Sophia Falk's doctoral degree (Dr.agr.) was awarded by the Faculty Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences of Bonn University. Her first Supervisor was Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger (ZEF/University of Bonn) and her second Supervisor Prof. Dr. Dirk Lanzerath (Director of the German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE/Bonn University).

Tikabo Gebreyesus Gerezgher successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled "Building climate-resilient cities through Nature-Based Solutions: Green Infrastructure as a strategy for enhancing urban system resilience in Ethiopia". His doctoral research was supervised by Prof. Dr. Christian Borgemeister (ZEF, University of Bonn) and Prof. Dr. Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain).  Tikabo obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Bonn's Faculty of Agricultural, Engineering and Nutritional Sciences.

ZEF welcomes 16 doctoral researchers, who start their 3-4 year interdisciplinary research journey at ZEF and the University of Bonn. Based at the University of Bonn, one of Germany’s Universities of Excellence, ZEF’s Doctoral Program combines rigorous interdisciplinary training with practical research experience and opportunities for international cooperation. 

Altynay Kambekova successfully defended her doctoral thesis on “Between Empires: Sexual Geopolitics and LGBTQ+ Activism in Kazakhstan”. Her degree was granted by the Faculty of Arts, University of Bonn. Her main supervisor was Prof. Dr. Kathrin Hörschelmann (Professor of Cultural Geography, University of Bonn) and her second supervisor was Prof. Dr. Eva Youkhana (ZEF CPC).

Fatima Salaheldin Mohamad Ali was granted her doctoral degree by the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences, University of Bonn, Germany. She successfully defended her doctoral thesis on "Participatory Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services: A Synthesis of Sub-Saharan Africa and a Case Study from Sudan".  The supervisors of her doctoral research were Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger and Prof. Dr. Christian Borgemeister. Her work was tutored by Dr. Jan Henning Sommer.

ZEF alumna Rohini Mitra was awarded the "Best Dissertation Prize" by the American Political Science Association (APSA) under their Migration and Citizenship Section. The award ceremony will take place during the Annual APSA meeting in Boston, USA, September 2026. 

Jackson Elias Nzira successfully defended his doctoral thesis on "Economic Essays on Rural Labor Markets, Agricultural Policy, and Poverty Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa". His doctoral degree was granted by the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences of the University of Bonn. His supervisor was Prof. Dr. Matin Qaim (ZEF/University of Bonn), his tutor Dr. Martin Parlasca (ZEF/University of Bonn).

Maureen Nabatanzi successfully defended her doctoral thesis on "Modeling arbovirus emergence: Integrating evolution, ecology, distribution and One Health policy performance in Africa". Her doctoral degree was granted by the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences of the University of Bonn- Her supervisors were Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger (ZEF/University of Bonn) and Prof. Dr. Sandra Junglen (Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin).