Doing your PhD
at the Department of Global Studies
As PhD Candidate at the Department of Global Studies you are considered a fellow junior researcher and are encouraged to participate in the regular department and research group meetings as well as in other department activities and events. Most of us at the Department of Global Studies work interdisciplinary and on different countries and regions all across the globe. Therefore, the exchange with your colleagues can not only inspire your own research, but also broaden your academic horizon and enable you to discover how issues, topics, methodologies and theories you are working with connect to other research questions and projects from another academic field or focused on a different part of the world.
While a PhD project is a lot of independent work, all PhD candidates at Global Studies have one primary supervisor who offers guidance, provides you with regular feedback on your ideas, thoughts and texts and helps you to overcome any challenges you might face throughout the process of planning your research and writing your thesis. Also, your secondary supervisor will be available to give feedback and discuss your ideas. Moreover, the Graduate School at Aarhus University’s Faculty of Arts helps you with administrative issues such as research stays abroad or and keeps track of your progress via your PhD planner. They also provide an overview of mandatory and optional PhD courses.
Besides working on their thesis, PhD candidates support the department (e.g. helping to organize events or other administrative tasks) and get the opportunity to gain some teaching experience. Typically, PhD candidates at the Department of Global Studies teach in total two full courses (10 ECTS) on B.A. or M.A. level during the second, third or fourth semester of their employment. PhDs candidates teach independently or co-teach with their supervisor or another colleague. To ensure that there is enough time for your thesis, the time you are supposed to spend on teaching and supporting the Department is limited to a total of 840 hours (ca. 22 weeks of full-time work) during the duration of your employment as PhD.
PhD candidates are encouraged to ‘go global’ and, unlike in many other academic environments, they also get the financial support to do so. The PhD scholarship includes a generous allowance that covers the travel and accommodation costs for attending conferences, workshops or PhD courses abroad or elsewhere in Denmark as well as potential tuition fees for stays at another university. To get to know more about the technicalities of going abroad as PhD candidate and possibilities for additional funding, please have a look at the Graduate Schools Website.
Becoming a PhD Student at Global Studies
Generally, there are two different PhD scholarships: As a 5+3 PhD candidate, you have already completed a M.A. degree and apply for a scholarship with your M.A. diploma. As a 4+4 PhD candidate you start your PhD before finishing your M.A. degree. Have a look at the Graduate School’s Website to find out more about the two different program structures and the respective application procedures and requirements
Most PhDs at the Department of Global Studies work on their individual project and are fully funded by the Faculty of Arts. You can apply for these open calls twice a year (deadlines in March and October) with your own project idea. If you have a project idea within an area covered by the Department of Global Studies, please have a look at our academic staff profiles in the respective area and do not hesitate to get in touch with your potential future supervisor.
In addition to the open calls, there are occasional specific calls for PhD candidates within specific, fully funded research projects.
For more information on the different PhD fellowships, application procedures and deadlines, required documents, admission requirements, conditions of employment, salary and information on how to apply for a PhD fellowship with external funding, please visit the Graduate School- Faculty of Art’s website.
Current PhDs
at the Department of Global Studies
PhD candidates at the Department of Global Studies have academic backgrounds in anthropology, linguistics, political science and other disciplines from the field of humanities and social sciences. They work on a variety of topics, issues and regions, often with interdisciplinary approaches. Have a look at their profiles to find out more about their individual projects.