- ZEF is a top international development research institute at one of Germany’s Excellence Universities. ZEF is led by three directors from different disciplines and hosts about 50 senior researchers from all parts of the world. They supervise your doctoral research and support you in becoming a leading development scholar of the next generation.
- ZEF has a structured, interdisciplinary doctoral program, the Bonn International Graduate School for Development Research (BIGS-DR).
- BIGS-DR supports you step by step to your doctorate! With disciplinary and interdisciplinary course modules, soft skills training, and strategic knowledge about further career steps. Being a member of a batch of international doctoral researchers, you become part of a stimulating study environment and have a peer group of like-minded scholars.
- The application deadline for this program is August 31, 2026.
Scholarships available - We are searching for young talents for doctoral research in sustainable development Apply now!
Deadline for applications: August 31, 2026
Are you enthusiastic about analyzing and promoting sustainable development? And do you have a creative research idea related to sustainable food systems, agriculture, nutrition, health, climate change, biodiversity, migration, governance, and conflict?
The Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn is the best place for you to do such research.
BIGS DR scholarships
- International students at ZEF attending a workshop in 2025
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All details about the application requirements and procedures can be found here: https://www.zef.de/doctoralprogram
We are searching for scholars from the Global South for so-called EPOS-scholarships funded by DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).