Berkeley Exchange Program

Outgoing Doctoral Exchange Program

The University of California, Berkeley and the University of Regensburg signed a cooperation agreement in 2017 with the aim of strengthening research cooperation, including at doctoral level. The University of Regensburg and the Leibniz Institute of East and Southeast European Studies (IOS), as coordinating partners, have established a doctoral exchange program with the Institute of European Studies (IES) at the University of California, Berkeley.

Each year, one Regensburg-based doctoral researcher may spend up to five months as an IES Visiting Student Researcher as part of the program. IES offers Visiting Student Researchers a workspace, the opportunity to engage with its outstanding network of collaborating scholars, and access to library and research facilities offered by UC Berkeley. Visiting researchers are expected to participate actively in research-related events at IES. Information on applying to IES is available here.

Visiting Doctoral Researchers from Berkeley in Regensburg

The Regensburg University Foundation had funded several visits by doctoral researchers from Berkeley since 2019. You can find current doctoral researchers here. The profiles of previous visitors are available on the archived CITAS page.

Call For Applications 2024

Doctoral Exchange Program
University of Regensburg – Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Call for Applications for 2025/2026 | Deadline: 08. Dezember 2024

The University of California, Berkeley and the University of Regensburg signed a cooperation agreement in 2017 with the aim of strengthening research cooperation, including at doctoral level. The University of Regensburg and the Leibniz Institute of East and Southeast European Studies (IOS), as coordinating partners, have established a doctoral exchange program with the Institute of European Studies (IES) at the University of California, Berkeley. Each year, one Regensburg-based doctoral researcher may spend up to five months as an IES Visiting Student Researcher as part of the program. IES offers a workspace, the opportunity to engage with its outstanding network of collaborating scholars, and access to library and research facilities offered by UC Berkeley. Visiting researchers are expected to participate actively in research-related events. 

The University of Regensburg is pleased to invite applications to the visiting scholar program from doctoral researchers based at the University of Regensburg or the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS). The applicants should be conducting research in a field represented by the Faculty members and lecturers associated with IES at UC Berkeley. Successful applicants must complete their stay at UC Berkeley before submitting their PhD thesis. Applications will be assessed by Members of the Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies (DIMAS). DIMAS is the institution responsible in Regensburg for coordinating the exchange with Berkeley.

The selected visiting researcher can start their stay at IES in Berkeley from August 2025 and must complete their time there by July 2026. A $500 visiting scholar fee is payable to IES and a $1000 University Services Fee is payable to UC Berkeley prior to commencing the research stay. Visa-related fees are around $650. Details on the conditions for being a Visiting Student Researcher at Berkeley can be found here. 

The selected applicant may apply to their Faculty (or, if a member of IOS, to the Leibniz Institute), or to the funding body financing their doctoral studies, for travel grants; the selected applicant may also enquire at DIMAS about financial support to assist with the visa, university and IES administration fees. The selected doctoral researcher will also be encouraged to apply for funding for living and travel costs through the DAAD Short-term scholarship scheme or the Fulbright doctoral program). Please note that the Fulbright program is only open to applicants with German citizenship and that all documents must be submitted in German for this program. DAAD applications can be submitted in English or German.

We invite interested doctoral researchers to send an application as a single PDF document including:
•    a covering letter, up to two pages, outlining why your doctoral research will benefit from the exchange with IES in Berkeley – in English only;
•    a summary of your PhD project, up to two pages – in English or German;
•    a rough time plan, outlining how you would spend up to five months based at UC Berkeley – in English or German;
•    a CV, including grades, any publications and an indication of your English language abilities – in English or German;
•    a short reference from your academic supervisor in Regensburg indicating their support for your application – in English or German.

We strongly recommend contacting a member of the IES Affiliated Faculty and Lecturers as a potential mentor in Berkeley before the deadline. Please include details of contact with faculty in Berkeley in your application.

The deadline for applications is 8 December 2024. Your application should be sent as a single PDF file to the manager of DIMAS, Dr Laura Niebling, at dimas.office@ur.de. The successful applicant will be informed of the decision of the DIMAS Board as soon as possible.

For any questions relating to the doctoral exchange program with IES at Berkeley please contact Dr Laura Niebling, Manager of DIMAS: laura.niebling@ur.de
 

Link to CfA