Global Change Ecology

The Elite Graduate Program “Global Change Ecology” is devot­ed to under­standing and ana­lyzing the most im­portant and mo­mentous environ­mental concern of the 21st cen­tury, namely, global change. Problems of an interdis­ciplinary nature require the estab­lishment of inno­vative ap­proaches in re­search and edu­cation. A special program focus is the link­ing of natural science perspec­tives on global change with ap­proaches in social science disci­plines.

The Elite Graduate Program at a glance

DegreeMaster of Science
Duration of studyFour semesters
Place of studyBayreuth
Admission requirementsBachelor or diploma in natural or environmental sciences or related disciplines
Language of instructionEnglish
Application deadlineJune 15th
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Begin of studiesWinter semester
HeadProf. Dr. Carl Beierkuhnlein
CoordinatorDr. Stephanie Thomas
Sylvia Sprödhuber
Contact the coordinator
Further informationWebsite Global Change Ecology

Understanding Global Changes

The Elite Graduate Program “Global Change Ecology” aims at training highly qualified and mo­tivated students to be­come execu­tives, leading scientists, political advisors and busi­ness con­sultants. Solving global environ­mental problems requires not only a back­ground in natural, environ­mental and soci­o-economic sciences, but also transdis­ciplinary thinking, team work and crea­tivi­ty. Due to the societal costs of global change, there is a demand for highly skilled special­ists capa­ble of analyzing risks, applying scientific knowledge and fore­see­ing con­sequenc­es.

A close coopera­tion with nationally and in­terna­tionally active re­search institu­tions, NGOs, compa­nies and admin­istrations as well as in­dividu­al tutor­ing pre­pares students for work­ing on a interna­tional scale. In addi­tion to the broad spec­trum of cours­es at the Uni­versi­ty of Bay­reuth stu­dents can choose from se­lected cours­es by the Uni­versi­ty of Augsburg.


Interna­tional science schools, guest profes­sors and a stay abroad help to establish contact with leading research­ers and foreign stu­dents.

Candi­dates for thePro­gram "Global Change Ecology" are ex­pected to be inter­ested in ecologi­cal and societal issues, to have ex­cellent knowledge in nat­ural sci­ence and an out­standing ability to deal with complex ques­tions.

Potrait photo: Prof. Dr. Carl Beierkuhnlein

Global Change is the most important challenge of the 21st century. The GCE study program addresses various aspects and delivers capabilities to solve urging problems.

Prof. Dr. Carl Beierkuhnlein

Snippets of the program

Back Office Volunteers at IPBES 9 in Bonn

Master students of the Elite Graduate Program “Global Change Ecology“ at the University of Bayreuth participated in the week-long IPBES 9 meeting in Bonn - either as observers of the conference or as volunteers with the IPBES secretariat - and took part in discussions on numerous topics.

Read the report

Event flyer with IPBES logo

Internship at GIZ

In the sec­ond half of 2021, San­dra Zim­mer­mann com­pleted a six-month in­tern­ship at the Ger­man Socie­ty for Inter­na­tional Co­opera­tion (GIZ) in the pro­ject area Cli­mate.

Read the report

A woman is standing by a river.

Snippets of the research

Silicon – Reducing light stress in tropical trees?

Elina Rittelmann conducted a greenhouse experiment at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in which she analysed if the nutrient silicon can reduce high light stress in tropical tree seedlings.

Mycorrhizae, Maize & Drought

Kelly Heroux’s research showed the connection between mycorrhizal root colonization in maize and the aboveground plant response during drought.

Oxygen deficiency in the Baltic Sea

Karina Krapf conducted research on oxygen deficiency in the Baltic Sea and the physical-chemical relationships as part of her Master's thesis at the Institute for Baltic Sea Research.