PhD Scholarships

PhD-fellowships Danish Research Council for the Humanities

The call for applications to PhD grants in association with research schools, together with the application form scheme 1, can be found at: http://en.fi.dk/apply-for-funding/calls/2009/call-for-proposals-autumn-2009-the-danish-council-for-independent-research-humanities/FKK%20opslag%20efteraar%202009%20-English.pdf

The guidelines for PhD-scholarships funded by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities (Forskningsråd for Kultur og Kommunikation - FKK) stipulate that the head of the Danish Research School of Anthropology and Ethnography applies on behalf of up to 4 applicants who will be affiliated to the School and are expected to register at one the following institutions: The Department of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Aarhus, and the Department of Anthropology and the Centre for Comparative Cultural Studies of the University of Copenhagen. 

Application procedure

1.The deadline set by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities is  1 September 2009, 3 PM. The deadline for submission of applications to the Research School is therefore  3. August 2009. Candidates who wish to be registered at the Department of Anthropology in Copenhagen should submit the application in 3 copies and 1 copy of the dissertation to Jørgen Pedersen, PhD-secretary, those wishing to be registered at the Department of Anthropology and Ethnography in Aarhus to PhD-secretary Bodil Bjerring and those wishing to be registered at the Centre for Comparative Cultural Studies to Ann Neumann (see contact and information).

2. The first evaluation will be carried out at the departmental level. A PhD-committee will determine which applications are qualified and forward a report to the Research School coordinator (Adriënne Heijnen) specifying: names and project titles of all applicants; brief descriptions and assessments of those considered qualified (ca. 1/2 page); identification of the strongest applications and motivation for them in relation to the department’s PhD and research priorities.

3. A committee consisting of the head of the Research School and one VIP representative of each department reads all the qualified applications and the reports of the departmental committees. The committee evaluates the relative strengths of the applications and considers how the proposals fit the research training priorities of the Research School, and the needs, wishes, and potentials of the involved institutions. On this basis, the committee selects max. 4 applications to be submitted to the Research Council for the Humanities (Forskningsråd for Kultur og Kommunikation – FKK). Hereafter the selected applicants will be asked to send 17 copies and one original of the application to the Research School.

4. The head of the Research School finalizes and submits the composite application to the Research Council for Culture and Communication (FKK).

5. Please address questions to Adriënne Heijnen

Checklist: 10 questions to a good PhD-application

1. Does your project have a clearly defined research problem? Is your central research question sufficiently explained and argued for? 

2. Have you demonstrated sufficiently that you as applicant are familiar with the relevant regional and thematic literature? Have you stated clearly how your use of the literature will contribute to the empirical analysis which you intend to undertake?  

3. Is your project firmly rooted in anthropological theory and have you argued for the way your project’s analytical insights will contribute to the further development of the discipline.  

4. Have you stated how your project relates to the research priority areas of the department or the faculty and the Danish Research Agency?        

5. Did you discuss thoroughly how you intend to apply anthropological methods? Have you described sufficiently the relevance of the methods for the exploration of your research problem and empirical field? Are the methods you have chosen realistic with regard to your project’s time schedule? 

6. Have you worked out a detailed and realistic time schedule? 

7. Did you consider the project’s ethical questions? 

8. Have you stated clearly that your specific qualifications are necessary to carry out the project? 

9. Is there a clear agreement regarding the institutional affiliation in the light of the obligatory stay at an internationally renown research institute? 

10. Is your budget realistic and related to your project description?

Checkliste: 10 spørgsmål til den gode ph.d. ansøgning

1. Har projektet en klart defineret problemstilling? Er der redegjort for dit projekts centrale forskningsspørgsmål?  

2. Fremgår det af beskrivelsen, at du som ansøger er velorienteret i den relevante regionale og tematiske litteratur.  Er det tydeligt, hvordan din brug af denne litteratur kan bidrage til analysen af den empiri, du vil undersøge? 

3. Er dit projekt forankret i antropologisk teori, og er der argumenteret for, hvorledes projektets analytiske indsigter kan bidrage til den videre udvikling af faget? 

4. Er der argumenteret for, hvorledes projektet kan indgå i de strategiske forskningssatsninger på afdelingen, forskerskolen, eller fakultet og ved FKK? 

5. Er der en grundig og konkret diskussion af brugen af antropologisk metode? Argumenterer du for relevansen af metodevalget i forhold til problemformulering, forskningsspørgsmål og den empiriske felt? Er metodevalget realistisk i forhold til projektets tidsplan? 

6. Er der taget stilling til projektets og feltarbejdets etiske spørgsmål? 

7. Foreligger der en gennemtænkt tidsplan? Er det realistisk, at dit projekt kan gennemføres inden for denne?  

8. Er dine særlige kvalifikationer og forudsætninger for at gennemføre projektet tydelige? 

9. Er der en klar aftale om en institutionel forankring af projektet i forbindelse med obligatorisk ophold ved en internationalt anerkendt forskningsinstitution?  

10. Er dit budget for projektet realistisk og fremgår det af projektbeskrivelsen?