POSSIBILITY OF PROMOTION AT THE WIFU
The doctoral programme at the WIFU offers you the opportunity to actively advance research in the field of family entrepreneurship. Our doctoral students are in regular exchange with other doctoral students, academics and practitioners from family businesses within the framework of the Graduate College. Admission to a doctoral programme at the WIFU is possible after successful completion of a three-stage admission process. You can find more information on the various options for a doctorate at the WIFU within the individual categories.
DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIP
The WIFU Foundation awards annual scholarships to support young researchers in the field of family entrepreneurship. Doctoral scholarships are awarded to support research, teaching and education in the science and practice of family entrepreneurship. Scholarship holders can develop their research projects at the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU) over a maximum of three years and will be part of the WIFU research group, aligning their doctoral theses with the main topics of ongoing research projects. The scholarships are financed by the WIFU Foundation. Further information as well as current calls for applications for doctoral scholarships can be found here:
Current calls for applications
Doctoral scholarship (available in German)
EXTERNAL DOCTORAL STUDENTS
The WIFU offers the possibility of an external doctorate by following a three-stage process. After the submission and approval of a short exposé, applicants must submit a second, more comprehensive exposé. Only when the comprehensive exposé has been positively evaluated will the potential doctoral candidate be invited to present their research project at the WIFU Research Colloquium. Detailed information can be found in the attached PDF.
Current calls for applications
Admission to doctoral studies (available in German)
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
The WIFU offers the possibility of employment as a research associate with a doctorate. As a research assistant, you will be involved in the day-to-day business of the university as well as supervising courses and supporting research projects of the department.
POSSIBILITY OF HABILITATION AT THE WIFU
Habilitation work takes place in a multi-member and interdisciplinary team of researchers and is designed to last approximately four years. As part of the WIFU research group, habilitation candidates will develop their research focus within the research group’s focus.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
The Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU) at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society of the Faculty of Business and Society at Witten/Herdecke University awards scholarships of up to three years to complete a postdoctoral thesis in the field of family businesses and business families. Scholarship extensions are determined annually. A committee consisting of the WIFU Professorial Board, the Executive Director and a representative of the WIFU Foundation will evaluate the scholarship holder’s development and the quality of their research activities and decide whether to grant a further year of the scholarship.
POSTDOC RESEARCHER/ RESEARCH ASSISTANT
The WIFU offers the possibility of employment as a postdoc. As a postdoc, you will be involved in the day-to-day business of the university, supervise courses and support research projects of the department.
APPLICATION AND ADMISSION
Admission to a doctoral programme and habilitation at the WIFU are possible after successful completion of a three-stage admission process.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND APPLICATION
Information on admission can be found here:
Dissertation requirements (available in German)
Supervision agreement for doctoral students at the WIFU (available in German)
Application information can be found here:
Doctoral scholarship (available in German)
Postcoc scholarship (available in German)
For information on applying as a research assistant, please see the respective job advertisements:
APPLICATION
After successful application as a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher at the WIFU, enrolment as a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher takes place at the doctoral office and enrolment as a doctoral researcher at Witten/Herdecke University. An overview of the detailed enrolment process can be found here:
