The internationally oriented doctoral program History and Cultural Studies (HCS) invites applications for up to ten study places. The program is part of the Department of History and Cultural Studies and is a member of the Dahlem Research School.

Target Group

The program offers graduates with excellent academic records a structured and research-oriented program with a focus on cultural studies. The curriculum consists of disciplinary and interdisciplinary components and is designed to be completed in three years.

The languages of instruction are English and German.

The doctorate is pursued in one of the subjects represented in the Department of History and Cultural Studies: Ancient Near Eastern Languages and History, Arabic Studies, Art History of Europe and America, East Asia or Africa, Chinese Studies, Sinology, Classical Archaeology, Egyptology, History, Iranian studies, Islamic studies, Japanese Studies, Jewish Studies, Korean Studies, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Religious Studies, Semitic Studies, Turcology.

Profile

HCS considers both the tradition of Kulturwissenschaften taught in Germany and the Anglo-American cultural studies approach to (socio-)political questions. The doctoral program brings these subjects together in the common interest of combining broad approaches of cultural studies with subject-specific knowledge and competence and forming a practice of interdisciplinary work. The program gives doctoral students the opportunity to develop and regularly discuss their own research based on these discursive traditions. Participation in the HCS requires both well-founded subject knowledge and a profound interest in theoretical and methodological issues on an interdisciplinary level.

Application

The application for the PhD program takes place exclusively via the online portal of the Dahlem Research School.

Applications for the winter semester 2026/2027 are possible until November 15, 2025.

Further Information

If you have any questions about the call for applications and the application process, Franziska Lesák, coordinator of the program (HCS) will be available at: franziska.lesak@fu-berlin.de, Tel.: +49 (0) 30 838-56667.

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