The Graduate School Practices of Literature (GSPoL) invites international candidates to apply for its three-year PhD programme, offering two scholarships starting on October 1, 2025. Our scholarships provide funding for three years with the possibility to apply for a one-year extension. This opportunity is sponsored by the Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP), funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in collaboration with the Federal Foreign Office.

Graduate schools and structured doctoral training have been widely adopted by institutions across Europe to enhance networking skills, interdisciplinary collaboration, and employability in or outside academia. High-quality standards regarding the selection and hosting of doctoral researchers, as well as an international research environment, create an ideal setting particularly for international candidates. Members of the GSPoL benefit from interdisciplinary supervision and exchange and have the opportunity to prepare for careers in academic and non-academic contexts. 

Areas of study: English/American Studies, Arabic/Islamic Studies, German Studies, Latin Philology/Studies, (Neo‑)Medieval Latin Studies, Dutch Studies, Scandinavian Studies, Romance Studies (main areas: French, Spanish and Italian Literature), Sinology, and Slavic Studies. 

The program comprises three main research areas:

1. Literature, Culture and Society
   relationship between literature, culture and society; social theories; cultural theories; cultural turn and/in literary studies
    
2. Theories of Literature and Culture
   science studies; history, theory and methodology of/in literary/cultural studies
    
3. Literary/Cultural Studies and the Professional World
   professional sectors that require expertise in literary/cultural studies; the literary marketplace; transferable skills

Curriculum: lecture series and workshops, colloquia, research groups, and mandatory electives such as internships, academic teaching, etc.

Supervision: Each doctoral candidate will have an individual interdisciplinary support group consisting of three supervisors. A mentoring agreement and an individual timeline will be established and signed by the PhD candidate and their supervisors at the beginning of the programme.

Application Guidelines

The application deadline for the winter term 2025/2026 is November 30, 2024. Applications may be submitted in German or English.

Requirements

• excellent academic profile & a GSPoL-related university degree (generally a master’s degree in literary studies with a minimum GPA of 2.0, or, in exceptional cases, a bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 1.50, according to the German grading system)
• German and English language skills (one language at the level of C1 and the other at the level of B1, in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages); see also FAQs
• additional foreign language skills according to Annex B of the PhD Study Regulations of the Department of Philology or History/Philosophy; see also FAQs
• at the time of the nomination (i.e., the submission of the nomination letter to the DAAD), applicants must not have resided in Germany for more than fifteen months
• as a rule, applicants should not have graduated more than six years prior to the nomination date (exceptions apply)
• applicants with a PhD are not eligible
• research phases outside Germany during the funding period can be supported if they do not exceed 25 percent of the total funding period and do not take place at the beginning of the programme

The application for a scholarship follows a three-step process:

Step 1: written application to the GSPoL (in German or English) consisting of:

• letter of motivation stating the reasons for the application to the GSPoL
• curriculum vitae (without photograph)
• proof that the applicant has completed a GSPoL-related university degree (generally a master’s degree in literary studies with a minimum GPA of 2.0 or a bachelor’s degree in literary studies with a minimum GPA of 1.50) according to § 5 (1) the GSPoL study regulations; please include a degree certificate and a transcript of records listing your courses and grades and explaining the grading system at your home university as well as a certified translation if the original documents are not in German or English
• proof of German, English and, possibly, additional foreign language skills according to § 5 (2) of the GSPoL study regulations
• brief (approx. half-page) abstract of the PhD project
• approx. 10-page project proposal, which discusses the research aims and methodology as well as the contents, originality and significance of the project
• timeline, including optional stays/studies abroad of up to nine months in total (i.e., 25 percent of the duration of the scholarship), which may not be scheduled at the beginning of the programme
• two letters of reference, including at least one letter from a professor from the applicant’s home university; if the applicant holds a bachelor’s degree or has completed a first academic degree with a regular duration of less than eight semesters, three references are required; please use the official DAAD template and ask your professors to email the confidential document to the GSPoL. 

Step 2: personal interview at the GSPoL

Step 3: nomination to the DAAD and standard application procedure at and final decision by the DAAD (online application with supporting documentation via the DAAD portal)

Please send your application (via email as a single PDF file, except for the required letters of reference) and any questions you may have to:

Graduate School Practices of Literature
Dr. Anna Thiemann
c/o Germanistisches Institut
Schlossplatz 34
48143 Münster 

thiemann.gspol at uni-muenster.de 

Please refer to our website for updates and further information: uni.ms/gssp