Please follow these steps chronologically and fill in the application forms!

1. Application for travel funding
2. Approval of travel funding
3. Application for Pre-Payment
4. Travel
5. Application for reimbursement

If you need help, read our guidelines for reimbursement carefully, each step will be explained there!

We will publish a new call for applications for admission in 2021 in late August 2020 on our website.

You have to submit your application via our online application platform. We will not consider applications that you send us via Email.

Our application portal closes on October 7, 2019, at 12 noon Central European Winter Time. The admission committee is composed of professors and doctoral fellows of the Graduate School and will review the applications in 4 steps. In a first step, we check if the applications are complete and if the applicants fulfill the eligibility criteria. In a second step, the committee assigns reviewers for the applications. Based on the reviews, the committee invites applicants for interviews in a third step. In the fourth and final step, the committee creates a shortlist of successful applicants. The Interviews will take place in the first two weeks of February 2020. Invitations to the interviews will be sent out around mid-January. We will inform you about the outcome of the admission process until the end of February 2020.

If you cannot submit your MA degree with your application package either because you have not received the document yet but expect it to arrive shortly, or because you are in the final stage of your exams or thesis, you may hand in your application anyway. The admission and grants committee will decide whether your (incomplete) application can be assessed as qualified. You will need to upload an official confirmation from your university stating that you will receive your M.A. certificate until the end of May, 2020. Your application cannot be considered if your degree will be awarded later.

Probably not.Applicants with a degree in natural sciences or with a Master in Business Administration are not eligible to apply. We are looking for applicants from the social sciences and humanities. For your application to be considered, you will need to have a degree in one of the disciplines represented at the Graduate School:

Arabic Studies;

Asian and African 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;

South East European History.

•     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)

No. We can only consider complete applications.

- ETS TOEFL certificate (minimum score of 600 for the paper-based test, 250 for the computer-based test, and 100 for the internet-based test);

- Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English, CPE (any grade);

- Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English, CAE (grade A or B);

- IELTS test (level 7.0);

Applicants who are

a)       Native speakers, or

b)      Applicants who have graduated from an English speaking university in a country with English as an official language

are exempt from this verification. There are no other exemptions.

No, you don’t need German language skills. However, we highly recommend to learn some German when you are admitted to the programme.

You do not need to contact the supervisors before submitting your application. Please make sure to choose a supervisor from our list who has expertise in the research area of your dissertation project and who is working in your discipline. This is important because in Germany, professors working in political science often cannot supervise PhD projects in history, for example. Please also make sure that your research matches the research interests/areas of our Principal Investigators. The final decision on your supervisory team will be made when you have started the programme in Berlin.

Please take a look at the homepages of the professors to find more detailed information on their research interests/areas and publications. You’ll find the names of the PIs and the links to their websites listed here.

You will graduate in the discipline of your first supervisor. If necessary, we will check in advance whether changing the discipline is possible with reference to the university’s regulations.

You will graduate from your first supervisor’s university, either from Freie Universität Berlin or from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

We will occasionally admit visiting doctoral researchers with external funding. It is important that your dissertation project matches the research areas of the graduate school.

Visiting students do not have to apply via the online portal. Please contact the managing director with your request for affiliation, and include a project exposé, a letter of motivation, a CV, and a statement about the funding of your visiting stay. We do not have visiting fellowships at the moment. Accepted visiting doctoral researchers will have access to the facilities and activities of the Graduate School.

Currently the monthly scholarship is 1.468,- EUR. Parents who live together with their children can receive a family support payment upon application. The monthly cost for a shared room is currently about 500,- EUR, a single apartment is about 650,- EUR. Scholarships are exempt from income tax in Germany. On top of the rent, you will need to pay about 227,- EUR for public health insurance (or less for private insurance).

The university has a family support office that can help you to apply for vouchers for the kindergarten, and to find a place in a kindergarten. We do not have a spouse programme for doctoral or postdoctoral researchers.

If you become a mother or a father during your time at the Graduate School, you can apply for a one-year extension of your scholarship, which will be granted if funds are available.

The regular funding period is 36 months. Depending on the availability of funds, and on the conditions of our donors, extensions of up to 6 months can be granted. You can continue your doctoral project at the Graduate School even if the funding has ended.

