HCIAS Doctoral Training The HCIAS Structured Doctoral Program
The HCIAS Structured Doctoral Program provides a comprehensive framework for pursuing a doctorate in Ibero-American Studies. It is designed to enable young researchers to deepen their research, academic, and professional skills, foster scientific independence, and develop a unique academic profile over the course of three to four years. We partner with the Heidelberg Graduate Academy and the Heidelberg Center Latin America in Santiago de Chile to support our doctoral students in building networks and becoming part of a vibrant, international research community.
Doctoral Training at the HCIAS
The HCIAS is a central research institution that brings together a variety of disciplines from the social sciences, humanities, and environmental studies to conduct research, teach, and transfer knowledge on, with, and in Ibero-America. In order to train the next generation of experts on Ibero-America, the HCIAS provides exceptional young scholars with opportunities to develop their research in a collaborative and stimulating environment, helping them refine their academic profile early in their careers.
Within Heidelberg University, the HCIAS collaborates with the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Modern Languages and Literatures, the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, and the Faculty of Philosophy. The professors and scholars involved in our center have backgrounds in sociology, political science, communication studies, sociolinguistics, anthropology, cultural studies, history, and geography. This rich interdisciplinary foundation supports the academic programs offered by the HCIAS.
Research focus
The Structured Doctoral Program at the HCIAS builds upon the center’s ongoing research. Ibero-America is viewed as a macro-region with Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula at its core, while also including regions with strong cultural, political, or socioeconomic ties, such as the United States, Europe, and Asia. The themes of the doctoral theses connect to the overarching HCIAS research program of “Spaces and Dynamics in Ibero-America.” Against this background, thesis projects may focus on a broad spectrum of issues that affect Ibero-American societies in particular, such as: climate change; global health; conflict; digital communication and politics; civic engagement and opinion formation; population movements and spatial transformations; languages and identities in migration contexts; knowledge circulation and social networks; misinformation and hate speech; the handling of cultural and natural heritage; socio-economic transition; and socio-ecological inequalities.
Structure
The HCIAS doctoral program provides a structured framework for pursuing a doctorate in Ibero-American Studies. It is designed to help young researchers further their research, academic, and professional skills, foster scientific independence, and develop an individual academic profile over the course of three to four years.
The dissertation is the central component of the program. This also includes active participation in the HCIAS doctoral research colloquia, where participants present and discuss their work.
In addition to the dissertation, mandatory complementary program components provide research and academic core competencies through courses and other training formats, including active participation in scientific conferences and the publication of first research findings, usually in co-authorship. Optional complementary program components allow participants to further refine their academic and professional skills. These activities are tailored to the individual interests and needs of each doctoral student, in coordination with their dissertation supervisor and the program coordinator.
Supervision and mentoring
Doctoral program participants meet regularly with their supervisor(s) to discuss their progress, typically every 6–8 weeks, and actively contribute to the doctoral research colloquia where they present and discuss their own work as well as that of their peers. Participants also have feedback meetings with the program coordinator, usually once per semester.
Network
Through its collaborations within Heidelberg University, as well as across Germany, Europe, and the Americas, the HCIAS offers doctoral students many opportunities to build academic relationships and become part of an international research community. In particular, we partner with the Heidelberg Center Latin America in Santiago de Chile, supporting our doctoral researchers in establishing academic connections in Latin America. The program also includes the option to conduct part of their research abroad, enriching the doctoral project with an international perspective. We also welcome and enable bi-nationally supervised doctoral projects in collaboration with supervisors from universities abroad.
Links
'Communication and Society in Ibero-America' as part of the Structured Doctoral Program
The thematic doctoral research group “Communication and Society in Ibero-America” is integrated in the HCIAS doctoral program in Ibero-American Studies. Established in 2021/2022 with the support of the Landesgraduiertenförderung of Baden-Württemberg (LGF), the group includes fellows of the LGF, the DAAD, CONAHCYT, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. The group brings together doctoral projects that address the contemporary challenges in Ibero-America, with a special focus on social and communication dynamics. The doctoral theses explore communication as a process of action and interaction that connects individuals, groups, and society as a whole.
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Program coordination and contact
If you have any questions regarding the HCIAS doctoral program in Ibero-American Studies, please contact us. We also offer counseling online or by face-to-face appointment at the HCIAS in Heidelberg or the HCLA in Santiago de Chile. Do not hesitate to write!
Before submitting an application to become a doctoral student or a visiting doctoral student, please make sure to get in touch with the program coordination at the HCIAS. Further information can be found under the following link.
Dr. Katrin Berty and Martha Rudka, HCIAS
doctorate(at)hcias.uni-heidelberg.de
Dr. Inés Recio, HCLA
info(at)hcla.uni-heidelberg.de