Doctoral Programme

The Graduate School’s support concept for doctoral students is modelled on the well-established structure developed in the doctoral programme ‘Manuscript Cultures’, which started with the SFB 950 ‘Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe’ in 2011. Since then, this programme has admitted almost eighty doctoral students from over twenty disciplines, sixty percent of whom come from abroad, adding their expertise in individual manuscript cultures across continents to the programme. The Graduate School offers training and further qualification to postgraduate students who want to specialise in the study of written artefacts within their discipline. Thereby, the Cluster’s unique collaboration between the humanities and natural scientists allows for joint doctoral research projects on written artefacts while obtaining a specialist degree in the respective discipline (Dr. phil. or Dr. rer. nat.). 

There are three ways to enter the Graduate School: by being selected for a doctoral position as research associate in the Cluster, by winning a doctoral scholarship in the GSSP programme, or by suggestion of a Cluster member to the Steering Committee (for doctoral researchers with other scholarships/different funding whose research is relevant to our core areas and who therefore qualify to be affiliated to the Graduate School).