The Chair of Urban Studies offers courses in the framework of contextual studies and at BA and MA level. Most courses include an introduction into the perspective of and from the global South. With the help of interactive seminars and on the basis of concrete case studies, students acquire a theoretically thorough understanding of urban studies. Among others, seminars cover the topics of migration, climate change, mining, global value chains, commodity trading, memory and transitional justice, – all from a social scientific perspective – and ethnographic methods. Rita Kesselring supervises BA, MA and PhD projects that adopt a qualitative and empirical approach to urban studies or that fall within her other areas of expertise (mining, commodity trade, memory, victimhood, Southern Africa, intercountry adoptions, South-North interdependencies, among others).
In order to qualify for supervision, BA and MA students must have participated in at least one seminar offered by Urban Studies.
Prospective PhD candidates must come with their own funding, the chair does not offer any funding. Proof of funding is one of the requirements for a successful enrollment in the school's DOK program.