PhD opportunities at the University of Münster, Germany

Up to five PhD opportunities available in the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster, Germany

An exciting opportunity exists for potential PhD students to fill up to five positions by October 1, 2014 in the Graduate School within the interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics in Pre-Modern and Modern Cultures” at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster – University of Münster, Germany. The Cluster involves a large number of academics from the areas of History, Catholic and Protestant Theology, Jurisprudence, Islamic Studies, Islamic Theology, Jewish Studies, Philosophy, Philology, Ethnology, Egyptology, Political Science, and the Sociology of Religion. Projects in the Cluster of Excellence are grouped around four themes: Normativity, Mediality, Integration, and Violence. Further information about the research areas of the Cluster of Excellence can be found at: www.religion-und-politik.de/en/forschung/forschungsfelder.

Each of these positions is half an E13 TV-L position (approximately € 1.100 net salary per month, including health insurance). Initially the positions are available for two years, with an extension of up to one year possible. Besides from working on their own projects, PhD students are expected to participate in the planning and organization of at least one conference or workshop. These workshops or conferences are expected to cover such areas as theory, methods, and the interpretation of source material. PhD students will also participate in the Cluster of Excellence’s Doctoral Studies Programme. Information about the Graduate School and its study program can be found at: www.religion-und-politik.de/en/graduiertenschule.
We are seeking students who have demonstrated exceptional ability in the Humanities, Cultural Studies, Social Sciences, Law/Jurisprudence, or Theology/Religious Studies. Furthermore we are particularly interested in attracting students who have demonstrated high competence in interdisciplinary studies, have proven their ability to communicate their research to a variety of forums, and have the potential to establish themselves in international arenas. In order to facilitate communication and collaboration within the Graduate School, applicants who are not proficient in German will be encouraged to attend German language courses. Applicants are kindly requested to provide a five page description of their intended project (including a bibliography). It is expected that the project will complement the research aims and also one or more of the research areas of the Cluster of Excellence. All doctoral projects will be supervised by Cluster professors.

The University of Münster is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the proportion of women academics. Consequently, we actively encourage applications by women. Female candidates with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered within the framework of the legal possibilities. We also welcome applications from candidates with severe disabilities. Disabled candidates with equivalent qualifications will be preferentially considered.
Please send your application (including cover letter, CV, copies of transcripts, a project description, and two academic references) by April 15, 2014 to the Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence, Prof. Dr. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, preferably by email (with an attached PDF file):

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Prof. Dr. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics in Pre-Modern and Modern Cultures“
Johannisstraße 1
D–48143 Münster, Germany
Email: exc.graduiertenschule@uni-muenster.de

Please direct any further enquiries to the coordinator of the Graduate School, Robert Spät (exc.graduiertenschule@uni-muenster.de).