Profile & Curriculum

Positions for graduate students are available each semester. Applications for regular membership are accepted for both winter and summer terms each year.

The following three areas are to be emphasized in the individual doctoral dissertations:

1. Literature, Culture and Society
(relationship between literature, culture and society; social theories; cultural theories; cultural turn and/in literary studies)

2. Theories of Literature and Culture
(science studies; history, theory, and methodology of/in literary/cultural studies)

3. Literary/Cultural Studies and the Professional World
(professional sectors that require expertise in literary/cultural studies; the literary marketplace; transferable skills)

Curriculum: Lecture series, colloquia, group projects, workshops, practical training, and academic teaching

Mentoring: Each doctoral candidate will have an individual, interdisciplinary support group consisting of three members. A mentoring agreement and an individual timeline will be established and signed by the PhD candidate and their supervisors. The supervisors will assist the candidate in applying for a scholarship.

Areas of study: English/American Studies; Arabic/Islamic Studies; German Studies; Latin Studies; Middle and New Latin Studies, Dutch Studies; Scandinavian Studies; Romance Studies (Main Areas: French, Spanish and Italian Literature); Sinology; Slavic Studies.

Find out more about your potential supervisor's research focus.

Formal Admission Requirements

• a GSPoL-related university degree (generally a master's degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 2.0; or, in exceptional cases, a bachelor’s degree with a minimum grade of 1.50)
• German and English language skills (one language at the level of C1, the other at the level of B1, in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
• additional foreign language skills according to Annex B of the PhD study regulations of the department of philology or the department of history/philosophy (see also  FAQs)

Application Process and Deadlines

Application Documents

Applications to the Graduate School must be submitted in written form (in German or English; via email as a single PDF file) and should include:

• letter of motivation giving reasons for the application at the GSPoL;
• proof that the applicant has completed a GSPoL-related university degree (generally a master’s degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 2.0 or a bachelor’s degree in literary studies with a minimum grade of 1.50) according to § 5 (1) the GSPoL study regulations); please include a degree certificate and a transcript of records listing your courses and grades; international applicants should add an explanation of the grading system at their home university;
• proof of German, English and possibly additional foreign language skills according to § 5 (2) of the GSPoL study regulations;
• curriculum vitae (without photograph);
• a brief (approx. half-page) abstract of the dissertation project;
• project proposal of approx. 10 pages in length, which discusses the research aims and methodology as well as the contents, originality and significance of the project;
• detailed timeline;
• two letters of recommendation; if the applicant holds a bachelor’s degree or completed university studies with a regular duration of less than eight semesters, three references are required.

Please submit your application (via email as a single PDF file, except for the letters of recommendation, which should be sent separately by the professor) to:

Dr. Anna Thiemann

Graduate School Practices of Literature
Universität Münster, Fachbereich 09 (Philologie)
c/o Germanistisches Institut
Schlossplatz 34
48143 Münster 
koordinationsbuero.gspol@uni-muenster.de

For further information please contact

Dr. Anna Thiemann (Coordination Office)
thiemann.gspol@uni-muenster.de