Class of Language
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Application

Applications for PhD positions

In the forthcoming winter semester 2025/2026, the Class of Language at the Graduate School of Language & Literature, Munich is offering the following positions in our PhD program.

  • one GSSP PhD-Scholarship (DAAD)
  • regular non-funded PhD positions

Application deadline: April 1st, 2025.

The DAAD-scholarship includes: scholarship payments of currently € 1,300 a month, a travel allowance; payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover; a research allowance of currently between € 460 - € 260 per year.

  • Regular duration of the program: 6 semester

Pursuing a PhD in the Class of Language offers individual and supportive supervision as well as a research-oriented and systematically structured interdisciplinary teaching program. In addition, PhD candidates have numerous opportunities for regular exchange with their peers, university professors, and international guest scholars from various linguistic disciplines.

Requirements for application

  • University degree graded as above average (Master of Arts (“with thesis”), Magister Artium, diploma, state board examination, Maîtrise, Laurea, ect.) with a major in one of the following program subjects:
  1. Albanian Studies
  2. Cognitive and Cultural Linguistics
  3. Comparative and Indo-European Linguistics
  4. English Linguistics
  5. Finno-Ugric / Uralic Studies
  6. General Linguistics and Language Typology
  7. German as a foreign language
  8. German Linguistics
  9. Phonetics
  10. Psycholinguistics
  11. Romance Linguistics
  12. Slavic Linguistics
  13. Theoretical Linguistics,

or similar degrees.

  • The grade of final thesis must not fall below a 2,50. The same requirement applies to the overall grade (verification needed).
  • knowledge of at least two European languages of science, one of them German or English at C1 level or above
  • Willingness to actively participate in a structured doctoral program
Additional requirements for DAAD-scholarship applicants:
DAAD scholarships are exclusively for international applicants who must have completed their degree (see above) at the starting date of the scholarship/preparatory German course. Applicants must not have been residing in Germany for more than fifteen months prior to May, 1st 2025. Applicants should not have graduated any longer than six years before May, 1st 2025 and not have completed a PhD previously. Research phases outside Germany during the funding period can be supported if they do not exceed 25% of the total funding period, and do not take place directly at the beginning of the funding period.
Applications from developing countries and emerging nations are particularly welcome.

Selection procedure

Applicants will be chosen on the basis of their application documents, final acceptance of pre-selected applicants takes place after an academic discussion with a section panel.

Criteria of selection are the quality of the dissertation project, academic qualification, co-operative and communicative skills, as well as the willingness and the ability to work on interdisciplinary theoretical as well as methodological problems in accordance with the aims of the doctoral program.

Application documents

  1. A motivation essay in which you explain the reasons for applying (1-2 pages)
  2. An exposé of your dissertation project with a work package outline (10-12 pages, less than 35,000 characters, including spaces)
  3. Recommendation letters from two university teachers
  4. If you are applying for a DAAD GSSP scholarship, please ask your referee to use the following template provided by the DAAD for their reference: https://www.daad.de/medien/deutschland/stipendien/formulare/recommendation.doc
  5. Curriculum Vitae, including a detailed description of academic career
  6. Copies of all certificates, diplomas and degrees of schools and universities (Proof of final thesis grade and overall grade of your first academic degree)
  7. A copy of your university thesis (or an abstract of two or three pages if it is written in a lesser-used language)

How to apply?

The application consists of the following steps:

  1. Register on the online portal and then follow the instructions.
  2. Please complete the electronic form and upload all the required documents. Do not forget to save all your changes.
  3. After the end of the application period, the portal will be closed for editing and uploading.

Click on the link to the online application platform here!

What happens after we receive your application?

You will be notified by e-mail about whether your application has been successful in the first round of the two-stage selection process. You might then be invited to an interview, which will take place shortly afterwards. Please also note that we cannot remunerate any travel expenses to the in-person interviews. However, interviews can also take place online. If you prefer to be interviewed online, please get in touch as soon as possible.

Contact for more information on the doctoral program:

Dr. Judit Vári (Graduate School Language & Literature Munich, LMU München)

Mail: J.Vari@lmu.de