Münster School of Ancient Cultures

The Münster School of Ancient Cultures (MSAC) is an interdisciplinary graduate school founded in December 2020 at the University of Münster with the participation of the Departments of History/Philosophy (FB 08), Philology (FB 09), Protestant Theology (FB 01) and Catholic Theology (FB 02). It will begin its work in the summer semester of 2021 with a wide range of courses and events.

The MSAC has an interdisciplinary orientation and unites the numerous subjects and disciplines of various ancient cultures at Münster University. Participating disciplines include Ancient History, Classical Philology, Classical and Christian Archaeology, Byzantine Studies, Egyptology and Coptology, Islamic Studies, Oriental Studies and Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistory, Sinology, Philosophy, Jewish Studies, Religious Studies and Protestant and Catholic Theology (Biblical Archaeology, Old Testament, New Testament, Church History).

The subject areas of the MSAC extends not only, from a global historical perspective, to the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world, the Middle East, North Africa and Central and East Asia, but also to their reception in later epochs, to comparative analyses and approaches and, last but not least, to the study of the aforementioned areas and cultures from the perspective of cultural and religious history as well as environmental history.

The primary goal of the MSAC is to provide the best possible supervision and support for excellent doctoral candidates during the successful realisation of their doctoral projects. In a dynamically developing and increasingly international academic landscape, the diversity of questions and methods requires interdisciplinary approaches, the exchange with doctoral students and experienced academics, as well as early international networking. To this end, the MSAC offers a structured doctoral programme (see appendix), which is not only aimed at supporting the best possible research, but also at internationalising it and promoting the interdisciplinarity of young researchers and their projects.

From the beginning of the doctoral phase and in close exchange between the doctoral candidates and their supervisors, the MSAC aims not only to offer its young researchers an ideal platform for a wide variety of research projects from the subjects and disciplines mentioned, but also to promote exchange with peers and experienced researchers and the development of networks through suitable interdisciplinary and international formats and events. In addition, the qualification of doctoral researchers with regard to career planning and professional qualification both within and outside of the academic career should be strengthened through special coaching offers from internal and external experts. In addition to the non-material support of its doctoral researchers, the MSAC supports the doctoral researchers with financial means for the implementation of workshops and with mobility grants for participation in external events.

Within the framework of the doctoral programme offered by the Münster School of Ancient Cultures, we invite young researchers with doctoral projects from the disciplines represented in the MSAC to apply for admission to the graduate school.