Application Materials for Ph.D. Fellowships

You can submit your application for a BIGSSS Fellowship electronically via our online admissions system.

The page provides a list of what your application should include. If you have any questions regarding the admissions process, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions after carefully reading the website or send an email to the Admissions Officer (admissions-officerbigsss-bremen.de).

Please note that the program commences on September 1st, 2012.

Our online admissions system will only accept documents in pdf-format. You can download a free version of PDFCreator under sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

Personal Information Form

Please note that there is no official, lengthy “application form“. Instead, applicants are requested to submit the documents described below and provide us with personal information, contact data and information on their professional background.

Preliminary Dissertation Proposal

We do not expect you to have an ultimate version of your dissertation proposal upon application. Nonetheless, we ask for a well-developed version of your preliminary dissertation proposal. It should be written in English, encompass between 5 and 15 double-spaced pages and include the following elements:

• Summary
• State of research (highlighting theoretical and empirical debates on your topic and deficits in the literature that your project would address)
• Your research experience/competence in the field
• Objectives, methods and work plan (be very specific about the methods used and the stages of the work plan)
• Bibliography

Please note: by submitting your application, you consent to have your dissertation proposal checked for plagiarism.

One-page Proposal Abstract

Please provide a one-page abstract of your dissertation proposal.

Statement of Purpose

Your statement of purpose should provide a clear picture of your academic and professional interests, background, and career plans. It should also describe how your interests fit in with the BIGSSS Ph.D. program. You are expected to indicate one or two potential supervisors for your proposal. Please be sure to check the homepages of our faculty for their research interests, as are apparent for instance in their list of publications. By having a close fit to the research interests of BIGSSS faculty, we can assure the best possible supervision.

MA/BA/Diplom/Magister certificates

Please provide a pdf-document of each degree certificate earned, e.g. Bachelor and Masters (max. 4 documents). If you are shortlisted we will ask you to bring a notarized (or officially certified) photocopy of each degree certificate earned.

Curriculum Vitae

Your CV should include information on your educational and work history, publications, language abilities and extracurricular interests.

Two Recent Letters of Recommendation

Request these from persons qualified to evaluate your academic and professional qualifications, familiar with your academic achievement and in a position to assess your potential for success in BIGSSS. At least one of these letters must be from a professor who has instructed you. The recommendor should submit the letter either in hard copy directly to BIGSSS, or in a sealed envelope to the applicant for submission together with the rest of the application. Like all other application documents, the recommendations must arrive at BIGSSS by the application deadline.

University Grade Transcripts

Please provide pdf-documents (max. 4 documents) of your official grade transcripts (for courses attended in Germany: Kopien aller Leistungsnachweise). If work is in progress, you should submit a supplementary transcript at the end of the term. If a transcript is not issued in English or German, provide a certified German or English translation. If you are shortlisted we will ask you to bring a notarized (or officially certified) photocopy.

Statement of Skills and Experience with Methods of Empirical Social Research

Please provide information on your knowledge of research methods (including methods courses taken). Applicants from disciplines with little or no standard methods training should provide other pertinent information on relevant research skills. Statements can be from one or two sentences to a maximum of one page long.

Certification of English proficiency

Proof of C1-level English language skills or the equivalent. For TOEFL scores, send a copy of your personal score report – do not use the institutional code. Equivalent IELTS and CAE scores are also accepted. All scores must be officially reported and no more than 2 years old.

Scores:
TOEFL: paper-based 600, computer-based 250, internet-based 100
IELTS: Band 7.5
Cambridge Certificate: pass CAE

Exempt from the English proficiency requirement are applicants who are native speakers of English or who have received either their Hochschulzugangsberechtigung (e.g. passed their A-levels) or earned a higher-educational degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (optional)

Applicants may include a GRE  score report in their application to support the selection process, although this is not required.