Doctoral Programme in History and Civilisation

The Department of History and Civilisation offers a distinctive four-year Ph.D. programme of transnational and comparative European history supported by a uniquely international and multicultural faculty.

Our vision

We encourage Ph.D. researchers to think beyond boundaries, offering them exceptional opportunities to study global connections within early modern and modern European history.

Our Department encourages a culture of conversation among researchers and faculty. Professors and researchers work together to develop ideas and each year we invite experts from around the world in numerous fields to visit our department to discuss their research.

We have a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and above all, to inclusivity in all aspects of life. The international character of our community of scholars with its amazing wealth and diversity of academic interests and training is our particular asset. Researchers are challenged to rethink their background assumptions in a fascinating learning experience.

Structure of the programme

In the first and second years doctoral researchers study historiographical and methodological issues and focus on an in-depth exploration of selected central themes of European history. In the third and fourth years, researchers focus on their individual research, and are invited to present the results of their work at seminars and workshops

Supervision: Researchers are followed by a supervisor in the development their own doctoral project. The supervisor is responsible for advising on research and career development while a second reader is also appointed to offer another perspective on the researcher's work. In order to help researchers in the process of designing and writing their PhD thesis, the Department provides a series of individual thesis monitoring sessions..