A Few Notes on the Application Process for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Scholarships

Dear Applicant,

We are delighted that you are interested in applying at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture. In the following, we will provide you with some information on our two-stage application process for doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships. Should you have any further questions, please see our Frequently Asked Questions section. You, too, are welcome to contact our team at any time at gcsc-application@uni-giessen.de.

First Stage:

To apply for GCSC-scholarships, you will first be asked to fill in and submit our online application form [Doctoral, Post-Doc] and to upload the following documents by March 1st, 2011:

• a 1-2 page cover letter, explaining your motives for applying at the GCSC;
• a short abstract of your research project (approx. 500 words), including the title of your project and a brief outline of the methodology you will use;
• a curriculum vitae.

Please compile one single PDF-document containing all of the above documents (1-2 pp. cover letter, abstract, and CV) . This document should then be labeled according to the following format: Lastname_Firstname.pdf. Once you have created the PDF-file, please fill in our online application form [Doctoral, Post-Doc]. You can then upload your PDF-file as a part of the online form and submit your application by pressing the “Submit” button. You will receive an email confirming the submission of your application. Should you not receive this email, please check your spam filter before resending your application form.
In addition, we require two letters of recommendation provided by university professors. Please make sure that these references reach the GCSC by March 1st, 2011. References should be posted to the following address:

Your two referees (who you will already have specified in your online application) can also send us their letters of recommendation directly, or email them to gcsc-application@uni-giessen.de.

2nd Stage

In the 2nd stage, we will notify you of the success of your application by March 21st. Should you have been selected for the second stage of the application process, you will be requested to submit further documents supporting your application: For this second stage you will be asked to submit the following documents in print (unstapled) in duplicate to the Director of the GCSC (see address above) by April 8th (date of receipt). Please do not submit any original documents or certificates. Only copies are required:

• Copies of your school and university diploma
• A project proposal including a short summary, an overview of the research conducted so far, your topic and methodology as well as a selected bibliography. In your proposal, you should explain the connection of your research project to the GCSC’s research profile. Information on our research profile can be obtained from our website at http://gcsc.uni-giessen.de/research. Proposals of candidates applying for doctoral scholarships should not exceed 10 pages; if you are applying for a postdoctoral scholarship, please submit no more than 20 pages.
• A detailed schedule describing the specific stages of your work over a period of three years (doctoral scholarship), or two years (postdoctoral scholarship).
• Doctoral students should submit one copy of their M.A.-thesis. Postdoctoral applicants are expected to provide a copy of their dissertation as well as further publications supporting their application, if available (printouts are sufficient in all cases).

Please note that we cannot return any material to you. We would thus ask you to not submit any original documents!

Your entire application will be sent to two internal referees. Together with their evaluation comments, your application will be submitted to the Selection Committee of the GCSC, who will compile a shortlist. We will notify you by May 18th whether you have been accepted as member of the GCSC and whether you will be invited to an interview for one of the GCSC-scholarships. Interviews will take place from June 6 to 8.

We hope that you find this information helpful for preparing your application. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team at gcsc-application@uni-giessen.de.

We look forward to receiving your application!