We welcome applications from highly qualified graduates from the fields of: Ancient Philosophy, Classics, History of Ancient Science, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Arabic Philosophy and Science, Jewish Philosophy and Aesthetics
Applicants must hold an outstanding Master's degree (MA, MSt, or MSc) or equivalent in one of the aforementioned disciplines or be very close to completion. In any case, applicants must have completed their studies with a Master's degree or equivalent at the time the scholarship begins.
Objectives of the doctoral program "Ancient Philosophy and History of Ancient Science"
The doctoral program "Ancient Philosophy and History of Ancient Science" is dedicated to ancient philosophy and the special sciences that developed in the ancient Mediterranean and ancient Near East, their interrelationship, their historical context as well as their later impact in the Arabic speaking world and the modern era. The main sources are scientific and philosophical texts, but also scientific instruments and other forms of material evidence. The program is divided into two curricular paths, which are selected before the beginning of the doctoral program.
For the Ancient Philosophy path, we particularly welcome dissertation proposals, which are concerned with ancient philosophy in the stricter sense and with the more general, intellectual and theoretical aspects of the ancient sciences (including mathematics, medicine, and other disciplines that we might not today consider special sciences, such as grammar or divination).
For the History of Ancient Science path, we welcome (but not exclusively) dissertation proposals that consider philological, historical, social and cultural aspects of the ancient scientific theories and practices in their social and cultural contexts, in the Graeco-Roman world as well as in the ancient Near Eastern, Early Christian and Islamic worlds.
Applicants are be expected to have sufficient command of the relevant ancient languages for their dissertation project. Since the language of instruction is predominantly English, your active language skills should be good enough to participate in discussions and to be able to write academic texts and papers.
Doctoral researchers are expected to participate in Digital Humanities training offered as part of BerGSAS.
Who can apply?
- The call is open ONLY to applicants who are not German citizens,
- Applicants must not have been resident in Germany for longer than 1 February 2023,
- The MA degree must not have been completed before 1 May 2018,
- Applicants must not have completed a PhD previously.
Duration of scholarship and funding
The scholarships are available from October 2024 (Winter semester 2024/25) for four years, subject to a satisfactory annual progress review. In accordance with DAAD guidelines, doctoral scholarship holders receive a stipend of 1,200 Euros a month, a travel allowance, a combined health, accident and liability insurance policy, allowances for study and research (rent and family allowances, where applicable); financial support for a pre-sessional German language course. Plus, material resources and supervision allowance of 1,000 Euros per year, managed through the academic supervisor’s institute.
Application process
Applications must be submitted electronically via the BerGSAS portal by 11 March 2024, 00:00 CEST, quoting the reference 2024-BerGSAS-GSSP. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
The application procedure takes place in two stages:
1st stage:
Please register at the BerGSAS application portal: https://application.berliner-antike-kolleg.org/bergsas
After you have created a personal account, you can begin to fill in the application form and you can upload your documents. It is possible to save the application form temporarily and continue with the data entry at a later date. Applications must be submitted by 11 March 2024, 00:00 CET.
BerGSAS will invite shortlisted candidates to an online interview within two months of the application deadline.
2nd stage:
BerGSAS will nominate the candidates selected for a scholarship to the DAAD. The DAAD will make the final decision and will inform you. Please note that admission to doctoral studies and the receipt of a scholarship is subject to assessment by the host university (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin or Freie Universität Berlin) and by the DAAD.
Application documents
Your application documents:
If registered at BerGSAS application portal, you will find at the bottom of the form the list documents required. This includes among other things copies of various documents (which do not have to be officially certified!).
- Please note: At the Freie Universität, a C1 certificate is required.
- Certificates of any academic degree (B.A. and M.A.) or advanced qualifications indicating grades and explaining the grading system of your home university
Two letters of reference:
Two letters of reference from university professors are required, one of which must be from a professor at your home university! The letters are confidential documents and should be sent as a PDF file by the university professors directly to: carmen.marcks-jacobs@berliner-antike-kolleg.org
It is mandatory that the professors use the DAAD template for their letter of recommendation! The template can be found at:
https://www.daad.de/medien/deutschland/stipendien/formulare/recommendation.pdf
https://www.daad.de/medien/deutschland/stipendien/formulare/recommendation.doc
Application deadline
The deadline for applications is 11 March 2024 at 00:00 CET. The selection committee will not consider incomplete or late applications.