About the IDK
The International Doctorate Programme (IDK) Philology: Practices of Pre-Modern Cultures, Global Perspectives and Future Concepts is located at the LMU Munich. The programme compares European concepts and practices of philological work with traditions in Africa, the Middle East, and eastern and southern Asia, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent and the Jewish and Arabic world in pre-modernity. We seek to compare their similarities and differences and to work out continuities and discontinuities across these contexts. Doctoral students gain access to a research environment that stimulates inventive approaches and encourages excellent results.
The IDK comprises the following disciplines: Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Catholic Theology, Classics (Greek and Latin Studies), Computational Linguistics, Egyptology (JMU Würzburg), English Studies, German Literature (1400-1700), German Medieval Studies, History of Science & Scholarship, Indology, Jewish Studies, Legal History, Musicology, Protestant Theology, Romance Studies and Sinology.
Course of study
The IDK Practices of Pre-Modern Cultures, Global Perspectives and Future Concepts programme strives to offer a best-practice model of doctoral education. This includes a balanced curriculum, innovative teaching methods and the personal engagement of all involved advisers, international cooperative partners and doctoral candidates.
The curriculum aims to balance course offerings for participants with the freedom necessary to conceive and complete the dissertation. The doctoral period is accordingly structured by a programme of study, which includes an input and output phase (four semesters each at most) and can be adjusted to the varying needs of each student.
The innovative coupling of the acquisition of philological competencies with training in IT and digital humanities, especially data literacy skills, is central to the IDK’s teaching concept.
Overall, the IDK seeks to promote the following career goals: doctoral candidates will be prepared for academic as well as non-academic careers, maximising prospects of high-quality employment after degree completion. In addition to the required coursework completed by all participants, students fulfil an elective requirement, chosen according to their individual needs and interests.
Additional support is offered by the GraduateCenter.
More information can be found on the IDK homepage.