PhD Fellowship Competition at The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS)

Overview
The BIGSSS Ph.D. Program
The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) invites applications to its Ph.D. program. The program will commence on September 1st, 2012.
Successful applicants for the Ph.D. and Post-doc fellowships will pursue a topic in one of BIGSSS` five Thematic Fields.
All fellows are expected to choose Bremen as their place of residence.

Financial Support
BIGSSS offers 15 Ph.D. stipends of 1250 Euros/month for 36 months, contingent on successful completion of each year. To support its Ph.D. fellows in achieving early scientific independence, it also provides funds for conducting, presenting and publishing research. There is no separate funding application, because all admitted applicants receive a stipend.

Admission Requirements

• An excellent MA degree (or national equivalents like the German “Diplom” or “Magister”) in a discipline pertinent to at least one of BIGSSS` five Thematic fields (see above), i.e. in Political Science (including related degree programs in European Studies or International Relations), Sociology, Psychology, Law, Economics or Mass Communication. The degree must be completed by the end of July of the year of application, which means you may apply before having finished your MA degree.
• English proficiency as described in the application materials section below.
• Additionally BIGSSS offers 2 Preparatory Fellowships to particularly talented BA Graduates. Please refer to Preparatory Fellowships to find out more about the program.

Diversity and Anti-Discrimination
BIGSSS believes that diverse backgrounds and ideas are crucial to academic excellence. Therefore, BIGSSS welcomes and promotes diversity and ensures equal opportunity and inclusion for all of its members regardless of ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age or (dis-)ability. More information and contact details of our Equal Opportunities Officers can be found here.

Application Deadline
The application period for the Fall 2012 semester will begin in the middle of December 2011 and go until March 15th, 2012.

The deadline refers to the date of receipt of the application. All letters of recommendation must also reach BIGSSS by March 15th, 2012.