The Application to the Graduate School of Politics

Normally, acceptance to the GraSP requires a successfully completed first degree in political science or in a related discipline. To be admitted to the doctorate study, applicants must have a Magister, master, diploma or the state exam certificate with an overall grade of “good” in accordance with the study regulations.
Applicants with a master diploma from a foreign university should inform themselves about the recognition of the degree in the Anabin-Database of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Federal States of Germany. Approved universities are marked with H+.

Furthermore a thesis supervisor and acceptance to a research group of the GraSP is required. Applicants should obtain information about the area of focus of the research groups and apply for a doctorate project with an exposé to one of these groups. The exposé should be of around 10-15 pages in length, should show the main focus, explain its relevance, generate a hypothesis, briefly outline the state of research, discuss the method and contain a rough structure and a time schedule of the thesis.
An example of an exposé can be found here.

Please address your application stating the desired research group and a signed supervision agreement, with an academic curriculum vitae and attach copies of your academic qualifications to:

Graduate School of Politics
Dr. Matthias Freise
Scharnhorststraße 100
D-48151 Münster

Please note that online applications will not be considered.

Applying is possible at any time as there is no deadline for application. Generally a decision on the application is made by the professors within two months.

Applications without a detailed exposé will not be accepted. The GraSP receives a lot of requests without a tangible research project. Please be aware that the GraSP in interested in young academics with an academically and socially relevant research project, which they will pursue with ambition and enthusiasm in the upcoming years.
It would be impractical to first search for a place on a doctoral program. It is far more important to have a concrete idea of the research project on which you want to spend three (or more) years of your life. If you do not have that, you will not find a mentoring team in Münster.