Geographic Information Science (GIScience) as an interdisciplinary field seeks to understand the nature of geographic phenomena and of geographic information. This doctoral college (German language abbreviation: DK) advances formalized doctoral education and research training in GIScience at the University of Salzburg. The DK seeks to conceptualize spatial principles and to explore scientific uses of geographic information in order to analyse the complex relationships between individuals and society. It provides a framework for explicitly spatial scientific studies of physical and social phenomena. Three interconnected, interdisciplinary, research clusters have been defined (-> Research Topics).

DK GIScience is an ‘education through research’ programme with supervision, monitoring and assessment procedures which are critically important for the quality of the experience and training of doctoral candidates. DK GIScience focuses on qualification requirements, responsibilities and duties of supervisors; training of supervisors; supervision models; doctoral candidates’ progress assessment; requirements for the doctoral thesis and its defence; and finally, the follow-up “tracking” of doctoral candidates’ career outcomes.

Salzburg is an established hotspot for GIScience research and a well-known trademark in research and education, and combines University (Z_GIS, Centre for Geoinformatics; Dept. of Geography and Geology) with non-university research (collaborating with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg Research and research studio iSPACE). The Centre for Geoinformatics Salzburg (Z_GIS) is a flagship institution dedicated to research and postgraduate education. Since 1994, more than 800 students have graduated from the successful MSc program UNIGIS GIScience, the basis of a strong alumni culture.