Start-Up Scholarships of the Graduate School of Social Sciences – G3S
The Graduate School of Social Sciences (G3S) at the University of Basel provides the institutional framework for all graduate programs within the Department of Social Sciences. The working languages of the school are English and German. We are advertising three start-up scholarships (32'000 CHF/12 months each) for the next academic semester, beginning in October 2026. The start-up grants will be transferred to successful candidates in two installments of CHF 16'000 each; one in October 2026 and the second one in April 2027 after evaluation of the candidates' activities during the first six months.
Your position
The scholarships are meant to support graduates in the early stages of their PhD, during which they will develop research proposals for submission to a funding body such as the Swiss National Science Foundation in order to acquire financial support for the remaining duration of their PhD-projects. The payment of the second installment of the scholarship depends on the submission of such a funding proposal.Candidates should be highly motivated to carry out an independent research project in an interdisciplinary environment and show a vivid interest in current debates of the social sciences.
Your profile
The scholarships are directed at students holding a Master's degree in one of the fields of G3S (with a final degree of at least 5.0 according to the Swiss grading system). Doctoral students in the G3S should have a background in a discipline of the Department of Social Sciences (e.g. anthropology, cultural anthropology, middle eastern studies, political science, sociology, gender studies, see also: g3s.unibas.ch). They may likewise be trained in interdisciplinary fields also represented at G3S:- PhD Program Gender Studies: genderstudies.unibas.ch
- Centre for African Studies: zasb.unibas.ch
- MUBIT: Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies: nahoststudien.unibas.ch
- PhD Program Science of Religion: religionswissenschaft.unibas.ch
- International Graduate School North-South: igs-north-south.ch
- Sustainability Research: nachhaltigkeit.unibas.ch
- PhD Program Cultural Anthropology: kulturwissenschaft.unibas.ch/studium/studienangebot/promotion
Suitable dissertation projects must analyze current dynamics of social change. We are preferably calling for projects focusing on one or more of the following topics: Conflicts – Migration – Resources.
Application/ Contact
Applications (English or German) may be submitted via email or in paper form to:
University of Basel
Graduate School of Social Sciences – G3S
Dr. Julia Büchele
Petersplatz 1
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland
j.buechele@unibas.ch
The following documents must be included:
- Letter of motivation and Curriculum Vitae (with a list of publications if applicable)
- Draft of the PhD project (approx. 5 pages)
- 1-2 writing samples (at least one of which was submitted as an academic qualification requirement)
- Academic diplomas or transcripts/excerpt of the study registry (specifying the date and grade of the MA-degree, the diploma must be handed in no later than June 9th 2026).
The deadline for submission is April 7th 2026.
Dissertation projects are supervised by faculty members of the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Basel. We therefore strongly encourage applicants to contact potential supervisors concurrently to their application for a G3S-scholarship. At the time of application, confirmation from a supervisor must be available.
