The Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes” at Kiel University, Germany offers a unique research environment positioned at the interface of the Humanities, Natural, and Social Sciences.

Research at the Graduate School addresses interactions between physical and social landscapes and examines how landscapes serve as a dynamic arena that catalyzes human activity in space and time. In particular, the Graduate School focuses on the role of environment, social relationships, material culture, subsistence, population dynamics, and human perceptions in promoting change in ancient societies and landscapes. The Graduate School addresses this interaction at multiple timescales and seeks scholars who are developing novel ways to approach some of the most pressing questions and challenges encountered in our time and the ancient world. Some of these challenges include, but certainly are not limited to, the emergence of social differentiation, mobility in societies, the spread of disease, the impact of new technologies on societies, and ideologies/ human perceptions of and responses to environmental, climate, and social change. The Graduate School actively encourages applicants from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and welcomes the development of extensive theoretical frameworks to support the empirical/applied work.