Youth Works Hub lists 8 PhD fellowships in Germany at the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, all starting on 1 April 2027 and all closing on 24 November 2026. Each Doctoral Fellowship pays EUR 1,850 per month for 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years, and the calls are open to applicants from 195 eligible countries.
The eight calls cover North American Literature and Cultural Studies, Cultural Studies, International Politics, Civil and Digital Law, Applied Linguistics and Digital Humanities, Art History, Educational Science/Media Education and Sociology. Every fellow writes a dissertation within the Lab's guiding theme "Energy Cultures in Transition", with the goal of completing a doctorate at TUD Dresden University of Technology. If you are new to this format, start with what a fellowship is and how a fellowship differs from an internship.
Each call has its own angle:
🇩🇪 Germany: North American Literature and Cultural Studies looks at energy relations and transitions in North American literatures, media and cultures, including speculative fiction, art, film and nonfiction.
🇩🇪 Germany: Cultural Studies, supervised by the Chair of Digital Cultures, lists AI and Energy, Energy Infrastructures and Cybernetics and Energy Cultures among its research areas.
🇩🇪 Germany: International Politics covers energy transformation as a political and social distributional conflict in the context of global governance and transnational networks.
🇩🇪 Germany: Civil and Digital Law looks at energy- and resource-intensive digital infrastructures under EU regulation and at systemic risks of digital platforms and AI systems under the Digital Services Act and the AI Act.
🇩🇪 Germany: Applied Linguistics and Digital Humanities studies how energy relations and transformations are negotiated, conceptualised and metaphorised in politics, the economy, civil society and the media.
🇩🇪 Germany: Art History focuses on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with areas such as extractivism and art from Africa and the African diaspora and the visual politics of protest.
🇩🇪 Germany: Educational Science/Media Education examines the role, significance and changing nature of energy in self-formation/Bildung, education and socialization.
🇩🇪 Germany: Sociology focuses on the (conflict-ridden) negotiation of imaginaries, infrastructures, institutional frameworks and externalities such as emissions, waste and waste heat associated with energy production and supply.
According to Youth Works Hub's review of the eight calls, every fellowship pays EUR 1,850 per month, plus a grant for material costs of EUR 150 and, where applicable, a family supplement of EUR 315 per child. Within the limits of the available project funds, the Schaufler Lab also covers the costs of conference travel. The fellowships are offered subject to the availability of resources, and the fellowship does not constitute an employment relationship.
📅 Deadlines: 24 Nov (8) 🌍 Countries: 🇩🇪 Germany (8)
In This Batch
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
- 📅 24 Nov · 🇩🇪 Germany · Doctoral Fellowship
What's in this batch:
8 Doctoral Fellowships · 1 Country
🏆 Fellowships
1. 🇩🇪 Fellowship in Germany 📚 Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in North American Literature and Cultural Studies on Energy Cultures in Transition ⚡ (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Early-career researchers in North American Literature and Cultural Studies · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in North American Literature and Cultural Studies is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, for early-career researchers, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-001. Fellows write a dissertation within "Energy Cultures in Transition" in North American Studies (Literature and/or Cultural Studies), on representations, contestations, histories and futures of energy relations and transitions in North American literatures, media and cultures. Primary supervision is provided by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Moritz Ingwersen.
Applicants need an excellent university degree in North American Studies or a related discipline in Literary, Media, or Cultural Studies, relevant prior experience in the Environmental/Energy Humanities, Speculative Fiction Studies, and/or Science & Technology Studies, and English at C1 level minimum; knowledge of German is desirable but not a requirement. Besides the dissertation, fellows conduct joint research with artists in the Schaufler Residency and engage in science communication and outreach.
────────────────────────────────────────
🌍 All opportunities in Germany →
────────────────────────────────────────
2. 🇩🇪 Fellowship in Germany ⚡ Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Cultural Studies on Energy Cultures in Transition, Supervised by the Chair of Digital Cultures 🎓 (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Early-career researchers in Cultural Studies · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Cultural Studies is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, for early-career researchers, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-002. Primary supervision is provided by Prof. Dr. Orit Halpern, Chair of Digital Cultures, and the research areas of particular relevance are AI and Energy, Histories/STS studies of Finance, Digitalization, and Energy, Energy Infrastructures, Environment, Energy, and Design, and Cybernetics and Energy Cultures.
