Application Materials for Ph.D.

Fellowships
General Information - Please read carefully
You can submit your application for a BIGSSS Fellowship electronically via our online admissions
system.
The page provides a list of what your application should include. If you have any questions regarding
the admissions process, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions after carefully reading the
website or send an email to the Admissions Officer (admissions-officer bigsss-bremen.de).
Please note that the program commences on September 1st, 2015.
Our online admissions system will only accept documents in pdf-format. You can download a free
version of PDFCreator undersourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

Application Materials:
Personal Information Form
Please note that there is no official application form. Instead, applicants are requested to submit the
documents described below and provide us with personal information, contact data and information on
their professional background via our online admissions system.
Preliminary Dissertation Proposal
We do not expect you to have an ultimate version of your dissertation proposal upon application.
Nonetheless, we ask for a well-developed version of your preliminary dissertation proposal. It should
be written in English, encompass between 5 and 15 double-spaced pages and include the following
elements:

Summary

State of research (highlighting theoretical and empirical debates on your topic and deficits in
the literature that your project would address)

Your research experience/competence in the field

Objectives, methods and work plan (be very specific about the methods used and the stages
of the work plan)

Bibliography

Please note: By submitting your application, you consent to have your dissertation proposal
checked for plagiarism.
One-page Proposal Abstract
Please provide a one-page abstract of your dissertation proposal.
Statement of Purpose

Your statement of purpose should provide a clear picture of your academic and professional interests,
background, and career plans. It should also describe how your interests fit in with the BIGSSS Ph.D.
program. You must indicate one or two potential supervisors for your proposal. If you do not
name one or two potential supervisors, your application will not be considered. Please be
sure to check the BIGSSS homepage and those of our faculty for their research interests. By having a
close fit to the research interests of BIGSSS faculty, we can assure the best possible
supervision. Please note that you should not contact the potential referees directly. Instead, it is
sufficient that you indicate their names in your Statement of Purpose and enlist them in our online
admissions system. We will review your choice(s) during the application process.
Should you have specific questions in regards to your choice we would advise to forward
your question to our Admissions Officer who will then forward your inquiry within BIGSSS
in order to ensure that you get the feedback you need.
MA/BA/Diplom/Magister Certificates
Please provide a pdf-document of each degree certificate earned, e.g. Bachelor and Master (max. 4
documents). If you are shortlisted we will ask you to bring a notarized (or officially certified)
photocopy of each degree certificate earned.
Curriculum Vitae
Your CV should include information on your educational and work history, publications, language
abilities and extracurricular interests.
Two Recent Letters of Recommendation
Request these from persons qualified to evaluate your academic and professional qualifications,
familiar with your academic achievement and in a position to assess your potential for success in
BIGSSS. At least one of these letters must be from a professor who has instructed you. The referees
should submit the letter electronically, via our online admissions system. Each applicant is asked to
provide contact information for their referees in their online application to BIGSSS, and each referee
will be sent an email with instructions on how to upload their letters into the system.
If you are shortlisted we may ask you to bring the letters of recommendation in hard copy. The referee
should then submit the letter either in hard copy directly to BIGSSS, or in a sealed envelope to the
applicant.
University Grade Transcripts
Please provide pdf-documents (max. 4 documents) of your official grade transcripts (for courses
attended in Germany: Kopien aller Leistungsnachweise). If work is in progress, you should submit a
supplementary transcript at the end of the term. If a transcript is not issued in English or German,
provide a certified German or English translation. If you are shortlisted we will ask you to bring a
notarized (or officially certified) photocopy.
Statement of Skills and Experience with Methods of Empirical Social Research
Please provide information on your knowledge of research methods (including methods courses
taken). Applicants from disciplines with little or no standard methods training should provide other
pertinent information on relevant research skills. Statements can be from one or two sentences to a
maximum of one page long.
Certification of English proficiency
Proof of C1-level English language skills or the equivalent. Please upload a Certification of English
proficiency in our online admissions system. For TOEFL scores, upload a copy of your personal score

report do not use the institutional code. Equivalent IELTS and CAE scores are also accepted. All
scores must be officially reported and valid. (Please note that TOEFL and IELTS scores are valid for 2
years only.)
Scores:
TOEFL: paper-based 600, computer-based 250, internet-based 100
IELTS: Band 7.5
Cambridge Certificate: pass CAE
Exempt from the English proficiency requirement are applicants who are native speakers of English or
who have received either their Hochschulzugangs-berechtigung (e.g. passed their A-levels) or earned
a higher-educational degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English.
No previous knowledge of German is required.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (optional)
Applicants may include a GRE score report in their application to support the selection process,
although this is not required.

Faculty
Man Cant Help Not Showing His Wifes Cleavage In Every
Yelp Review He Posts! BuzzWok (Buzzwok)

Name
Klaus
Boehnke

Thematic
Field

Research Areas

C, MC

0421 200 3401

Political Socialisation (Xenophobia,
k.boehnke jac
Right-wing Extremism), Value Change
obsand Value Transmission, Methods of...
university.de

B, MC

0421 200
3491
Dynamics of Happiness, Subjective
h.brockmann j
well-being, Family and health
acobsuniversity.de

Vice Dean

Hilke
Brockmann

Contact

0421 200
Ideology, Intergroup Conflict, Prejudice,
3421
Socio-political Attitudes, Q
c.cohrs jacobs
Methodology
-university.de

Field
Coordinato
r

0421 200 3958

Political Participation; Political Culture;
fdeutsch bigss
Political and Social Values, Value
s.uniChange
bremen.de

