The PhD in Comparative Gender Studies provides four years of full funding for admitted students. Time to completion can be extended up to 5 or 6 years for students who undertake field research or teaching and are able to secure additional funding.
Successful applicants must show substantial background in gender studies scholarship and have a research proposal that can be developed and defended within the first year of study. Applicants without an MA in gender studies or demonstrable background in the discipline are encouraged to first consider attending one of our MA programs before applying for the PhD.
The department welcomes research projects in various fields of gender studies and will consider the department's supervisory availability and matches during the admission process. For more on faculty interests, see here. Please note that applicants are not required to secure an agreement with a faculty member for supervision; first-year students request a supervisor after having the chance to meet and work with faculty for two months at the beginning of the program.
The deadline for Ph.D. student positions with the CEU Doctoral Scholarship is February 4, 2026 (23:59 Central European Time). Please check the CEU admission webpage for more details on the admissions process.
Learn more about the PhD program of the Department of Gender Studies!
- MA in Gender Studies or related discipline in the humanities or social sciences (a demonstrated substantial background in gender theory and scholarship is required)
- All applications must be complete with relevant standard test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, etc.).
- PhD research proposal up to 1500 words (not including bibliography or notes; notes should be kept to a minimum)
Craft a proposal for doctoral research that can be completed within one year of research and 2-3 years of analysis and writing (after the initial first year of proposal development and coursework). In addition to clearly stating the topic and its context, proposals must include a clear focus or research question, an indication of the theoretical framework and concepts that shape the research, an assessment of existing literature in the field(s), an outline of research design and methods to be used, and a statement of the project’s contributions to scholarship. Full references must be listed in a bibliography and sources must be properly cited using an academic style of your choice.
- Motivation Letter of up to 500 words
Please tell us about your intellectual trajectory and experiences that led you to want to do a PhD in Gender Studies. What kind of background do you have specifically in gender studies and theory, where does it come from (a degree, courses, research, independent reading, etc.), in what discipline(s) is it grounded? Tell us about your MA program, the research you undertook there and how that fits into your plans for a PhD. Take a few sentences also to explain why you’re applying to CEU Gender Studies in particular. Finally, this is the space where you can convey any additional information about you and your application that you feel is relevant for our assessment.
- 3 recommendation letters
- Relevant transcripts and diploma(s)
- Applicants selected for an interview will be asked to send a writing sample (published or unpublished) of at least 3500 words written in, or translated to, English
Additional note: We take as a given that all materials are written by you without the use of generative AI tools beyond basic checks of grammar and spelling. Candidates that proceed to the interview phase are expected to reflect the same level of knowledge and articulation in oral communication as in their written materials.