Dr. Janina Grabs

Professor

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Biography

Janina Grabs is a Professor of Sustainability Research at the University of Basel since June 1, 2024, leading the Sustainability Research department and responsible for social science teaching in the Master's program in Sustainable Development. Previously, she worked as an Assistant Professor at ESADE Business School in Barcelona (2021-2024) and as a Postdoc at ETH Zurich (2019-2021). She completed her PhD in Political Science at the University of Münster in 2018, with research stays at Carleton University in Ottawa and Yale University in New Haven. Her dissertation focused on the effectiveness of private sustainability standards in the coffee sector, based on field research in Colombia, Honduras, and Costa Rica, and was published as a monograph by Cambridge University Press in 2020 titled 'Selling Sustainability Short? Private Governance Labor Environment Coffee Sector'. Her research has garnered several awards, including the 2021 Organizations Natural Environment Book Award from the Academy of Management and the 2022 Lynton Keith Caldwell Award for the best book in science, technology, and environmental policy from the American Political Science Association. In addition to research and teaching, she is active in international professional associations and is responsible for book reviews in the journal Regulation & Governance.

Research Interests

Experience

Professor of Sustainability Research

2024-06-01 — Present

University of Basel • Basel, Switzerland

Leading the Sustainability Research department and responsible for social science teaching in the Master's program in Sustainable Development.

Assistant Professor

2021-01-01 — 2024-01-01

ESADE Business School • Barcelona, Spain

Conducted research and taught courses in sustainability.

Postdoc

2019-01-01 — 2021-01-01

ETH Zurich • Zurich, Switzerland

Engaged in postdoctoral research on sustainability governance.

Awards

#2021

Organizations Natural Environment Book Award

2021-01-01
#2022

Lynton Keith Caldwell Award

2022-01-01

Requirements for University of Basel

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Listening
Required:22
Reading
Required:22
Writing
Required:22
Speaking
Required:22
Total
Required:95
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field with at least 180 ECTS Specific ECTS requirements in core subjects (e.g., 90 ECTS in Math/CS for Data Science)
Application Checklist
  • Bachelor's degree certificate or current transcript of records
  • Diploma Supplement (if available)
  • CV/Resume
  • Copy of valid passport or ID card
  • Evidence of language proficiency (C1 level recommended for English/German programs)
  • Proof of payment of application fee (CHF 100)
Specialization Notes

The University of Basel generally requires C1 level proficiency in the language of instruction. For most English-taught Masters, TOEFL (min 92-95) or IELTS (min 7.0) is the standard.