The Ph.D. programme in Literature at the University of Munich offers a systematically structured, research-oriented 3-year course of high academic standard. A faculty of 37 specialists from 17 different disciplines provide a framework for study in which literature is approached from a wide variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. An interdisciplinary approach to literature forms the basis of further enquiries into culture- and media-related issues. Applications are invited from highly-qualified graduate students from Germany and especially from abroad.

Admission

The criterion for a successful application is a university diploma with an above average G.P.A.: For universities abroad, this diploma should be at least equivalent to the German Magister Artium, Diplom, or Staatsexamen; e.g., the Master of Arts “With Thesis”. The diploma has to be acquired in one of the following subjects that are covered by the programme (their names might vary for each institution):

• Comparative Literature / Critical theory
• English Studies
• American Studies
• History of Books and Printing
• German Studies (incl. Medieval and Modern German Literature)
• German as a Foreign Language
• Italian Studies
• Classical Philology
• Scandinavian Studies
• Romance Studies
• Slavic Studies

Applicants will be selected in a two-step procedure, which consists of a written and an oral part. Based on the written application (see below), some candidates are invited to an academic interview. The criteria for admission are: The quality and feasibility of the dissertation project; the applicant’s willingness and competence to deal with complex and general theoretical and methodological problems; the applicant’s achievements in studies and examinations in the past.

Application

Applicants are required to submit the following documents and to fill in the application form:

• CV, including a detailed description of the academic career
• Official copies or transcripts of all school and university diplomas;
• one copy of the thesis;
• letters of recommendation from two faculty members that give information on the qualifications and the scientific potential that the applicant shows;
• a list of publications (if applicable);
• an outline of the dissertation project (maximum ten pages).

In special cases, admission is possible on the basis of a Bachelor’s Degree, if the qualification (First Class / Honors) is obvious and the emphasis of the prior studies was on one of the subjects mentioned above. Such applicants will have to add up to one year of additional course work to the projected three year programme.

Applications Deadline:
December 1, 2005 for the summer term 2006
Begin of the summer term: April 24, 2006

May 1, 2006 for the winter term 2006/07
Begin of the winter term: October 16, 2006

Scholarships

The Ph. D. Programme in Literature supports applications for the following scholarships.

• Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung
• Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
• Bundesstiftung Rosa Luxemburg
• Cusanuswerk
• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• Deutscher Akademikerinnenbund e.V. (DAB)
• Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
• Dr. Alexander und Rita Besser Stiftung
• Ephraim Carlebach-Stiftung Leipzig
• Evangelisches Studienwerk
• Franz-und-Eva-Rutzen-Stiftung
• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
• Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung
• Gemeinnützige Hermann-Niermann-Stiftung
• Gemeinnützige Hertie-Stiftung
• Gerda Henkel Stiftung
• Gottlieb-Daimler- und Karl-Benz-Stiftung
• Hanns-Lilje-Stiftung
• Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
• Hugo Moser - Stiftung
• Jürg Breuninger Stiftung
• Karl und Gertrud Abel-Stiftung
• Katholischer Akademischer Ausländerdienst (KAAD)
• Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
• Marianne und Dr. Fritz Walter Fischer Stiftung
• Quistorp-Stiftung
• Robert-Bosch-Stiftung
• Sal. Oppenheim-Stiftung zur Förderung der Wissenschaften Stiftung Bildung und Wissenschaft
• Stiftung der deutschen Wirtschaft
• Stiftungsfonds Dresdner Bank
• Stiftungsfonds UNILEVER
• Stiftungsverband Regenbogen e.V.
• Stipendienreferat LMU München
• Studienförderwerk Klaus Murmann
• Studienstiftung der Süddeutschen Zeitung
• Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
• VolkswagenStiftung

Reference:
PhD in Literature at the University of Munich.