Doctoral program: “Social Human Rights”
Doctoral Scholarships
The University of Kassel and the Fulda University of Applied Sciences award a total of 10 threeyear doctoral scholarships as part of the cooperative doctoral program “Soziale
Menschenrechte” (Social Human Rights), which is supported by the state of Hessen.
Social human rights such as the right to work, education, healthcare and social security
constitute the research focus of the doctoral program. Topics relating to the genesis and
conversion of social human rights will be discussed, as will issues relating to justification,
mediation, internationalization and universalization. Social human rights are affected by
economic, socio-structural, socio-cultural development and by globalization, as well as
through privatization and global governance, implementation of national law, and activities
carried out by international and non-governmental organizations. A main aim of the doctoral
program is therefore to clarify the independent status of social human rights and civil and
political human rights, while also exploring the interdependencies among them. There is also
a need for research concerning the various dimensions of social human rights. Research aims
in this direction include the complexity of social human rights and their political, legal and
normative implications, as well as social and cultural conditions and consequences, and groupspecific features. The overall aim is to work out the need for the design and openness of social
human rights in the context of recent developments and to align and connect with further
research.
Within this thematic framework, scholarship holders will be provided with high quality
doctoral training. Of central importance is the interdisciplinary orientation of the program,
which includes law, political science, philosophy, sociology and economics. The following
doctoral degrees can be obtained: Dr. jur. (a prerequisite for graduates is a Master of Law
degree LL.M. with a grade of at least “good”, for lawyers with the first state examination or
two state examinations a grade of at least “satisfactory” on one of the two examinations); Dr.
phil. (a prerequisite for graduates is university studies in sociology/social science with
sociological emphasis, with Diplom, Magister or Master degree and a grade of at least “good”,
for graduates with university studies in philosophy or economics with Diplom, Magister or
Master degree a grade of at least “good”) and Dr. rer. pol. (a prerequisite for graduates is
university studies in political science/social science with political emphasis, with Diplom,
Magister or Master degree and a grade of at least “good”).
Possible topics for doctoral research projects can be found in: legal studies; social rights
according to the Disability Rights Convention, the Women`s Rights Convention, the Children`s
Rights Convention or the ILO conventions; rights to water and/or within the context of other
environmental media and infrastructures; rights to a basic level of income and social security;
the relationship of national, European and international legal systems regarding social human
rights; and legal and political disputes about the enforcement of social human rights. In
political science there is a need for research in the areas of national and transnational labor
relations and social human rights, legal and political disputes about the enforcement of social
human rights and financial and trade policy instruments to enforce labor standards. For
doctorates in the field of philosophy, topics that will be taken into consideration include the
creation of human rights against a background of moral pluralism, determining the scope of
positive duties in supranational problem contexts, and the variability of human rights
interpretations in different cultural circles. Among other topics, doctoral research with a
sociology background could focus on: livelihood security and social participation from a local,
transnational and global perspective; the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in the
intersecting fields of social human rights; interculturality and gender; and social human rights
and the constitution of transnational solidarity.
Economics could approach social human rights from a perspective of international value
added chains and humanitarian logistics.
Candidates will benefit from the structure of the program and as well as from a range of
technical and professional diversity. Willingness to engage in interdisciplinary cooperation is
therefore essential. Candidates are also expected to be present at one of the participating
universities (in Kassel or Fulda). Individual arrangements, for example for family reasons, can
be made.
The university will provide candidates with necessary infrastructure and an appropriate
workspace (NOT including a PC or Laptop). Development of individual key competencies will
be encouraged. These include learning scientific methods, presentation and self-presentation
techniques, the acquisition of intercultural and gender-specific competencies and the
improvement of foreign languages skills. In addition to the monthly scholarship stipend of
1,200 Euro, the doctoral program provides funds for research stays in Germany and abroad.
Please send your application by e-mail in a uniform PDF file to the following e-mail address:
sozialemenschenrechte-kolleg@uni-kassel.de
The application deadline is April 18th 2016 and the application should include:
1. A cover letter indicating your particular interest in the doctoral program “Social Human
Rights”
2. All relevant degrees/certifications
3. An exposé of your doctoral research topic (15,000 characters not including the
bibliography)
For further questions, please contact Jun.-Prof. Dr. Minou Banafsche (E-Mail: banafsche@unikassel.de) and consult the website http://www.uni-kassel.de/projekte/Kolleg-SozialeMenschenrechte.