Hertie School's doctoral programme
The Doctoral Programme in Governance is an international structured doctoral training programme in English. It is aimed at outstanding master's students from the Social Sciences and related disciplines.
Our PhD candidates undertake research in law, economics, data science, political science, sociology, public administration and related disciplines while engaging with diverse views. Working together with distinguished faculty, our doctoral researchers pursue answers to today’s social, political, legal and economic challenges. Rigorous academic training, close supervision and institutional support, and the opportunity to develop professional skills prepare our PhDs for leading academic and other careers. Find out more about our Doctoral Programme in Governance and how to apply.
Joint doctoral programmes
In cooperation with top universities and research institutes in Berlin, we offer three additional PhD programmes. If one of these specialised PhD programmes interests you, please apply through the separate portal. You may apply to all programmes in parallel. If you are admitted to one of these programmes, and your first supervisor is a Hertie School faculty member, you will usually be enrolled as a PhD researcher at the Hertie School, and receive your degree from the Hertie School.
The research training group "The Dynamics of Demography, Democratic Processes and Public Policy" (DYNAMICS) offers doctoral researchers a unique and internationally competitive three-year PhD programme in cutting-edge quantitative methods and advanced theories of demography, democracy and public policy. It is a joint endeavour of the Department of Social Sciences at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Hertie School and is funded by the German Research Foundation.
The Berlin Graduate School for Global and Transregional Studies (BGTS) is the doctoral programme of the cluster of excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” (SCRIPTS). PhD researchers study the manifold contestations and transformations in the economy, politics and society of contemporary liberal societies. The programme gives PhD researchers the opportunity to study and conduct research within a network of excellent research institutions in Berlin.
The Berlin School of Economics unites Berlin's career development programmes for economists at the PhD and Postdoc levels in a single and unique structure. It offers PhD tracks in economics, accounting, finance and management. The doctoral programme provides outstanding doctoral researchers with a vibrant, intensively networked research community and a training structure that will develop their talents in a unique combination of high-level academic and applied research.