Joint PhD Degree Program

The Joint PhD degree programme at Heidelberg University, Germany, and Tohoku University, Japan, is a three-year doctoral programme offering international access to an interdisciplinary research environment. Students participating in the Joint PhD programme spend the first and third year at their home institution, the Excellence Cluster “Asia and Europe in a Global Context” at Heidelberg University, and their second year as regular doctoral candidates at the School of Law at Tohoku University, Japan. Upon successful completion of their third year of studies, students will be conferred a PhD degree by both universities on the basis of their doctoral thesis, usually written in English, and a joint oral examination.

Heidelberg University and Tohoku University can supervise a broad range of research areas in the social sciences and the humanities; they welcome applications from prospective students with research interests in fields related to History, Politics, Society, Law, and Economics of Japan and East Asia.

As part of the Joint PhD programme, the universities of Tohoku and Heidelberg award scholarships, currently to the value of about 160.000 Yen per month, offered to top students with high-quality and clearly defined PhD projects. The scholarship scheme primarily covers the one-year stay in the second year of the PhD in the Cross-National Doctoral Course (CNDC) program, the former Global Center of Excellence, at the Graduate School of Law in Sendai. No tuition needs to be paid during the entire period of doctoral study.

Both institutions are members of the “HeKKSaGOn-Consortium”. This is an alliance of six leading Japanese and German universities that aims to improve collaboration in research and teaching, to initiate joint research projects and graduate programmes, and to support the exchange of scholars, scientists, postgraduate students and doctoral candidates. 

Heidelberg application deadline for students wishing to start their studies in Sendai during the following winter semester: 31. Januar 2021.
Students who are enrolled in a doctoral degree program or will soon complete their M.A. degree at Heidelberg University are eligible to apply. People not yet studying at Heidelberg may also apply under the condition that they are accepted by a professor from Heidelberg as a doctoral student prior to October 2017.

Application documents:
- Cover letter
- curriculum vitae
- thesis abstract of planned dissertation (3-5 pages)
- certificates/transcript of records
- letters of reference from 2 professors

Email for Applications: maria.carbune@hcts.uni-heidelberg.de

Due to the number of exchange programmes that we have, please include the reference "Tohoku Joint PhD" in your mails. 

Heidelberg-Tohoku dual degree candidates can also apply for a dissertation scholarship of the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”. For further information regarding this scholarship see: http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en/students/graduate-programme-for-transcultural-studies/application.html