PhD at the Chair of International Relations
What is a PhD and what does it entail?
The chair of International Relations offers the opportunity to complete your individual research project in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies, International Relations or a closely-related subject area.
A PhD or rather the German equivalent “Dr. phil.” is a substantial scientific piece of work which takes on average 4-5 years to complete.
There currently is no graduate school or structured PhD programme. PhDs are supervised individually by Alexander Spencer and the supervision is tailored according to the individual needs and abilities of the candidates.
This includes a research seminar each term in which all the PhD students and scientific staff of the chair present their current research in order to get feedback. PhD students are expected to participate in these seminars on a regular basis.
For those interested in pursuing an academic career after their PhD, the chair offers PhD students the opportunity to gain valuable teaching experience and give seminars in the Master’s Programme of PACS, voluntarily and on topics of their individual research focus.
Admission
Deadline for the submission of proposals and supporting documents is the: 1st of June each year. Only a limited number of students are admitted.
Decisions on successful applications are made on the basis of the submitted documents. Successful candidates are able to begin their PhD in the coming winter term, starting in October.
Detailed information on application process and admission requirements can be found here: Application Procedure, Admission Requirements.
Please note:
Acceptance by the PACS admission committee does not entail automatic enrolment as doctoral candidate at the OvGU. Once accepted candidates need to apply for being enrolled as a PhD student via the university administration. The final decision will be made by the Council of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Science & Education after checking the equivalence of the candidate's university degree, CV and the fulfilment of the general requirements of the Faculty. These criteria are covered by the PhD programme regulations of the Faculty [in German only].
For detailed information please also check:
Matriculation for Doctoral Candidates
Otto-von-Guericke Graduate Academy