Applicants need an excellent university degree in Cultural Studies or a comparable field such as Geography, Anthropology or History, and studies with global perspectives, particularly from North America, Asia or Africa, are especially welcome. English at C1 level minimum is required, knowledge of German is desirable but not a requirement, and the detailed application is written in English.
3. 🇩🇪 Doctoral Fellowship in Germany ⚡ TU Dresden Schaufler Lab PhD in International Politics on Energy Cultures in Transition 🌐 (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Master's graduates in Political Science or a comparable social science discipline · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 €1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in International Politics is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-003, with a dissertation in Political Science, International Relations or Political Sociology. Research areas include energy transformation as a political and social distributional conflict in global governance, cross-border labour relations in the energy transition and legitimation strategies for international objectives such as CO2 reduction at the national and local levels. Primary supervision is provided by Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter.
Applicants need an excellent university degree (Master's or equivalent) in Political Science or a comparable social science discipline, relevant prior experience in applying social science methods and in International Politics and Social Movement Studies, and English at a minimum of C1 level. The dissertation may be written in German or English; German skills are required only if you write it in German.
4. 🇩🇪 Fellowship in Germany ⚖️ TU Dresden Schaufler Lab Doctoral Fellowship in Civil and Digital Law on Energy Cultures in Transition 🔋 (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Early-career researchers in Civil and Digital Law · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Civil and Digital Law is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, for early-career researchers, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-004. Research areas include energy- and resource-intensive digital infrastructures as a subject of EU regulation, systemic risks of digital platforms and AI systems under the Digital Services Act and the AI Act, ecological sustainability as a European value in digital law and the territorial and extraterritorial limits of European digital regulation. Primary supervision is provided by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Kaesling, LL.M.
Applicants need an above-average university degree in law, prior knowledge of, or at least a strong interest in, the regulation of digital services and AI and the role of energy (cultures) and/or ecological sustainability, and English at a minimum of C1 level. The dissertation may be written in German or English; German skills are required only if you write it in German.
5. 🇩🇪 Doctoral Fellowship in Germany 🗣️ TU Dresden Schaufler Lab PhD Fellowship in Applied Linguistics and Digital Humanities on Energy Cultures in Transition 🎓 (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Master's graduates in German Studies, Linguistics, Digital Humanities or a comparable discipline · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Applied Linguistics and Digital Humanities is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-005. Research can focus on discursive negotiations, conceptualisations and metaphorisations of energy relations and energy transformations in politics, the economy, technological development, civil society and media contexts, or on the formats, practices and impacts of science communication relating to energy-related research. Primary supervision is provided by Prof. Dr. Simon Meier-Vieracker, Chair of Applied Linguistics.
Applicants need an excellent university degree (Master's or equivalent) in German Studies, Linguistics, Digital Humanities or a comparable discipline, relevant prior experience in the linguistic, cultural or media studies analysis of discourses on environmental, technological or energy-related issues, and English at a minimum of C1 level. Experience with digital research methods such as corpus linguistics, text mining and network analysis is an advantage.
6. 🇩🇪 Fellowship in Germany 🎨 TU Dresden Schaufler Lab Doctoral Fellowship in Art History on Energy Cultures in Transition 📚 (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Early-career researchers in Art History · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Art History is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, for early-career researchers, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-006, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Research areas include artistic engagements with ecological crises (with a particular interest in art in the context of the GDR and the post-1989 transformation period), extractivism and art from Africa and the African diaspora, AI and digital image cultures, and the visual politics of protest and activism. Primary supervision is provided by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schankweiler, Chair of Visual Studies and Art History.
Applicants need an excellent university degree in Art History or Visual Culture Studies, a strong ability to work in teams and English at a minimum of C1 level. The dissertation may be written in German or English; German skills are required only if you write it in German.
7. 🇩🇪 Fellowship in Germany 📚 Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Educational Science and Media Education on "Energy Cultures in Transition" 🎓 (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Early-career researchers in Educational Science/Media Education · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Educational Science/Media Education is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, for early-career researchers, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-007. Research areas include re/presentations, relations, practices, utopias and critiques of energy relations from an educational research perspective and the role, significance and changing nature of energy in contexts of self-formation/Bildung, education and socialization. Primary supervision is provided by Prof. Dr. Andreas Spengler, Chair of School Education / Media Education.
