GSNAS admits up to ten doctoral candidates per year who pursue a doctoral project in the field of North American Studies (i.e. the dissertation has to relate to the U.S. and/or Canada) in one of the six disciplines represented at the John F. Kennedy Institute (culture, economics, history, literature, political science, sociology).

The application process for doctoral grants (one year) for our three-year doctoral program (2025-2028) and two DAAD scholarships with a funding period of four years is now closed. Applications for the academic year 2026/27 (October 1, 2026) can be submitted starting November 2025. You will find a list of all necessary application documents and the URL of the application platform here.

Interviews with shortlisted doctoral candidates will be held online and in person on Wednesday, 7 May 2025 (1-4pm) after the internal review process has been completed. Admission to the program starts in October 2025 (German fall term).

Doctoral grants for the one-year qualification period are awarded by Freie Universität Berlin.