Doctoral Programme

Here you can find an overview of the doctoral programme of the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies and the Centre for Translation Studies.

You can find more information on the administrative handling of the doctorate on the website of the StudiesServiceCenter Philological and Cultural Studies as well as general information and the admission procedure on the website of the Center for Doctoral Studies.

  • Degree programme duration of 3 years
  • Courses, seminars and external academic credits comprising at least 24 ECTS
  • Public presentation of the intended doctoral project within the first year of doctoral studies
  • Signing a doctoral thesis agreement subsequent to the public presentation
  • Periodical, at least annual, progress reports
  • Writing a doctoral thesis, which demonstrates the candidate's ability to master academic topics independently
  • Public defense

TAC (Thesis Advisory Committee)

The TAC meetings are designed as a further opportunity after the Public Presentation (‘FöP’) for DocSchool members to discuss the progress of their own research with specialist academics in a supportive environment, often alongside other doctoral students from the Section.

In the DocSchool PhilKult, TACs:

  • consist of the doctoral student, supervisor and at least one other senior academic;
  •  can take place in a variety of forms and contexts (Section retreat, workshop, doctoral seminar, privatissimum, etc.);
  • are organised by the doctoral students themselves in consultation with their supervisor and Section Head;
  • should take place at least once during the course of doctoral studies;
  • are a mandatory requirement for applying for a Completion Scholarship.

After the TAC is successfully completed, the doctoral student:

  • informs the Section Head (with Coordination Office in cc) of the date that the TAC took place;
  • and if the TAC has taken place during a Section event (retreat, etc.), the Section Head simply sends a list of all TACees to the Coordination Office.

Notifying the Coordination Office is important so that the relevant information be entered into the DocSchool Database and viewed by the doctoral students themselves as well as the Leadership Committee in connection with applications for Completion Scholarships.

Concerning Annual Progress Reports (‘Fortschrittsberichte’): doctoral students can fill in the box marked ‘TAC’ on the form if they so wish, although this is optional.

Leadership Committee/June 2026

Subject Areas of Doctoral Research

  • African Studies, Dr.phil (792 390): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Old Near Eastern Philology and Archeology Dr.phil (792 397 384): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Arabic Studies, Dr.phil (792 397 385): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • German Philology, Dr.phil (792 332): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karen Schramm
  • English and American Studies, Dr.phil (792 343): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karen Schramm
  • Japan Studies, Dr.phil (792 378): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Classical Philology, Dr.phil (792 229): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karen Schramm
  • Koreanology, Dr.phil (792 398): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Sinology, Dr.phil (792 388): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Scandinavian Studies, Dr.phil (792 394): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kirsten Rüther, M.A.
  • South Asian Studies, Dr.phil (792 389 387): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Theater, Film and Media Studies, Dr.phil (792 317): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kathrin Sartingen
  • Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Dr.phil (792 389 392): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Transcultural Communication, Dr.phil. (792 323): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karen Schramm
  • Turkish Studies, Dr.phil (792 397 386): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse
  • Comparative Literature, Dr.phil (792 393): Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kirsten Rüther, M.A.
  • East Asian Economy and Society, Dr.phil (792 399): Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Yavuz Köse