Please note that a repeated application is only possible with a thoroughly revised outline of the dissertation project.

Applicants holding a PhD degree are not eligible for a scholarship. They can only be accepted with their own funding.

Please read our guidelines carefully!

Yes, these include:

• Passport or equivalent identity documents for yourself and any family members coming with you. Please note that these documents should be valid for your entire stay in Germany;
• Birth certificate(s) and certified translations in German or English for yourself and any family members coming with you;
• Marriage certificate, if applicable, and certified translations in German or English;
• Several (biometric) passport photos;
• Certified copies of your degree certificate (in German or English). For enrollment at the university you will need to present certified copies of your highschool graduation certificate and other university degree certificates, in German or English;
• Proof of admission/ acceptance by your department/ Letter of invitation from the university or institute. This may also be your supervisor’s letter of acceptance of your research project or the fellowship award letter;

1. Mit dem FU-Netzwerk verbinden

• Wenn Sie sich an der BGSMCS bzw. auf dem Campus der FU befinden, verbinden Sie sich mit dem Wifi-Netzwerk "eduroam".  (weitere Informationen: Zugang zu "eduroam" mit Mac OS X | Zugang zu "eduroam" mit Windows)

• Wenn Sie von zuhause, von anderen Unis oder von unterwegs auf die Dateien zuugreifen möchten, melden Sie sich per VPN client mit Ihrem Benutzernamen und Passwort bei dem Server "vpn.fu-berlin.de" an. (weitere Informationen: VPN für Mac OS X | VPN für Windows)

2. Netzlaufwerk verbinden

• Mac OS X:
  Öffnen Sie den "Finder". Wählen Sie das Menü "Gehe zu" und klicken Sie auf "Mit Server verbinden".
  Geben Sie im daraufhin geöffneten Fenster eine der drei folgenden Serveradressen ein:
  
  
  1. smb://datastore.fu-berlin.de/BGSMCS/   (für den Zugriff auf den "SHARE-ALL"-Ordner)
  2. smb://user.fu-berlin.de/HOME/   (für den Zugriff auf den Benutzerordner)
  3. smb://web01.campus.fu-berlin.de/SCAN/   (für den Zugriff auf den "SCAN"-Ordner)
  
  

  Melden Sie sich nun mit Ihrem Benutzernamen, gefolgt von @fu-berlin.de, und Ihrem Passwort an.
  
  

• Windows:
  Öffnen Sie den "Explorer". Wählen Sie "Computer" und klicken Sie auf "Netzlaufwerk verbinden".
  Geben Sie im daraufhin geöffneten Fenster eine der drei folgenden Serveradressen ein:
  
  
  1. \\datastore.fu-berlin.de\BGSMCS\   (für den Zugriff auf den "SHARE-ALL"-Ordner)
  2. \\user.fu-berlin.de\HOME\   (für den Zugriff auf den Benutzerordner)
  3. \\web01.campus.fu-berlin.de\SCAN\   (für den Zugriff auf den "SCAN"-Ordner)
  
  

  Melden Sie sich nun mit Ihrem Benutzernamen, gefolgt von @fu-berlin.de, und Ihrem Passwort an.
  Um auf die Ordner auch nach einem Neustart des Computers zugreifen zu können, sollten Sie jedem der Netzlaufwerke einen eigenen Laufwerksbuchstaben zuweisen

1. Zugriff über den Browser: http://exchange.fu-berlin.de
2. Domäne\Benutzername: FU-Berlin\Benutzername
   Kennwort: Passwort
   Benutzername und Passwort entsprechen der Anmeldung am Arbeitsplatz-PC in der Graduate School.
3. Nun öffnet sich eine Outlook nachempfundene Oberfläche.

1. auf „Senden“ klicken (oben in der Mitte)
2. auf „Zielwahl“ klicken (unten, grün hinterlegt)
3. auf „SCANBGSMCS“ klicken
4. die ScanVorlage einlegen
5. den Kopierknopf drücken (großer grüner Knopf)
6. mit „Fertig“ den Auftrag abschließen
7. der Scanauftrag liegt dann unter: Arbeitsplatz  > "Scan auf ''campus\Daten'' (S:)"   (für alle sichtbar)
8. das Dokument wird automatisch nach 2 Tagen gelöscht!!!