The BIGSSS Ph.D. Program:
Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) invites applications to its Ph.D. program. The program will commence on September 1st, 2015.
Successful applicants for our Ph.D. fellowships will pursue a topic in one of BIGSSS’ three Thematic Fields:
Field A: Global Governance and Regional Integration
Field B: Welfare State, Inequality and Quality of Life
Field C: Changing Lives in Changing Socio-Cultural Contexts
As applicant you are asked to apply with your own research project broadly related to one of the three thematic fields. You must indicate one or two supervisors for your proposal. If you do not name one or two potential supervisors, your application will not be considered. Please be sure to check the BIGSSS homepage and the ones of our faculty for their research interests. By having a close fit to the research interests of BIGSSS faculty, we can assure the best possible supervision. Please note that you should not contact the potential referees directly. Instead, it is sufficient that you indicate their names in your Statement of Purpose. For more information, please refer to “Application Materials”.
All fellows are expected to choose Bremen as their place of residence.
Financial Support:
BIGSSS offers 15 Ph.D. stipends of 1300 Euros/month for 36 months, contingent on successful completion of each year. To support its Ph.D. fellows in achieving early scientific independence, it also provides funds for conducting, presenting and publishing research. There is no separate funding application, because all admitted applicants receive a stipend.
Admission Requirements:
- An excellent MA degree (or national equivalents like the German “Diplom” or “Magister”) in a discipline pertinent to at least one of BIGSSS‘ three Thematic fields (see above), i.e. inPolitical Science, Sociology, Psychology, or related social science disciplines e.g. Law, Economics or Mass Communication. The degree must be completed by the end of July of the year of application, which means you may apply before having finished your MA degree.
- English proficiency as described in the application materials section below.
- Additionally BIGSSS offers 2 Preparatory Fellowships to particularly talented BA Graduates. Please refer to Predoctoral Fellowships to find out more about the program.
Diversity and Anti-Discrimination:
BIGSSS believes that diverse backgrounds and ideas are crucial to academic excellence. Therefore, BIGSSS welcomes and promotes diversity and ensures equal opportunity and inclusion for all of its members regardless of ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age or (dis-)ability. More information and contact details of our Equal Opportunities Officers can be found here.
Application Deadline:
The application period for the Fall 2015 semester will begin onNovember 15th, 2014 and go until February 15th, 2015. The deadline refers to the date of receipt of the application. All letters of recommendation must also reach BIGSSS by February 15th, 2015.
Email inquiries about the application process should be sent to admissions-officer@bigsss-bremen.de. Or you may call the admissions officer, Hannah Hammerschmidt, at 0049 (0) 421 200 3956.
If you have questions regarding the admissions process, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions after carefully reading the website.
