Find out if the Una-Her-Doc is right for you and what you will need for the application process, from application documents to key deadlines for the different phases of registration to the programme. Furthermore, here you will also find fee options, grant opportunities and application procedures for each of the Una Europa partner universities.

Una-Her-Doc is addressed to doctoral candidates of different disciplinary backgrounds:

• who wish to enroll in one of the nine Una Europa universities and co-enroll in another Una Europa university
• whose PhD research project is related to Cultural Heritage Studies
• who aspire to a European career in the field of Cultural Heritage
• who desire to experience truly transnational and interdisciplinary learning

Step 1: Choosing the main supervisor - Contact a PhD supervisor in one of the 9 universities of Una Europa (Home university). You may refer to the section “Teaching team” for the list of Una Europa supervisors affiliated to the Una-Her-Doc program.

Step 2: Identifying the co-supervisor - In order to apply to Una-Her-Doc you will also need to identify a co-supervisor in another Una Europa university (Host university). Your main supervisor can help you with this. For the application to Una-Her-Doc, you will need the recommendation letters of both your supervisor and co-supervisor.

Step 3: Applying & enrolling in the Home university - Submit the application to enroll in the Home university, following this university’s deadlines. Please refer to the last section on this page to find out about different universities’ application procedures and deadlines. Read these instructions carefully, since in some universities, the step 3 could come before the step 1.

* Please ensure at this stage you meet as well the entry requirements of the university of the co-supervisor - the Host University (the official enrolment to the Host university however comes after Una-Her-Doc selection process).

Step 4: Preparing & submitting the application to Una-Her-Doc - Together with the supervisors, prepare your Una-Her-Doc application documents (see below), and submit them by December 9, 2024 to the member of the Doctoral Committee from your Home university (contacts on “Contacts” section).

1. Thesis project, containing the object of study, methodological and theoretical approach, research objectives, initial bibliography (5 pages max)
2. Letter of Motivation
3. CV
4. Letter of recommendation of a supervisor
5. Letter of recommendation of a co-supervisor
6. Proof of enrolment in the Home university

Applications for the 2024/2025 academic year for Una-Her-Doc Programme are open until December 9, 2024.

* The deadline for the application for Una-Her-Doc is different from the deadlines for the application/enrolment in the Home university.

Step 1: Selection - Una-Her-Doc Joint Doctoral Committee assesses whether the applications for the Una-Her-Doc are admissible. If the assessment is positive, doctoral candidate registers to the Una-Her-Doc programme, following the steps below.

Step 2: Applying & enrolling in the Host university - Upon receiving the acceptance letter from the Una-Her-Doc Coordinating university, doctoral candidate contacts the administrative contact point in his/her Host university (contact list will be available in due time) and submits the application for the enrolment.

Step 3: Drafting co-supervision agreement - For each doctoral candidate a bilateral co-supervision agreement specifying the conditions for obtaining the doctoral degree, regulations with regard to defence, periods of stay in Home & Host universities, etc. is drafted and signed between the two co-supervising universities. The administrative contact points in Home and Host universities manage this procedure, in concert with the supervisors and the doctoral candidate.

Step 4: Defining the members of Cultural Heritage Expert Committee - In order to encourage exchanges between Una Europa Heritage specialists and offer to the doctoral candidates additional expertise, a tailored Cultural Heritage Expert Committee is created for each doctoral candidate. It is composed of at least 2 researchers from 2 Una Europa universities other than the Home and Host universities. The Committee is proposed by the co-supervisors and the doctoral candidate, in accordance with the Una-Her-Doc Joint Doctoral Committee. The Cultural Heritage Expert Committee only has a consultative role and gets together once a year with the doctoral candidate and the co-supervisors.

Fees

While the registration to Una-Her-Doc Programme is free of charge, local fees and regulations apply for the enrolment to the Home and Host universities. The exact repartition of the fees between these two universities is defined in the bilateral co-supervision agreement.

Una-Her-Doc Grants

The programme does not offer grants. Some of the universities however do offer them, according to their local regulations. More information on this can be given by the supervisors, or could be found in the section below.

