PGRs & ECAs

The AGS welcomes and supports postgraduate researchers (PGR) and early career academics (ECA) in German Studies. There is a special membership rate for PGRs and ECAs (on any type of contract or without contract) to join the Association and benefit, amongst other things, from a reduced registration fee for the annual AGS conference. You only need to update your membership status (e.g. PGR to ECA) at the start of the calendar year – if you finish your PhD mid-year, for example, you remain a PGR member until the following January. 

The conference includes a panel dedicated to PGR and ECA issues, although contributions from PGRs and ECAs are welcome across all conference panels. 

The interests of PGRs and ECAs are permanently represented on the AGS Executive Committee by at least one current PGR or ECA, who also organises the PGR/ECA conference panel. The current representatives’ details can be found on the Executive Committee page. You are welcome to contact them with questions or concerns that relate directly to your experience as a postgraduate researcher or early career academic in German Studies. 

This page includes useful information for PGRs and ECAs working in German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland. It provides general tips for staying up to date about German Studies as well as details of PhD and postdoctoral scholarships, grants and other sources of funding available to researchers in our field. This page is intended only as an overview of key information, but if there’s anything else you’d like to see here, please get in touch.

How to keep up to date with events and information from the German Studies community:

Information about the annual AGS conference is available on the conference page of the AGS website.

You can sign up to the AGS mailing list here: JISCMail – GERMAN-STUDIES List at WWW.JISCMAIL.AC.UK Details of up-coming events, calls for papers, new publications, and funding opportunities are shared by members of the German Studies community via this mailing list. 

There is also a mailing list for announcements specifically relevant to postgraduate students: JISCMail – POSTGRAD-GERMAN-STUDIES List at WWW.JISCMAIL.AC.UK

You can find out about international news and events by signing up to the Germanistik network on H-Net: H-Germanistik | H-Net You might also find other H-Net networks, such as the H-Soz-Kult network H-Soz-Kult | H-Net, useful. You can browse networks on the H-Net website: H-Net Commons Homepage | H-Net. 

You can follow the AGS on Twitter @ags_tweets and the University Council of Modern Languages Early Career Special Interest Group @ucml_eca

What other sources of funding are available for postgraduates and early career academics in German Studies?

Funding schemes are updated regularly so you should visit the funders’ websites directly for the most up-to-date information. Below are links to some of the key funders of research in German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland. Universities may also offer their own funding for postgraduate study (including at Master’s and PhD level) or postdoctoral fellowships, so you should also check directly on the webpages of any institutions you’re interested in working with. 

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) provides postgraduate studentships in the UK via Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP). A link to a list of UK AHRC Doctoral Training Partnerships can be found below. Note that you can only apply to one university within a DTP.