Beta maṣāḥǝft
Beta maṣāḥǝftManuscripts of Ethiopia and Eritrea
PhD scholarship
25 November 2025
The project Beta maṣāḥǝft: Manuscripts of Ethiopia and Eritrea (Schriftkultur des christlichen Äthiopiens und Eritreas: eine multimediale Forschungsumgebung) at the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies at Universität Hamburg invites applications for a
PhD Scholarship
beginning on 1 April 2026.
Research
It is mandatory that the proposed research topic is consistent with the project goals. For more details on the project visit https://www.betamasaheft.uni-hamburg.de/
The third project phase places special attention on (1) literary history and (2) palaeography, and the PhD projects are expected to contribute to research in one of these fields. We expect the proposals to reflect exactly how they fit in the general scope of the Beta maṣāḥǝft project and how they are going to use (and contribute to) the project research environment.
Requirements
A degree in Ethiopian/Eritrean studies, Semitic studies, African studies, Theology, or a related discipline is necessary. Knowledge of Amharic and other Ethiopian, Eritrean, and European languages, as well as experience in manuscript studies and digital humanities, is an advantage.
Research is conducted primarily in English, PhD dissertations may be written in English or in German. For any further detail refer to the rules of the doctoral degree regulations for the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Hamburg: (https://www.gw.uni-hamburg.de/en/studium/promotion.html).
Duration
The scholarship will be awarded for three years. No extension beyond the three-year time is expected
Funding
The scholarship amounts to the net sum of €1.365,00 € plus a monthly lump sum for material costs of 103,00 € (total 1.468,00 €).
Application deadline
The deadline for submitting applications is 15 January 2026.
Application
We accept applications in German and English. Please fill the form below and please ask your supervisor and, if possible, a second referee, to send a letter of reference directly to aethiopistik"AT"uni-hamburg.de .
If for some reason you cannot use the online form you can download this form as PDF and send it together with a single PDF document containing:
- Letter of intent
- Curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages)
- Copies of degree certificates and transcripts
- For non-German degrees: Extract from the anabin https://anabin.kmk.org/cms/public/startseite database for your institution (if you cannot find your university in the database please enclose a page stating so) OR Bologna Accord Diploma Supplement
- Proof of German/English language proficiency
- Outline of PhD proposal (max. 3 pages, in addition to a timeplan of max. 2 pages)
directly to aethiopistik"AT"uni-hamburg.de. If the attachments are larger than 2MB do feel free to use filesharing services like wetransfer or dropbox.
