News september 2011: Graduate School of Arts

On the 1 July 2011 three graduate schools, the Graduate School of Theology and the Study of Religion, the Doctoral School of Educational Research and the Graduate School of Humanities, merged to form the Graduate School of Arts. The Graduate School of Arts has approximately 300 PhD students, with around 200 of them at Aarhus Campus and around 100 at Emdrup Campus, north of Copenhagen. The Graduate School of Arts is organised into eight PhD study programmes covering all research areas under the Faculty of Arts.

PhD students follow a three-year programme after completion of a two-year Master's degree (5+3) or a four-year programme with enrolment after one year of Master's level studies (4+4).

Descriptions of the eight interdisciplinary PhD studies programmes at the Graduate School of Arts can be found at http://phd-humaniora.au.dk/en/studyprog/intro/

In connection with the establishment of the new graduate schools and the amendment of the Danish University Act, work is currently under way on the formulation of new general guidelines on PhD programmes and the development of new websites for graduate schools.

The Graduate School of Arts invites applications for PhD scholarships (both 4+4 and 5+3) within all eight PhD programmes, to run from 1 February 2012. Deadline for applications: 3 October 2011 at 12:00 noon. Applications for PhD scholarships and for admission to PhD programmes must be made via Aarhus University's online applications system at http://phd-humaniora.au.dk/en/scholarships/vacant/

The place of employment of successful applicants for PhD scholarships (4+4 or 5+3) will be within the relevant research environment, and will normally be the department at which the principle supervisor is employed (Aarhus Campus or Emdrup Campus).

Objectives

The Graduate School has the following objectives:

• To contribute to the Faculty’s research by recruiting skilled Danish and international students who have talents that would qualify them to become researchers within Theology, the Study of Religion, and Islamic Studies
• To promote collaboration with partners both in Denmark and abroad.
• To ensure ongoing development of the quality of the PhD degree programme (supervision, courses, conferences, periods of study abroad) and to contribute to developing a growing, positive job market for graduates from the Graduate School.

Profile

The profile of the Graduate School is also determined by the strong research areas prioritised by the Faculty, among other things through the award of PhD scholarships/fellowships. These include:

• Antiquity and Christianity
• Religion, cognition and culture

In addition, the Faculty hosts the centres Centre for Bioethics and Nanoethics, Centre for Contemporary Religion and the Grundtvig Study Centre

The Graduate School seeks to offer a supporting and stimulating study environment with close and informal contacts. All PhD students work in the same part of the Faculty, which provides optimum possibilities for social contact and mutual exchange of ideas.

Job opportunities

According to the ministerial order, the PhD degree programme is a research programme aiming to train PhD students at an international level to independently undertake research, development and teaching assignments in the private and the public sectors, demanding a broad knowledge of research.

Experience tells us that graduates from the Graduate School of Theology and the Study of Religion find jobs in research, public administration, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, or in large private enterprises. Representatives from both private and public employers are members of the Board of the Graduate School.

One current focus of the Graduate School is the Industrial PhD programme, which opens up opportunities for employment in both the private and the public sectors.

Click here to see examples of employment obtained by some of our graduates.