Department of History
Doctorate
The Bielefeld Department of History offers excellent conditions for a successful doctorate. These include the early promotion of academic independence, the international networking of doctoral students, and an intensive supervision.
Doctoral students will find an exceptionally wide range of expertise in the Department that enthusiastically welcomes individual interests in doctoral topics. The Department's research areas range across not only all epochs from ancient up to contemporary history, but also a great number of systematic fields ranging from economic history to the history of art.
Doctoral students are integrated into an inspiring environment thanks to the strong cooperation not only between different research areas but also with neighbouring disciplines in the social sciences and cultural studies. Candidates benefit from a very dynamic approach to research in the Department, a great number of active international cooperations, and the presence of the BGHS Graduate School funded since 2007 as part of the Excellence Initiative. The wide-ranging cooperations at Bielefeld all merge into an intensive focus on analysing the theoretical foundations of historical research. This also provides the framework for doctoral training.
The International PhD Workshop Exchange with doctoral students and teachers at the Department of History of the University of Notre Dame, the PhD Conference in History, and a Desk Exchange between the Universities of Lund, York, and Bielefeld provide very special arrangements for the international networking of doctoral students. Teachers at our international partner universities also contribute to the English-language seminars for doctoral students.
You can gain a PhD in history either in the international doctoral programme in history or independently. The international doctoral programme is a curricular programme organized by the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology/BGHS. An independent PhD is more suitable if you are an external doctoral student or have employment obligations.
Both forms of PhD are regulated by the:
- General regulation of doctoral studies at Bielefeld University
- Regulation of doctoral studies at the Faculty of History, Philosophy, and Theology
Doctoral studies at the BGHS are also regulated by the