Earn your PhD in literary studies at Münster’s international and interdisciplinary Graduate School Practices of Literature (GSPoL)! The GSPoL at the WWU Münster expressly welcomes international students who wish to start a doctoral project at the Graduate School in Germany.

A scholarship for the doctoral program with a duration of three years will be awarded on October 1, 2023. Funding is provided as part of the Graduate School Scholarship Program (GSSP) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which is financed by the Federal Foreign Office.

GSPoL at WWU Münster offers a structured doctoral program in Literary Studies. At the GSPoL, students will have the opportunity to complete their doctoral degree within three years and to prepare for a career in academic and non-academic contexts.

Why study at the University of Münster? At the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, there are a wide variety of institutions and committees that take special care of foreign students and want to make it easier for them to start in a new country. The graduates are prepared for academic careers as well as for non-academic professional fields.

Application Deadline: 31 March 2023.

Brief Description

• University or Organization: DAAD
• Department: Graduate School Practices of Literature (GSPoL)
• Course Level: PhD – Individual Supervisor
• Award: Scholarships are awarded subject to available funding.
• Access Mode: Online
• Number of Awards: NA
• Nationality: International
• The award can be taken in Germany

Eligibility

• Eligible Countries: All nationalities.
• Acceptable Course or Subjects: The scholarship will be awarded for the PhD program at the Graduate School Practices of Literature (GSPoL), the University of Münster. The individual doctoral topics are integrated into a framework that provides three priorities:
• Literature, culture and society: Social relevance of literature and literary/cultural studies; theories of society; cultural theories; cultural turn and literary studies
• Theory(s) of literary/cultural studies: philosophy of science; History, theory and methods of literary and cultural studies
• Literary/cultural studies and practical: professional fields of application of literary/cultural knowledge; the literary market; literary/cultural studies key qualifications; Relationship between literary/cultural theory/scientific theory and practice
• Admissible Criteria: To be eligible, the applicants must meet all the following criteria:
• Applicants are required to have the following degree to be considered for this scholarship: Bachelor, Magister, Master, and State Examination
• Subjects involved: English/American Studies, Arabic/Islamic Studies, Baltic Studies, German Studies, Latin Philology, Medieval and Neo-Latin Philology, Dutch Studies, Nordic Studies, Romance Studies (Focus: French, Spanish and Italian), Sinology, Slavic Studies.
• At the time of nomination for the DAAD scholarship, applicants may have lived in Germany for a maximum of 15 months
• As a rule, the university degree should not have been more than six years old at the time of nomination
• Applicants who have already obtained a doctorate cannot be considered
• Research stays abroad that take place during DAAD funding may account for a maximum of 25% of the total funding period and may not be at the beginning of the scholarship
• Curriculum: The curriculum includes lectures/lecture series, colloquia, project groups, workshops, internships, and academic teaching.
• Supervision: Each doctoral candidate receives an individual, interdisciplinary supervision panel, which consists of three members. A written supervision agreement is made and an individual work schedule and schedule are drawn up.

How to Apply

• How to Apply: The application for admission to doctoral studies in the GSPoL is made in writing (by e-mail as a pdf document) in German or English. Applicants have to attach the required documents and must send their applications (by e-mail in a PDF document, exception: references):
  dr Anna Thiemann
  Graduate School Practices of Literature
  WWU Münster, Faculty 09 (Philology)
  c/o German Institute
  Schlossplatz 34
  48143 Münster
  [email protected]
• Supporting Documents: Candidates must submit all the following documents:
• Letter of Motivation/justification for the application to the GSPoL
• CV: a tabular curriculum vitae (without photo)
• Reports, certificates: Proof of a relevant university degree (usually a master’s degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 2.0 or a bachelor’s degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 1.50) in accordance with Section 5 (1) of the GSPoL doctoral degree regulations ;
• Transcripts: In addition to the degree certificate, also submit a transcript of records with an overview of courses and grades as well as an explanation of the grading system at your home university (plus a certified German or English translation if necessary)
• Research Proposal: Two written references from university lecturers, at least one of the references must be issued by a professor at the home university
• An approximately half-page sketch of the planned dissertation
• List of Publication
• Proof of German and English skills and, if applicable, other foreign language skills in accordance with Section 5 (2) of the GSPoL doctoral regulations
• An approximately ten-page exposé of the planned dissertation, in which a detailed statement is made on the goals and content, the technical relevance and the method of the research project
• A differentiated work schedule and schedule including planned phases abroad that do not exceed nine months
• Admission Requirements: Excellent academic profile & relevant university degree (usually a master’s degree in literature with a minimum grade of 2.0 or, in exceptional cases, a bachelor’s degree with a minimum grade of 1.50)
• Language Requirement: Knowledge of German and English (one language at the C1 level, the other at the B1 level, according to the Common European Framework); A preparatory German course before the start of the doctoral studies can be part of the funding in consultation with the DAAD
• If necessary, additional foreign language skills according to Appendix B of the doctoral regulations for the Departments of History/Philosophy and Philology

Benefits

• Selected international doctoral candidates will receive a scholarship with a duration of three years to be awarded on October 1, 2023.
• Funding is provided as part of the Graduate School Scholarship Program (GSSP) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which is financed by the Federal Foreign Office.

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