booking your accommodation, the tourist information offices in Cologne and Mannheim are also good places to look.

GESIS does not have any facilities for secure luggage storage. You can bring your luggage to the hotel before arriving at the venue and pick it up at the hotel after the course. The train stations in Mannheim and Cologne, which are located near the course venues, also have luggage storage facilities. 

Depending on where you come from, you may have to provide a formal obligation when applying for a visa at the German embassy. Please ask your nearest German embassy which documents you need for your visa application.  

GESIS can provide you with a simple letter of invitation, but we cannot obtain formal obligations. Should you require a letter of invitation, please request it as soon as possible. 

Our Moodle-based learning platform is where you will find all course-relevant information and materials as well as have a chance to get in touch with your lecturer(s) and/or other participants. Make sure to register on the platform and join your course in due time to prepare optimally and get all the latest updates!  

How to access the GESIS Training learning platform:  

1. Go to elearning.gesis.org and click “Log in” in the top right corner.  

2. You can log in using your GESIS user account. If you do not have a GESIS user account yet, sign up here.  

3. Once you are signed in, open the email with your course link that we sent you and click on the link to your course. You will be asked to enter the enrollment key that was included in that email.  

4. You are all set!  

Please note that we do not provide you with hard copies of the materials available on the learning platform, so if you prefer to read/use printed materials, please print what you need yourself.  

Yes, wireless internet is available at GESIS. Every participant will receive login information on the first day.

Most participants use our Eduroam-connection.

Yes. If a course is fully booked, you can add your name to the waiting list by registering for the course. If a place becomes available in the course, we will contact you to discuss possible participation (usually at short notice). A place on the waiting list does not obligate you to participate should you be unable to attend by that time.

Places become available again when participants cancel their registration or when they do not pay the participation fee on time. Therefore, if a course is not heavily overbooked, it is quite likely that you may still get a place if there is still some time to go. We will inform you as soon as a place becomes available and ask you to react quickly to the offer.

Unless otherwise stated in the course information, you can register for the course as long as places are available. In exceptional cases, there is a registration deadline, which is then published on the course page.

If you are no longer able to attend the course, please notify us by phone or email: 

General: training(at)gesis(dot)org 

Workshops: workshops(at)gesis(dot)org 

Spring Seminar: springseminar(at)gesis(dot)org 

Summer School: summerschool(at)gesis(dot)org 

Fall Seminar: fallseminar(at)gesis(dot)org 

Please note the cancellation policy in our terms and conditions. 

All of our courses are stand-alone, and you are free to pick and choose any week(s)/course(s) you wish. Please note that some courses, typically those in the second and/or third week, may assume prior knowledge of the concepts and methods taught in other courses, typically those in the first week. 

The Summer School offers both in-person and online courses. The in-person courses take place at GESIS Cologne. Please refer to the course web page for more information on the location of your particular course. 

All Summer School courses are taught in English. 

Anybody motivated to learn about survey methodology is welcome to register. The Summer School is designed for Ph.D. students and researchers at any stage of their career in the social sciences (broadly defined). Professionals in the area are also welcome. 

However, participants benefit most from the courses that match their prior skills and knowledge. Therefore, we recommend that you carefully read the course prerequisites described on the course web pages or in the syllabus. 

In addition to course-specific prerequisites, all participants are expected to: 

• have basic knowledge of empirical research methods; 

• have a good command of English. 

The participation fees for all courses cover the training part and course materials (if applicable). Costs for meals, travel, and accommodation are not included in the course fees. Please make your own arrangements. We will provide you with information on the local facilities. 

At the end of the course, every participant who has not missed more than 20% of the course receives a certificate of participation. For an administrative fee (70 €), which covers the costs of grading by lecturers and additional administrative work by GESIS Training staff, and upon successful completion of the term paper after the course, participants can obtain a document acknowledging that the workload of their 5-day course is worth 4 ECTS credit points. 

Thanks to funding from partners such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or the European Survey Research Association (ESRA), we are often able to offer scholarships. For more information visit our site on scholarships. 

The ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Commission is open to many students seeking funding for higher education. Please inquire at your home university/institution whether you are eligible for one of the funding options.  

Furthermore, students and Ph.D. candidates who receive a scholarship can often apply to their scholarship organization or research council for a grant to subsidize or cover the costs of attending training events like the GESIS Summer School. Please inquire with your scholarship organization or research council. 

Some university departments, graduate schools, doctoral programs, and research training groups may also provide small-scale grants to attend training events. Please ask your local mentor or supervisor. Research projects funded through third-party funds may also include a budget to cover members' training needs. 

For UK-based Social Scientists, there are training bursaries available from the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM). 

You can find information about past Summer School courses in our archive.