Call for Applications: Doctoral programme Law & Society two doctoral scholarships (2025-2029) funded by the DAAD

Doctoral programme Law & Society
Call for Applications for two doctoral scholarships (2025-2029) funded by the DAAD
Application deadline: December 31, 2024

The doctoral programme Law & Society of the Integrative Research Institute Law & Society (LSI), in cooperation with the DFG Research Training Group DynamInt, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, is currently accepting applications for two doctoral scholarships at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. These scholarships are funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, Graduate School Scholarship Programme) and offer up to four years of support, including a monthly stipend, language courses, and other benefits. Excellent international students with an interest in interdisciplinary legal research are strongly encouraged to apply.

1. The doctoral programme Law & Society
The LSI and DynamInt have established the joint doctoral programme Law & Society to promote
innovative interdisciplinary legal research. The programme is dedicated to investigating the role and function of law for tackling the current and fundamental challenges for European integration and a democratic global society (inter alia legal harmonisation and pluralisation within the EU, climate change, digital transformation, inequalities and discrimination, the rise of populism and the decline of the rule of law) from a genuinely interdisciplinary perspective. The programme offers interdisciplinary supervision and support within DynamInt’s international doctoral programme. The LSI is a stimulating, interdisciplinary, and international research environment in the heart of Berlin at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

The courses of the doctoral programme will be mostly taught in English. However, you are expected
to acquire a working knowledge of German. Fully funded language courses will be available as part of the doctoral scholarship. The doctoral thesis may be written in English or German.

2. Application requirements
The doctoral programme Law & Society welcomes applications from highly qualified graduate students committed to excellence in interdisciplinary legal research. You should hold a graduate degree (Master or equivalent) in law, social sciences or related fields of research and are expected to pursue a genuinely interdisciplinary project within the framework of the doctoral programme Law & Society. Key selection criteria are 1) the quality of the research proposal, 2) closeness to the thematic agenda of the doctoral programme Law & Society, 3) a genuine contribution to interdisciplinary legal research, and 4) the candidate’s relevant academic and professional experience. To be eligible for nomination to DAAD, you must have completed your final examination (Master’s degree or equivalent) within the past six years and you should not have resided in Germany for more than 15 months prior to nomination. International students who do not hold German citizenship are particularly encouraged to apply.

3. The doctoral scholarship
The doctoral scholarships will preferably begin on September 1, 2025. You will receive a grant from the DAAD’s Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP) for up to four years. The scholarship includes:
• a monthly stipend currently set at € 1,200;
• travel allowance;
• payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance;
• a research allowance of € 460 per year if you come from a developing country, or € 230 per
year for those from industrialized countries;
• under certain circumstances, you may receive additional benefits:
o a monthly rent subsidy;
o a monthly allowance for accompanying family members (approximately € 200 child
allowance per child and approximately € 275 for a spouse);
o A subsidy is available to cover additional costs arising from a disability or chronic illness if these costs are not covered by other funding providers.;
• a preliminary language course;
• an allowance for material resources and supervision of up to € 1,000 per year.
For further information please refer to the DAAD homepage.

4. The application procedure
The selection process has two steps. In step 1, appropriate candidates are nominated for a DAAD
scholarship by the doctoral programme Law & Society as the host. In step 2, the nominees (2 for each scholarship) submit an online application with supporting documentation via the DAAD portal and the DAAD selection board makes the final decision.

Application documents for step 1
Please submit the following documents in German or English as a single pdf file:
1. Letter of motivation (not exceeding 1,000 words)
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Research proposal for the planned dissertation project, including a short abstract and a work
schedule (not exceeding 5 pages)
4. Two letters of recommendation, from full professors (or, in exceptional cases, equivalent
peers) at your home university, issued within the past two years. Please use the DAAD form.
5. Certificates or translated documents:
a. School certificate (College, GSEC etc.) qualifying for admission to higher education in
your home country;
b. Certificate(s) of academic degree(s)
c. Transcripts of records or certificates of annual examinations taken at the home
university
6. Language certificates:
a. English (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge, etc. or English-taught degree)
b. German (DSD, Goethe Institut, TELC, etc. or German taught degree – but proficiency is not required for the application: you may study German while in Berlin).
7. Any documents certifying completed practical work (internships etc.)

8. List of publications (if applicable)

Please submit the application via email as a single pdf file (in the order indicated above, not exceeding a file size of 10 MB) with the subject line: “Application DAAD grant Law & Society” by December 31, 2024 to: law-and-society@hu-berlin.de

5. Contact and additional information
Dr. Ertug Tombus
ertug.tombus@hu-berlin.de
Integrative Research Institute Law & Society Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Unter den Linden 6 10099 Berlin