As we cannot give any feedback on application materials before they have been submitted, we encourage everyone to apply. Please consult the profiles of our faculty members to see whether your research topic suits the research interests of the BGTS faculty members. Please note, however, that, as a general rule, an MBA does not qualify as an academic background in the social sciences. Exceptions may be made, if you have attended social science courses during your MBA. This should be clearly visible in your Transcript of Records.

No. Given the high number of applicants we receive each year, it is not possible to receive any feedback on research proposals, other application documents or the quality of previously submitted applications or materials that are planned to be submitted. Therefore, please refrain from contacting faculty members to seek any feedback.

Applications for the academic year starting in September begin in December of the previous year. Candidates should use our online portal to submit their supporting documents.

No. The selection committee will start the revision process once all applications have been submitted after the end of the deadline.

If you have applied to the BGTS previously and wish to do so again, please use a different email address to create a new account on our application platform.

All documents must be submitted in English, except master’s degree diplomas and reference letters, which may be submitted in German.

Please try to decrease the size of your application files. You can save the file at a lower quality or use compression software/websites. Please refrain from sending your documents to us as we can’t upload them for you. Uploading is possible in JPEG, PDF, DOC, or RTF formats with a maximum size of 2 MB per file and 20 MB total.

If your previous studies added up to less than 300 ECTS, for example, if you have done a master’s with 90 ECTS instead of 120 ECTS, we will check the eligibility for you after you have applied.

No. The courses offered at the BGTS are only open to doctoral students of the programme and selected partner programmes.

Yes, please submit test results for IELTS or TOEFL. The BGTS does not accept work experience as proof of English proficiency. Only those whose Master’s studies were conducted entirely in English or whose mother tongue is English do not have to submit test results.

No. The program at the BGTS is offered on a full-time basis, leaving no time for additional work on any basis. The BGTS offers several contract positions at Freie Universität. By applying for a spot at BGTS, you automatically apply for one of those positions. Additionally, candidates can apply for scholarships from funding organizations to secure funding for their time of study.

If you want to make changes to your application (i.e. upload a more recent version of your research proposal), you can still do so if you have not submitted your application yet.

Please make sure that your documents are complete and your information is correct before you make a final submission of your application!

Please note that your indicated referees will only receive a message with the upload link for their letters of reference after you submitted your application.

When creating a new account to apply to BGTS, in the field asking for affiliation, you may choose "Freie Universität Berlin".

The affiliation refers to the institution you are applying to for a PhD, not your current or former institution of study. If you are still unsure, you may also chose "other" at the end of the drop-down list.

In order to find out if your research question is a thematic fit for SCRIPTS, you should familiarize yourself with the research interests of the BGTS core faculty members. You can chose potential supervisors from the list here

Please note that professors who are not members of the BGTS faculty cannot be chosen as potential supervisors.

Please do not contact potential supervisors before you submit your application! You may identify your supervisors of choice in your written application. The final decision will be taken by the selection committee.