Ph.D. in American Studies

Welcome to the Ph.D. in American Studies program at the HCA.

This structured, three-year English-language program is open to German and international applicants who wish to earn a research-oriented academic degree:

• The program supports students with acquiring the skills to conduct independent scholarly research in the fields of American history, politics, literature and culture, geography, and religion.
• It offers a modern multidisciplinary curriculum and is particularly committed to building a lively, scientific community of scholars by fostering academic debate and a continuous exchange of ideas and perspectives.
• Graduates are awarded either a “Doktor der Philosophie (Dr. phil.)” or a “Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)” degree, according to their choice.
• There are no tuition fees for the Ph.D. in American Studies program. The only fee is the regular semester fee (currently at around 170€) at Heidelberg University.

Please see Admissions and Curriculum for more information on application requirements and procedures.

Please note that each applicant needs to find a supervising professor. The professors on the Ph.D. program faculty page can serve as dissertation supervisors; however, all professors in the relevant fields of study at Heidelberg University, including those not directly affiliated with the HCA, are technically eligible to supervise a dissertation in American Studies. Ph.D. students who aim at a degree in another discipline can also apply to the Ph.D. in American Studies program, as long as their research project is strongly related to the United States.

For key dates (semester dates and lecture periods), see http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/courses/date/dates.html.

If you are interested in the HCA’s Graduiertenkolleg "Authority and Trust" (GKAT), please find more information here.