Applicants need an excellent university degree, preferably in Educational Sciences, Media Education with a focus on cultural or media studies, or comparable related fields, plus relevant experience in the educational- or socialization-theoretical discourse on the relations between subjects and society and energy transitions, the environment, technology, everyday life and/or work. English at a minimum of C1 level is required, and the dissertation may be written in German or English.
8. 🇩🇪 Fellowship in Germany 🎓 TU Dresden Schaufler Lab Doctoral Fellowship in Sociology on Energy Cultures in Transition ⚡ (€1,850/month)
📅 Deadline: 24 November 2026
📍 Dresden, Germany · 👥 Early-career researchers in Sociology · ⏳ 2 years, with the option of extension by 1.5 years · 💶 EUR 1,850 per month
The Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden Doctoral Fellowship in Sociology is a 2-year fellowship in Dresden, Germany, for early-career researchers, starting on 1 April 2027 under reference number s26-008. The research focus is the (conflict-ridden) negotiation of imaginaries, infrastructures, institutional frameworks and/or externalities such as emissions, waste and waste heat associated with energy production and supply across practices, communities, networks, organizations and markets. Primary supervision is provided by Prof. Dr. Susann Wagenknecht, Chair of Micro-Sociology and Technosocial Interaction.
Applicants need an excellent university degree in Sociology or a comparable field in the social sciences, relevant previous experience in the sociological analysis of the environment, technology or energy, and/or in the field of Science and Technology Studies, and English at a minimum of C1 level. The dissertation may be written in German or English; German skills are required only if you write it in German.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do the Schaufler Lab doctoral fellowships at TU Dresden pay?
Each of the 8 Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden doctoral fellowships pays EUR 1,850 per month, plus a grant for material costs of EUR 150. Where applicable, a family supplement of EUR 315 per child is added, and within the limits of the available project funds the Schaufler Lab covers the costs of conference travel. The fellowships run for 2 years from 1 April 2027, with the option of extension by 1.5 years, and are offered subject to the availability of resources. The calls state that the fellowship does not constitute an employment relationship, and expenses incurred in attending interviews cannot be reimbursed. If you are comparing funding types, read how scholarships differ from Erasmus+ grants.
Who can apply for the TU Dresden Schaufler Lab PhD fellowships?
The 8 fellowships are open to applicants from 195 eligible countries, and each call sets its own degree requirement. Seven calls ask for an excellent university degree in their area (North American Studies, Cultural Studies, Political Science, German Studies or Linguistics, Art History, Educational Sciences and Sociology), while the Civil and Digital Law call asks for an above-average university degree in law. Five of the calls also ask for relevant prior experience in their research area. English at a minimum of C1 level is required in all eight calls, and participation in the Kolleg's English-language training program is mandatory, while German is desirable but not mandatory. Every application includes a letter of motivation, and our guide to writing a scholarship motivation letter can help you prepare it.
When is the deadline for the TU Dresden Schaufler Lab fellowships and how do I apply?
All 8 Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden doctoral fellowships close on 24 November 2026. For the deadline, the stamped arrival date of the university central mail service or the time stamp on the TUD email server applies. Send all documents, including the completed online application form, as a single PDF file quoting the reference number of the call (s26-001 to s26-008), preferably via the TUD SecureMail Portal to the Schaufler Lab email address; applications can also be sent by post. Submit copies only, as applications are not returned. The application can be written in German or English, except for the Cultural Studies call, which asks for an application in English. You can also read how we verify opportunities before they are listed.
The eight fellowships fall into three groups: literature, culture and art (North American Literature and Cultural Studies, Cultural Studies, Art History), language and education (Applied Linguistics and Digital Humanities, Educational Science/Media Education), and politics, law and society (International Politics, Civil and Digital Law, Sociology). All of them share the guiding theme "Energy Cultures in Transition" and joint research with artists in the Schaufler Residency. If you are also looking at other ways to fund study or research in Germany and Europe, see our overviews of DAAD scholarships and government scholarships in Europe.
Youth Works Hub went through each of the eight calls, and every listing links to its full page with the research areas, application documents and the official call. Pick the field that matches your degree, prepare your research exposé and apply through the listing.