Freie Universität Berlin

In Germany, there is no central funding institution but a rather rich landscape of different funding organisations. Please refer to the information on funding opportunities provided by Dahlem Research School, the central unit for early career researchers of Freie Universität Berlin. Please note that application and selection procedures take some time and that it is crucial to start the search and application process well in advance. For assistance and advice, please contact the program manager of the DRS in charge, Ms. Jeanette Rieger-Cowdry (nafoeg-stipendium@zuv.fu-berlin.de). Please note: Except from some small administration fees, studying at Freie Universität is free of charge.

To apply for admission to the doctorate candidates will need some
documents, among them the supervision agreement (“Betreuungszusage”) signed by the academic advisor. In all cases a certified copy of the university diploma is required as well as a CV, a brief outline of the dissertation project (research question, methods, etc.), a workplan, proof of language proficiency either in German or in English, and other documents. Please check with the Doctoral degree office of the respective department (a list of all Doctoral degree offices at FUB is provided here). The Doctoral degree office will check whether an applicant meets all formal requirements and, if so, will admit him or her. Admission and subsequently enrolment is always possible, there are no deadlines.

Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna

Scholarships

PhD candidates are fully funded trough a combination of scholarships and bench/research support fees, with rare exceptions.

Application process

To be admitted to a PhD programme at the University of Bologna, you must apply for a call for applications, usually launched in spring each year, and participate in a public selection process. PhD programmes’ starting date is usually November 1st.

In the University portal you will find the Call for applications containing all the details of the selection procedures.

Frequently Asked Questions on the PhD Call for applications and selection procedures are also available.

For more information, and specific admission criteria, please check the list of the PhD Programmes, and find the best PhD for you!

Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie

The Jagiellonian University offers two scholarships for admitted candidates to Una-Her-Doc Programme at JU. For details, please, consult the following website.

University of Edinburgh

All of the University awards available are posted on a central Scholarships website for applicants to reference before applying and included in that page is also a Scholarships search function.

The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences offering includes the College Research Award. There is also a centrally funded Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships. All the other awards are based at School level and can vary based on the amount of funding available at School or through external donors.

The majority of our University PhD awards require applicants to apply for a PhD and most will refer to the Degree Finder to access the PhD application system. Once applicants make this application they can access scholarship opportunities via the EUCLID Scholarships portal. This portal will ask them to select the award they are interested in, ask them to add a Scholarships personal statement and then submit the funding application.

Helsingin Yliopisto

Students have to apply for study rights in the Doctoral Programme in History and Cultural Heritage (application periods in April and September). During the September call, they can also apply for a funded PhD position, or they can apply for a number of grants by Finnish foundations after they have been granted the study rights.

All information on the doctoral programme can be found here: Doctoral Programme in History and Cultural Heritage | University of Helsinki

More information on funding opportunities for Helsinki graduate students is available here.

KU Leuven

A KU Leuven all PhD research must be supported and supervised by a KU Leuven professor. Therefore, the first step is to engage a KU Leuven professor who has expertise on your research topic.

All academic acceptance and enrollment requirements can be found in the Regulation concerning the attainment of doctoral degrees at the KU Leuven.

The Doctoral Committee of your faculty needs to grant you admission to enroll as a PhD student before your application is completed. For more information about how to submit this application to the Doctoral Committee, please consult your local supervisor and the website of the relevant Doctoral School.

A university-wide joint PhD application form is in use. You fill it in together with the KU Leuven supervisor (for him/her to access it here).

PhD applications are welcome throughout the year.

KU Leuven doesn’t offer specific scholarships for this programme.

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

At the UCM there is no specific scholarship program for PhD candidates enrolled in this program. Candidates must compete with doctoral candidates from the rest of the doctoral programs in the calls for public pre-doctoral contracts existing in Spain and at the UCM.

For requirements, documentation and deadlines for applying to a doctorate at the UCM, more information is available here.

Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

There are different financing possibilities at different Paris 1 Doctoral Schools. For more information on this, please refer to their websites, or to the chosen supervisor.

General link

General link regarding the application to Doctorate