The School of Business and Economics at Freie Universität awards one scholarship for doctoral students of information systems.

The scholarship supports an excellent doctoral business student financially with a monthly stipend of 1.550€. The aim of the scholarship is to provide the doctoral student with the necessary funding to successfully advance their research projects, e.g., in transition-phases between a master’s degree and an employment as research assistant or between the end of their employment and the disputation. Therefore, the scholarship is targeted at current doctoral students at the School of Business and Economics as well as at master students that will start their dissertation projects soon.

The minimum duration of the scholarship is six months and can potentially be extended for two months depending on the availability of funds (the maximum overall duration of the scholarship is eight months).

 

Prerequisites and Application

Applicants should have performed exceptionally well in business studies (or a related field such as economics, sociology, psychology, statistics, information systems etc.) and should clearly state their motivation to pursue a doctoral degree. Applicants who are not officially admitted as doctoral students, should already have found a supervisor at the School of Business and Economics to ensure that their respective topic is worthy of a dissertation project and can be supervised at Freie Universität Berlin. Evidence of creativity and an inclination toward research will also be taken into consideration. After a successful application, the scholarship holders are required to join the Doctoral Program in Business Research and graduate from the program with at least 30 credit points.

Applicants who are not admitted to the doctorate at the School of Business and Economics yet should hand in the following documents for their application:

• Motivation letter (max. 2 pages)
• Research proposal
• Detailed curriculum vitae
• Supervision agreement
• Proof of a completed master’s degree in business studies (or a related field) with the minimum grade of “good” (German 2.0) in accordance with §3 of the doctoral regulations at the School of Business and Economics
• Transcript of records of the master’s degree
• Proof of existing linguistic proficiency in German (min. B1) or English (min. B2)

Applicants who are already admitted as doctoral students at the School of Business and Economics should hand in the following documents for their application:

• Motivation letter (max. 2 pages)
• Research Proposal
• Detailed curriculum vitae
• Copy of their supervision agreement
• Copy of the admission to the doctorate at the School of Business and Economics (Zulassungsbescheid)

Please hand in your application via email (dpbr@wiwiss.fu-berlin.de) by 12.03.2025.

Procedure

The selection committee which is composed of members of the Executive Committee of the Doctoral Program in Business Research who represent the four areas of Marketing, Management, Business Informatics and FACTS decides on the applications.

After reviewing the written application documents, applicants who meet the requirements will be invited to personal interviews. The interviews will be conducted by representatives of the selection committee together with the (potential) supervisor in March 2025. Successful candidates will be informed of the funding commitment as soon as possible after their selection.

The scholarship can be taken up flexibly, at the latest within 3 months of being accepted. If they have not already done so, the scholarship holders must then apply for admission to a doctorate at the Faculty of Economics and, after successful admission, enroll at Freie Universität. In addition, an application for membership in the Doctoral Program in Business Research must be submitted.