The Department of German Studies in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) at the University of Warwick is pleased to invite applications for doctoral study commencing in September 2020.
Please get in touch early to identify potential supervisors and to prepare a robust application.
- For more information on prerequisites and how apply for a place of study, please see here: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/research/.
- To search for relevant research expertise among our staff, see here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/research/expertise/. Directors of Graduate Studies (contact details below) will also be pleased to advise on this.
A broad range of funding opportunities is advertised on the websites of Warwick’s Doctoral College (https://warwick.ac.uk/services/dc/schols_fund/) and the Centre for Arts Doctoral Research Excellence (CADRE) (https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/cadre/prospectivestudents/) Please note that several funding schemes operate multi-staged application processes and early deadlines.
The SMLC will nominate a number of first-rate applications from prospective and qualifying existing students for the following funding opportunities:
- AHRC Midlands 4 Cities Doctoral Training Programme for home/EU students: 94 Scholarships are available across 8 Consortium institutions (including Warwick). For more information, see here: tps://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/cadre/prospectivestudents/scholarships/m4c/. The final deadline is 14th January 2020 but applications should be started in November-early December 2019.
On 16th November 2019 a M4C Scholarship Application workshop will be hosted by Coventry University. Sign up to attend this event if you are considering making a M4C Scholarship Application.
- Home/EU students applying for an AHRC M4C Scholarship through Warwick will automatically be considered for a limited number of Wolfson Scholarships. No separate application is needed. The application process should be started in November-early December 2019 with a view to the 14th January 2020 deadline.
- EU Chancellor’s Scholarships: The University offers 10 scholarships to EU (non-UK) applicants, covering maintenance and full tuition fees over 3.5 years. For information on how to apply for these University scholarships please see here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/dc/schols_fund/scholarships_and_funding/eu_chancellors. The deadline is 23:59 pm GMT on Thursday 16th January 2020. All supporting documentation must be uploaded by Thursday 23rd January 2020. Discussion of your application with the SMLC should start in November-early December 2019.
- Chancellor’s International Scholarships: The University offers 30 scholarships to the most outstanding international (‘overseas’) PhD applicants. For on how to apply for these University scholarships, please see here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/dc/schols_fund/scholarships_and_funding/chancellors_int. The deadline is 23:59 pm GMT on Thursday 16th January 2020. All supporting documentation must be uploaded by Thursday 23rd January 2020. Discussion of your application with the SMLC should start in November-early December 2019.

We are also happy to discuss other relevant funding options and self-funded study (full-time or part-time).
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Warwick offers our graduate students a vibrant research culture and community, with more than 30 students currently enrolled on PhDs in the School, alongside some 20 Master’s students and a number of postdoctoral research fellows.
Postgraduate researchers play a vital role in our research community, together with postdoctoral researchers and academic staff of national and international renown. In the 2014 REF, our research outputs were ranked 5th in the UK. 80% of our research and 80% of our ‘impact’ were ranked at 4 or 3, and 100% of our environment was similarly ranked as world-leading or internationally excellent. Our overall output ranking places us at the top of the Russell Group. Modern Languages and Linguistics at Warwick are placed in the top 10 in the UK in the Guardian University Leagues Table 2020. Warwick also ranks 51st in the THE World University Rankings 2020 of institutions offering Languages, literature, & linguistics.
For the research interests of staff in German Studies – ranging from 18th century discourses on cosmopolitanism to contemporary German Studies on transnationalism and world literature, Romanticism, Weimar Classicism, Weimar film, Holocaust Studies, history and theories of antisemitism, constructions of gender, nation and race, and Post-war literature, Post-unification film and literature, World Literature, Translation Studies, gender and music, politics, society and thought – see:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/research/german/
Individual staff and their specialisms can be viewed via:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/academic#german
For research specialisms in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures as a whole, please see: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/research/expertise/.
Applicants who may be interested in doctoral study in German Studies at Warwick are invited to contact Dr Helmut Schmitz (pggerman@warwick.ac.uk, or h.schmitz@warwick.ac.uk) as soon as possible and before the 1. December 2019:

Please include a brief outline of your proposed research project and a CV or short description of your academic qualifications and experience, including your degree classification or overall result at BA and MA level, or equivalent. If we think we can offer appropriate supervision for your project we shall provide further information about the application process for the relevant scholarship at that point.
Applicants will be notified early in May of the outcome of their application.