The Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies will admit up to ten PhD students to its doctoral programme, which is to begin on 1st October 2020. The Graduate School is a joint project of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, which brings together scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and area studies.
The Graduate School investigates the plurality, changeability, and global connectedness of Muslim cultures and societies. Applications with a focus on strategies of negotiating diversity, difference, and distinction, both among Muslims and between Muslims and non-Muslims are especially encouraged. Successful applicants will have a master’s degree in one of the disciplines represented at the Graduate School (Arabic Studies, Central Asian Studies, History, History of Islamic Art, Human Geography, Islamic Studies, Political Science, Semitic Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, South and Southeast Asian Studies, Southeast European History), with a ranking, where applicable, of above average. Our language of instruction and communication is English.
The application needs to be submitted via our online application portal and includes the following information and documents:
* Outline of the dissertation project (up to 6 pages, with a brief summary, to be entered into the online application form);
* Curriculum vitae (pdf file);
* Certified copies of degrees received (pdf file);
* Proof of proficiency in English (native speakers of English or applicants who have graduated from an English-speaking university in a country with English as an official language are exempt from this verification) (pdf file);
* Evidence of proficiency in the language(s) relevant to the dissertation project (pdf file);
* Two letters of recommendation must be uploaded by the applicant’s referees directly to the application platform (signed and stamped on official paper).
Two scholarships will be available through the DAAD Graduate School Scholarship Programme. Three full PhD scholarships and two Pre-Doc scholarships will be available with funding from the Einstein Foundation Berlin. Two further positions for PhD students with Chinese citizenship are available through the cooperation of the Chinese Scholarship Council and Freie Universität Berlin’s Beijing Office (FU-CSC PhD Scholarship). Candidates with a fellowship or grant by a third party are especially encouraged to apply. If admitted, they will be full members of the Graduate School with access to all services offered by the School’s administration and the Dahlem Research School. All doctoral researchers admitted to the Graduate School will receive a travel allowance. Their first supervisors must be Principal Investigators at the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies.
Applications will be reviewed by the School’s Admissions and Grants Committee, and interviews will be scheduled in early February 2020.
The complete application package must be submitted by 7th October, 2019, 12 o’clock noon Central European Winter Time through our online application form. The Admissions and Grants committee will not consider incomplete applications. For further information, please refer to our FAQ and our application guidelines. Please send us an Email to application@bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de for help with your application. No legal entitlement shall be constituted by applying to the programme. Reasons for rejections will not be disclosed.