Dennis
Dittrich

Christophe
r Cohrs
Franziska
Deutsch

0421 200
Social Norms and Preferences,
3341
Heterogeneity and Stability of
d.dittrich jaco Preferences, (Evolutionary) Game...
bs-

university.de

Dorle
Drackle

Sonja
Drobnic

MC

0421 218
67610
drackle unibremen.de

B,MC

0421 218
66360
sonja.drobnic
bigsss.unibremen.de

Vice Dean

Uwe Engel

Alexander
Gattig

Katja
Hanke

Walter R.
Heinz

Betina
Hollstein

MC

0421 218
67320
Empirical Social Research, Social
uengel empas Statistics
.uni-bremen.de

MC

0421 218
67325
Social Stratification, Political Sociology,
gattig empas. Rational Choice Theory
uni-bremen.de

0421 200 3957 Cross-Cultural Psychology, Social

khanke bigsss Psychology, Peace and Positive
.uni-bremen.de Psychology, Asian Social Psychology,...

0421 218
66379
wheinz bigsss.
uni-bremen.de

Johannes

Life Course Research with a Focus on

Transitions between Education,
Training and Employment; Crossnational...

B, MC

0421-21867280
Social Networks, Life-Course,
betina.hollstei Microsociological Foundations of Social
n uniInequality, Life-Course, Qualitative...
bremen.de

C, MC

0421 200 3453 Psychological essentialism & Identity

p.holtz jacobs- constructions, Political ideologies &
university.de
discurses in internet forums,...

Peter Holtz
Coordinato
r Methods
Center

Social Stratification and Mobility; Life

Course Research; Gender Inequalities;
Quality of Life and work-life balance;...

0421 218
67340

Sociological theory and model

education; Social structure research;

huinink empa
Life course sociology, especially
s.unisociology of way of...
bremen.de

Huinink
Field Chair
Ronald F.
Inglehart

Arvid
Kappas

Comparative government and politics;

Political development; political
RFI umich.edu
psychology

0421 200 3441

Emotion, Mood, Affect; Internet and
a.kappas jaco
Cyberpsychology; Nonverbal Behavior;
bsInterpersonal Processes and...
university.de

B,C

030 55140827 Life course, generations, fertility,

Martin.Kohli e aging, intergenerational transfers and
ui.eu
inheritance; European social...

Martin
Kohli
Distinguish
ed Bremen
Professor
Ulrich
Khnen

0421 200 3426

u.kuehnen jac
obsuniversity.de

The self-concept; Cross-cultural

differences in thinking, feeling and
action; Stereotypes; Implicit
attitudes;...

0421 218
68774
thomas.kuehn
unibremen.de

Social psychology; Identity: Life course

research; Intercultural psychology;
Market and consumer research;
Social...

0421 200 3460

Usage of social software in strategic
c.lattemann ja
management; Customer governance
cobsand integration; (Comparative)...
university.de

0421 200 4730 Health Promotion; Population Health,

s.lippke jacob especially Theories and Models of
s-university.de Health Behaviour Changes, Health...

0421 200 3035

Inter-organisational relationships;
g.moellering j
International management; Markets
acobsand organisational fields; Trust
university.de

Field Chair

Thomas
Khn

Christoph
Lattemann

Sonia
Lippke

Guido
Mllering

zen Odag

Ingo
Rohlfing

Karina de
Santis

Margrit
Schreier

Christian
StamovRonagel
Colin
Vance

C, MC

0421 200 3453 Media Psychology, Media Reception;

oeodag bigsss Empirical Study of Literature; Gender
-bremen.de
Research; Cross-Cultural Research;...

A, MC

0421 218
Party Competition; Party Organization;
66410
Social Science Methods: Qualitative
rohlfing bigsss
Methods, Case Studies, Multi-Method...
.uni-bremen.de

C, MC

0421 218
Prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex
68720
(PPI); Association between cannabis
k.desantis uni
use, schizophrenia and PPI;...
-bremen.de

C, MC

0421 200 3406

Media Psychology, Media Reception;
m.schreier jac
Empirical Study of Literature; Gender
obsDifferences, Gender...
university.de

0421 200 4770

Age differences in work-related
c.stamovrossn
learning, Work motivation across the
agel jacobslifespan, Innovative work behaviour
university.de

C, MC

0421 200 3410 Energy and Transportation Policy,

c.vance jacob Economic Development, Global
s-university.de Environmental Change

0421 200
Strategy, innovation and organisation;
3467
Strategic leadership; Change
voelpel jacobs
management; Knowledge...
-university.de

0421 218
67380
aweymann e
mpas.unibremen.de

Adalbert
Wilhelm

0421 200 3402

Information and Knowledge
a.wilhelm jaco
Management, Statistical Visualisation,
bsData Mining, Exploratory Data...
university.de

Michael

Sven
Vlpel

Ansgar
Weymann

+49 (0)421
218 67310

Life Course, Education, Social Theory

Migration and Urban Research,

Integration and Assimilation,

Windzio
Arndt
Wonka
Field
Coordinato
r

Song Yan

A, MC

mwindzio em
pas.unibremen.de

Quantitative Methods, Life Course

and...

0421 218
66370
awonka bigsss
.uni-bremen.de

Institutions and Intstitutionalist

Theories, Quality of Conflicts and
Dynamics in EU Politics, Lobbying
and...

0421 200
3423
s.yan jacobsuniversity.de

Psychology of Globalization, Cultural

influences on psychological processes,
Language & Cognition, Cross-Cultural...