Deadline:
February 15, 2025
Location(s)
Germany
Universität Hamburg, Fakultät für Rechtswissenschaft, Rothenbaumchaussee 33, D-20148 Hamburg
Overview
The structured PhD programme of the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law welcomes applications of graduates from both legal studies and other disciplines who are keen to produce ambitious doctoral work in an excellent research environment.
Details
The Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law programme consists of two essential elements: thesis preparation and participation in the Graduate School of Law’s lecture programme. The latter is designed to:
- support and guide students in their thesis work;
- teach students the necessary skills for successful legal scientific research;
- broaden students’ views and knowledge of law through interdisciplinary courses.
Successful completion of the programme requires students to participate in lectures worth 8 credit points in total. Each lecture is worth either 1 or 2 credit points, depending on the workload and duration. In addition to regular lectures, the Graduate School of Law also offers seminars, research workshops, a colloquium and methods courses.
There are two types of courses offered in the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law programme: compulsory and elective courses.
The following two lectures are compulsory:
- The Colloquium offers students the possibility to present and discuss their research projects in front of their supervisors and fellow students. It functions as a forum for academic exchange of ideas and views, helps students reflect on their work as well as gather input from their colleagues.
- Legal Research and Writing for PhD Students is designed to help students obtain the necessary skills and knowledge to write their theses. Students are supported in formulating their central research questions, structuring their work, and conceptualising their research projects. Furthermore, students are taught the guidelines for research integrity and good scientific practice as well as search techniques and methods-based research.
The Graduate School of Law also offers elective courses, from which the students can choose freely.
Some lectures are offered on a recurring basis or belong to modules dealing with particular umbrella themes. These are, for example:
- The Development of Legal Subdisciplines sheds light on the historical foundations and development of the respective legal subdisciplines. This lecture is part of the Graduate School of Law’s core programme and is offered annually.
- Self- and External Description of Law discusses and analyses texts dealing with the question of how representatives of legal science regard their own discipline and how their discipline is viewed by others.
Over the past years, several other elective courses have been offered (on a one-off basis) on the following topics:
- Private Legal Society and its Ideological Foundations
- Natural Law – Positivism – Post-Positivism
- Global Constitutionalism
- Knowledge and Law
- Institutional Economics in International Law
- Legal Research in a Transnational Context
- Conflicts of Jurisdiction in EU Fundamental Rights Protection
- Legal Comparison in Scholarly Research: A Case Study
- International Law and Politics of Human Rights
- Workshop on Brexit
- Contemporary Problems of International and Transitional Justice
- Human Dignity, Protection of Personality in Digital Age
- etc.
Next intake
The programme is open for entry in November only. Applications for the class of 2024/25 will be accepted between November 15, 2024, and February 15, 2025.
We do not consider applications for scholarships on a rolling base. However, we strongly recommend to prepare the necessary documents as soon as possible because we cannot accept applications or additional documents after the end of the deadline.
After reviewing all applications, the strongest applicants will be invited for personal interviews (approx. in March or early April).
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
- Successful applications must have proven their ability to produce excellent academic performance, generally demonstrated by an outstanding degree (cf. § 3 PromO AMBSL) in law or a non-legal research-orientated master's degree (in particular in business administration, political science, or sociology)
- Students whose first language is neither English nor German are required to prove their language proficiency by providing relevant certificates (for details see: Application documents on the right side of this page).
- The applicant must present a a suitable doctoral topic which corresponds to the research areas of the Graduate School
Dates
Deadline: February 15, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
Scholarships
- The Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law awards doctoral scholarships to particularly qualified participants in structured doctoral program. The scholarships are awarded for studies at the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law for a maximum period of three years. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of the academic excellence of the applicants and are intended to enable them to write a dissertation and participate in the academic program of the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law.
- Scholarship holders of the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law recieve a monthly scholarship of € 1,150 towards living expenses. An addition € 215 per month is granted for research costs, if applicable. If neccessary, a childcare supplement may be granted.
- Please indicate in your application for a doctoral study place at the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy graduate School of Law, whether you would like to apply for a scholarschip at the same time. Studying at the Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law is also possible without participating in the scholarship program.
No tuition fees
- Students at Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law do not pay tuition fees.
- All enrolled students must pay the university’s administration fee (approx. € 330 per semester). This includes a six month ticket for public transport in the City of Hamburg
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
